The C1 is a type of bilevel commuter

passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

built by the

Tokyu Car Corporation Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation ** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group ** Tokyu Car Corporation, a former Japanese railway vehicle m ...

for the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

(LIRR). Tokyu built ten cars in 1990–1991 as a precursor to the larger C3 order, which would be built by Kawasaki in the late 1990s. The cars were designed by

Comeng Commonwealth Engineering (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams. History Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth Engi ...

, one of the last projects that the firm undertook before closing in 1990. After the arrival of the C3s, the Long Island Rail Road sold the C1s to private owners.

Background

In the 1980s, the LIRR operated two types of trains:

electric multiple units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

, which operated over the railroad's electrified lines, and diesel-locomotive-hauled trains on the non-electrified portions. Service into the borough of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

was electric only. The rolling stock used for the LIRR's diesel service was aging, and there was political interest in offering a one-seat ride for commuters on the busy but only partially electrified

Port Jefferson Branch The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch splits from the Main Line just east of Hicksville and runs northeast and east to Port Jefferson. Sever ...

. The LIRR decided to solve both problems simultaneously: it would acquire several dual-mode

EMD FL9 The EMD FL9 (New Haven Class EDER-5) is a model of electro-diesel locomotive, capable of operating either as a traditional diesel-electric locomotive or as an electric locomotive powered from a third rail. Sixty units were built between October 1 ...

locomotives from the

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...

and buy a small fleet of new passenger cars to go with them. If the experiment was successful, it could proceed with a larger order and replace the diesel fleet.

History

The

Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...

had built the most recent additions to the LIRR's electric fleet, the M1 and M3, but by the mid-1980s, it was a subsidiary of Thyssen and exiting the railroad business. Therefore, in 1986, the LIRR approached

, Budd's Australian licensee, about the project. The LIRR's original request for proposal, issued in 1986, called for a single-level design. This was due in part to the difficulties the railroad experienced with the

PRR MP70 The PRR MP70, also known informally as the "double-deckers", was a class of electric multiple units manufactured by the Pennsylvania Railroad for use on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). The Pennsylvania Railroad manufactured three prototypes i ...

electric multiple units, which it had retired in 1972. Comeng persuaded the LIRR to adopt a bilevel design instead. Three groups responded to the revised LIRR proposal: Comeng/

Mitsui is one of the largest '' keiretsu'' in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world. The major companies of the group include Mitsui & Co. ( general trading company), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Nippon Paper Industri ...

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

and

Sumitomo The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period. History The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Masa ...

Nippon Sharyo , formed in 1896, is a major rolling stock manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan. In 1996, it abbreviated its name to "日本車両" Nippon Sharyō. Its shortest abbreviation is Nissha "日車". It was a listed company on Nikkei 225 until 2 ...

. The LIRR favored the Comeng design, but the company's ability to fulfill the contract was jeopardized by the instability of

Australian National Industries Australian National Industries was an Australian heavy engineering company with diverse range of holdings. History In 1911 John McGrath began to sell motor vehicles. It operated the first public garage in New South Wales. The company held motor ...

, Comeng's corporate parent. In the end, Comeng sold the design of the C1 to Mitsui, who then engaged

to build the cars. The LIRR officially ordered ten cars from Mitsui on October 7, 1988. The contract was estimated at $22.4 million. Comeng remained involved in design and testing. LIRR C3 5019 on Train 6506

Tokyu constructed the cars between 1990–1991, with deliveries completing in early 1991. Trains began running in August 1991. The cars ran well and were well-received by commuters. The rebuilt FL9 locomotives allowed operation through the East River Tunnels into

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...

. The LIRR proceeded with a full production order in 1994. Several former Comeng engineers drafted the specification for what became the C3 car. This design was based on the C1, but updated based on several years' experience with the cars and feedback from passengers. The C1s were mechanically incompatible with the C3s and were stored as the new cars arrived in 1997–1998. The LIRR sold them to Mid Atlantic Rail Car in 1999.

Iowa Pacific Holdings Iowa Pacific Holdings was a holding company that owned railroad properties across North America and the United Kingdom, as well as providing services such as railcar repairs, leasing, management and consulting services to other operators. The comp ...

acquired them in 2007 for use on various excursion services.

Design

The C1 stands tall. This was necessary in order for the car to fit through the

East River Tunnels The East River Tunnels are four single-track railroad passenger service tunnels that extend from the eastern end of Pennsylvania Station under 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan and cross the East River to Long Island City in Queens. The track ...

, and shorter than similar designs such as the

gallery cars A bilevel car (American English) or double-decker coach (British English and Canadian English) is a type of rail car that has two levels of passenger accommodation, as opposed to one, increasing passenger capacity (in example cases of up to 5 ...

used in Chicago or Amtrak's Superliners, both of which exceed . The cars are long and wide. The car has vestibules at both ends. It was designed for use at

high-level platform Railway platform height is the built height – ''above top of rail (ATR)'' – of passenger platforms at stations. A connected term is ''train floor height'', which refers to the ATR height of the floor of rail vehicles. Worldwide, there are ...

s, so the doors sit roughly above the rail. The interior is split into lower and upper levels, with accessible seating on the entrance level. On the upper and lower levels, seating is 3–2, similar to other LIRR and Metro-North cars. This dense arrangement permits a maximum capacity of 180–190 passengers. Each level measures from floor to ceiling. Passenger response to the 3–2 seating was poor, leading to the adoption of 2–2 seating in the C3.

Notes

References

* * * {{LIRR and MNCR rolling stock Long Island Rail Road Rail passenger cars of the United States Train-related introductions in 1991 Double-decker rail vehicles Tokyu Car rolling stock