The PRR MP70, also known informally as the "double-deckers", was a class of

electric multiple unit 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 numbe ...

s manufactured by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

for use on 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). The Pennsylvania Railroad manufactured three prototypes in the 1930s and a full fleet of sixty cars in 1947–1949. They were among the first examples of bilevel rail cars in the United States. The design was unpopular with both LIRR employees and commuters; the last cars were retired in 1972. A single example, the prototype, is preserved at the

Railroad Museum of Long Island The Railroad Museum of Long Island is a railway museum based on the North Fork, of Long Island, New York, in the United States. It has two locations, the main location in Riverhead, and a satellite location in Greenport, west of the North ...

Design

The MP70 was an early attempt to increase the capacity of commuter trains without lengthening the train, foreshadowing the successful

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 ...

introduced after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The car was not a true bilevel design. It featured a single level with a centerline aisle, and two levels of seats, with the second staggered above the first. Passengers stepped up or down to reach the seats, which were in a facing 2×2 arrangement. This unusual arrangement was devised by Albert E. Hutt in 1928. The original prototype trailer seated 120 passengers, the first prototype motor car 134; all others 132. The Pennsylvania Railroad constructed the cars out of aluminum. This led to significant weight savings in the prototype: compared to an expected had the Pennsylvania used steel. The car was even slightly lighter than the single-level

PRR MP54 The Pennsylvania Railroad's MP54 was a class of electric multiple unit railcars. The class was initially constructed as an unpowered, locomotive hauled coach for suburban operations, but were designed to be rebuilt into self-propelled units as el ...

s then in service. Prototype No. 200 was long; all others were . Production motor cars weighed ; trailers weighed . The cars stood tall, short enough for the clearances in

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 ...

and 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 ...

History

The Pennsylvania Railroad constructed the original prototype No. 200 in 1932. It was an unpowered trailer, with a seating capacity of 120. It entered revenue service on August 13, 1932. Two more prototypes arrived in December 1937: 201 (another unpowered trailer) and 1347 (a motor car). Because of the scarcity of aluminum, no further cars were built until after World War II. After World War II, the LIRR acquired sixty more double-decker cars. The first ten, five pairs of motor cars and trailers, entered service in 1947. Each car cost $102,000. The remaining fifty, forty-three motors and seven trailers, entered service in 1948–1949. The per-car cost rose on this order to $143,000. Although the LIRR claimed early on that "the passengers like them fine", the double-deckers were not successful. An early indicator was the LIRR's order in 1953 for twenty single-level multiple units from

Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century ...

. These seated five across in a 3×2 configuration, for a maximum capacity of 128: nearly that of the MP70, but in a more conventional design. The split-level seating slowed boarding at stations and made ticket collection cumbersome. Cleaning the cars took longer than with single-level units because of the odd angles. On rainy days, water could run down into the lower seats from the center aisle. The facing seats earned the cars the derisive sobriquet "knee-knockers", while female passengers complained about the lack of modesty when seated in the upper level. The LIRR withdrew the last double-decker on February 29, 1972.

William Ronan William John Ronan (November 8, 1912 – October 15, 2014) was an American public servant and academic who founded and served as the first chairman of New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, from 1968 to 1974. He subsequently s ...

, then chairman of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

(MTA), cited mechanical unreliability, high operating costs, passenger discomfort, and the entry of new M1 railcars into service. The experience soured the LIRR on the concept, and it did not contemplate double-decker cars again until the late 1980s, when it ordered the C1 coach. No. 200, the original prototype, is preserved at the

References

Notes

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Citations

External links

*Diagrams
Floor plan
an

{{LIRR and MNCR rolling stock 650 V DC railway electrification Pennsylvania Railroad Electric multiple units of the United States Long Island Rail Road multiple units Vehicles introduced in 1932 Vehicles introduced in 1947 Double-decker rail vehicles