Great memories and sounds from a place I no longer inhabit. Remember going to Willis Hobbies and feeding my model railroad addiction and then hoping to see the real deal blow by on the nearby trackage.
I spent all of my summers in Montauk about a block from the train station. I spent all of my free time over at the tracks. When I was 7 an engineer named Frank who obviously saw me there all the time, invited me in for a ride every evening as he switched the engine from front to rear. Such great memories. Thanks for helping to bring back the good Ole days.
Terrific post. I remember those diesels. They were loud and I loved them. When they revved up they sounded like an old Sikorsky helicopter. Back when transportation sounds had character. Ahh, the memories.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS. I have been a railfan since about 9 years of age. Yet, when I used to see those beautiful - LOUD - massive engines I fell in love fast. From LI originally so I have a strong liking to the EMDs. Loved the "blue wave" paint job, yet, it was more the ROAR and the SHEER POWER that shook the ground I stood on as a boy. Still love the same sounds and dislike the new LIRR diesel/elecs - Great to hear about NY & Atlantic running freight into LI. A longggg time and coming. Yet, I have been searching for such a video for about 8 years now. To capture the past and you have done so!!! So I thank you. Sincerely, XT
I first experienced Mineola station in October 1966. Loved it then. Still great now, though it has lost a few of its charms over the years. The best train watching spot on the LIRR, though there are honorable mentions.
Man... the GP38's and MP15's were the warriors on the rails back in the day on the LIRR.... All of that earth shaking rumbling created by their prime movers is nothing short of awesome power.
Thanks for this video. i live 5 miles south of mineola and on quiet nights you could hear those diesel engines and that loud horn love the sound again thanks for the vid.
As a lifelong Long Islander, I truly miss the old rolling stock. They made for a much more comfortable commute to and from the city. The new rolling stock I'm not too fond of. The seats are smaller. And let's face it. These new trains are just plain ugly.
Jack D. Ripper That's why whenever I wait for the trains on the Long Island Railroad and Metro North Railroad, I always wait for a vintage model such as an M3/P32, if their no old models and whenever I'm on a latest model, you can never see me sitting in it's seats, I feel disgusted just sitting on those fake trains of a m7, m8,m9 and c3's lol.
It's so weird seeing cars go across the tracks West of Mineola again now that Herricks Road was eliminated. I remember seeing cars doing going across Herricks and me going over that crossing when I was a kid. 4 cars at the same time! Same thing with Roslyn Road.
Only bad thing about the old diesel trains were they weren't wheelchair accessible. Heck in Patchogue there was no platform and you had to climb up the steps to board lol. Ah the good old days
The coaches were handicapped accessible. They had the panel that flipped down when at regular station platforms. And flipped up and snapped onto the wall when they needed the steps. It was the particular station that wasn't accessible !
Great quality. Every car had the blue stripe, the diesel coaches looked good even though they were like 30 years old at the time. See my channel for how this location looked in the late 1990s.
Everything the LIRR did was backwards. However... you cannot dispute the fact They got their money's worth with the GP38-2 and the MP15AC diesel engines.
I really do miss those days of the ALCO switchers and 2000 series coaches. The fact they ran the line like they did is a testament to railroading in the USA!!! And this NYC-LI-CT area too. I think the GPs SWs freight engines helped since the maintenance performance was not too high. The M1s had a profile and character that the M7s could only wish for!!!
It's amazing what has happened to the station in the past 30 years along with it's surroundings. M1's have been retired, M7's are in service, diesel service is now provided by the DC/DM30's, Herricks Road (1998) and Roslyn Road (2008) grade crossings have been eliminated, Nassau Interlocking has been reconfigured, a pedestrian crossing has been added to get rid of the old one that used the, a new pedestrian bridge was installed to get rid of the one that was using the Mineola Blvd. bridge, the intermodel center/parking garage was constructed with an ADA accessible bridge with two elevators, Main Street now has new cantilever lights, new ticket offices, the Eastbound platform was lengthened, Mineola Blvd. bridge rebuilt, new mushroom lights, LED flashing lights, new power lines, tracks are now askew, and the substation was replaced. By the way the train at 6:02 with the horn and flying at 70-80 MPH is the best railfan capture one can get.
My favorites were always the M1's ( the original Metropolitans )....I was 5 when they came out in 68' and always rode with my aunt. who lived in New York to Valley Stream......We lived in Franklin Square at that time......When they retired them, I actually got a number board ( 9293 ) which now hangs in my kitchen ... I have my Aunt to thank for turning me into a train fan ! And I passed that onto my son who is now 27 and also loves trains !
Yeah, but they were on the tracks for 40 years! December 30th,1968, the first revenue M1 departs Babylon at 5:45 AM making all stops, announced their retirement in late 2006, and the last revenue service M1 was in late 2008. Now two are preserved in Riverhead at the station.
Especially when it went through the dreaded "Bellerose Bump" before they finally smoothed that out. Eh, what do you expect when your riding an electric at 80 MPH?
Matthew Kobel The Budd M-1s were great at peak speed......You also knew when you were doing 80 because they made a high pitched humming sound.......I could also swear in the early 70's, those trains used to fly through the east river tunnels, doing more than 80mph ....I could be wrong, but am very detailed oriented when it comes to these types of things ! I've been living down in Florida over the past 10 years.....When I visit, I hate those M7's......No more conductor announcements, no more blast before the train goes, no blinking lights, and air vents going off and on, especially at Jamaica ! Old is better!
I knew that, now New Hyde Park Road is a big problem. For years Herricks Road was labeled by the NTSB as the most hazardous grade crossing in the United States!
From another LIRR fan and after they were retired ... I bought something and he sent it to me as a bonus.... I cleaned it up and it looks just as good as it did back in 68'.... Even the rubber all around it is in perfect condition
