PHOTOS: Metro-North Railroad Unveils Fifth Wrapped Locomotive from Heritage Series to Honor Employees

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Metro-North Railroad has rebranded a fifth locomotive with special colors and designs as part of a Heritage Series to highlight the railroad’s 40 years of service to the public. Unlike the previous four rebrands, the rebranding of locomotive No. 214 pays tribute to the Metro-North workforce. Skilled craft workers at Metro-North’s North White Plains Shop restored locomotive No. 214, and a wrap was applied featuring pictures of past and present Metro-North workers. 

 

The full-size mosaic images, created from the individual employee photographs, on each side of the locomotive are representative of Metro-North's East of Hudson lines, with the clock tower at White Plains station representing the Harlem Line, a New York Cityscape representing the Grand Central, a view of the Hudson River from the Bear Mountain Bridge for the Hudson Line and Bridgeport’s Black Rock Harbor Lighthouse for the New Haven Line. As a historical nod, one side of the locomotive uses the old two-toned “M” logo of the MTA, and the other side uses the modern MTA logo. 

 

“All the progress Metro-North has made since 1983 can be credited to the faces you see on this train,” said Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi. “When customers and rail enthusiasts see this employee tribute locomotive on the rails, I hope they use it as a reminder to thank Metro-North employees for the work they do every day to keep our system safe and our trains on the move.” 

 

The employee tribute rebrand will make its way to employee facilities following a special ceremony held today at North White Plains.  

 

The last rebranded locomotive hit the rails in March, and paid tribute to Penn Central, one of Metro-North's predecessor railroads. In the spring of 1970, the MTA signed an agreement with the Penn Central Railroad Corporation to subsidize the operations of the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven commuter rail lines which would later become the core rail lines that would make up Metro-North Railroad in 1983.  

 

The third rebranded locomotive paid tribute to New York Central, the predecessor railroad that operated on the Hudson and Harlem lines. Metro-North’s locomotive No. 211, made its debut run on the Hudson Line, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. 

 

The second rebranded locomotive paid tribute to Conrail, the railroad which is Metro-North's immediate predecessor. The train made its debut on the Hudson Line Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The design of the wrap mimics the paint scheme applied to older FL9 locomotives that Conrail operated for the MTA over the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines from 1976 to 1982. Metro-North’s locomotive No. 201 is one of 31 P32ACDM models the railroad uses to provide service on the northern Hudson and Harlem Lines and the New Haven Line’s Danbury and Waterbury Branches.  

 

The first rebrand in the series was locomotive No. 208, which made its debut in May 2023 with a vinyl wrap of silver, blue, and red to pay homage to Metro-North’s original design. The design was created upon the railroad’s founding in 1983 for the railroad’s historic FL9 locomotives and worn by them until the last was retired in April 2007. 

 

The wrapped locomotives will remain in service for the foreseeable future.