August Picture Worth A Thousand Words

Here is a prime example of learning a lot after the fact. Due to my ignorance, I really believed I was looking at an EMD and a bunch of common commuter cars. The whole scene was a fun one to walk through but boy do I feel a bit silly now.

The picture above is a typical Metrolink commuter stop in Lancaster, CA. This is the end of the line so the train is readying to push back to L-A. This was on August 7th, which was a Friday, and early evening at that. The place was busy and there were three or four uniformed sheriffs at the doors of the cars and wandering around. The patrons were all as anxious as commuters everywhere but most seemed to have evening plans rather than work in mind. The station was reasonably clean, well organized and efficient. A nice visit overall, part of the previously posted trip to California.

Only one thing really stood out, equipment wise, at the time: The Front Runner car behind the locomotive. This got my attention and I mentioned it in a prior post. Sitting between the loco and three bi-level cars, it stood out well. I have ridden the light rail in Salt Lake City and knew that the Utah Transit Authority was expanding into heavier "commuter rail" with the Front Runner service. The link provides some detail. The car turns out to be an old NJT "Comet" car, one of five on loan to Metrolink.

Ignorance became apparent when I have since discovered that the locomotive is not an EMD. The DT&I fan and I were chatting about MPI commuter locomotives and how they had sneaked up on us. It turns out that they are getting down right common, at least in places far from here! A quick glance at the computer confirmed what I missed before. The locomotive above is not EMD but MPI! The links provide much information that I had not comprehended before. Yes, I probably saw all the news articles about the delivery of MPI units to the various roads, but the big picture failed me. Though not consisting of hundreds of locomotives, commuter rail is a growth area that apparently doesn't show up on the radar of the big builders. I would guess that MPI is doing well with their other locomotives as well, staying under the radar there too.

It's been fun to delve into all this stuff.

BC