Metro-North Railroad Debuts Fourth Wrapped Locomotive from Heritage Series

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Metro-North Railroad has rebranded a fourth locomotive with special colors and designs as part of a Heritage Series to highlight its 40 years of service. Workers at Metro-North’s North White Plains Shop applied a vinyl wrap to locomotive No. 217, paying tribute to the Penn Central Railroad Corporation.

“Every new wrapped locomotive reminds us of the incredible history of rail travel in the region that preceded the formation of Metro-North Railroad,” said Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi. “These wraps give rail enthusiasts and everyone who uses Metro-North every day an opportunity to step back in time as they travel down the scenic Hudson River.”

In the spring of 1970, 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 become the core rail lines that made up Metro-North Railroad in 1983.

One of the stipulations of the subsidy agreement with MTA was that the Penn Central Railroad would rehabilitate some of its equipment and repaint it in the colors of New York State: bright yellow and medium blue colors. FL9 locomotives 5014 and 5050 were the first two locomotives painted in this scheme, and they were put into service on train 912 from Brewster to Grand Central Terminal in July 1970.

The first rebrand in the Heritage 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 its FL9 locomotives and worn by them until the last was retired in April 2007.

The second rebranded locomotive paid tribute to Conrail, Metro-North’s immediate predecessor. The train made its debut on the Hudson Line in August 2023. The design of the wrap reflects the paint scheme applied to older FL9 locomotives that Conrail operated for MTA over the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines from 1976-1982.

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 November 14, 2023.

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