Commuter railroad Metro North will be rebranding five locomotives in special retro paint schemes in commemoration of the railroads 40th anniversary. Prior to Metro North, operators; Conrail, New York Central, PRR, and New Haven ran trains throughout New York and Connecticut. In 1983 Metro North and state governments took over the routes and operators. In celebration of the 40 years of operation, five selected locomotives will sport retro liveries from each of the founding railroads. The first locomotive painted pays tribute Metro North’s first duel mode diesel electric locomotive the FL-9. Lucky commuters on the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Danbury and Waterbury branches will have a good chance of catching locomotive 208 as it is rotated throughout the system.
Two Metro North Historic Milestones
Together with the 40th anniversary, two milestones have been set. The railroad has set pre pandemic ridership levels last week. Sunday ridership on may 14th was at 101,089 marking the first time since march 2020. On may 12, 2023 Metro North Carried 4,933 baseball fans to Yankee Stadium amounting to 10.7% of stadium attendance according to a recent press release. The last time the percentage reached similar levels was during the American League Championship game in 2017.