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The MU (multiple-unit) commuter cars of New Jersey's Erie Lackawanna commuter lines were a type of multiple unit commuter railcar developed for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). Most of the construction for the overhead catenary (wire) system was done in 1929 and 1930. The MUs first served commuters on the DL&W's Morristown Line starting in New Jersey in 1930, although most of the trailer (non-powered) cars had been already in service for several years already being pulled by steam locomotives. The subscription parlor cars (club trailer cars) dated back to 1912. == History == The MU's were inaugurated with fanfare on September 3, 1930 when the aging inventor Thomas A. Edison, a key proponent of DC current (the source of electric power for the MUs), drove the first train for the first mile along its 13 mile trip from Hoboken to Montclair, New Jersey. The service was extended in phases to other towns that would have yards to store the trains: South Orange, Summit, Gladstone, Morristown and Dover. Plans to extend electrified service west, for freight service, possibly as far as Scranton, PA, was investigated by the Lackawanna. The plans were abandoned due to cost, particularly since the timing of the extension coincided with the arrival of the Great Depression. The MUs did travel beyond the electrified district on occasion, particularly after World War II when there was a shortage of rail cars available. Unpowered MUs, pulled by steam locomotives, travelled on the Sussex Branch to Branchville, NJ, for instance, during the immediate post-war timeframe.〔The Lackawanna Railroad in Northwest New Jersey, Larry Lowenthal and William Greenberg, 1980, Tri-State Railway Historical Society〕 Over the years, the distinctive Pullman green cars were considered to be extremely reliable. Thomas T. Taber, in his book on the DL&W, called the Lackawanna MUs "...probably the finest multiple unit cars ever built." Their reliability remained excellent into their fourth decade of service, but suffered during the final years of their 54 year tenure in service.〔''The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century'' (Volumes 1 and 2), Thomas T. Taber III, Lycoming Printing Company, 1980, 1981.〕 These trains were run by four different railroads: the Lackawanna Railroad (1930-1960); the Erie Lackawanna Railroad (1960-1976); Conrail (1976-1982); and finally, NJ Transit (1983-1984). The cars were retired after their final runs on August 24, 1984. The DC power distribution system was retired at that point and a 25,000 volt 60 hertz AC power distribution system, which was installed and tested over the previous several years as part of the re-electrification project, was switched on. Arrow III MU cars, which continued to run to and from Hoboken, initially replaced the Lackawanna MUs. The introduction of Midtown Direct service to New York City in 1996, however, would prove problematic as the Northeast Corridor Line into Manhattan still used the original Pennsylvania Railroad 12,000 volt 25 hertz AC distribution system. Given that the Arrow III cars were not engineered to easily switch from one voltage to another, it was necessary for NJ Transit to acquire new locomotives, ALP-44s, to handle the new service. The Lackawanna MUs were built from a combination of new motorized units (built by General Electric and Pullman) and converted coaches as trailers. These cars were semi-permanently attached to each other in pairs (trailer car-power car), with the trailer car on the westbound (Dover-facing) end of the train. Most of the trailer cars were built by Pullman. Typically, trains were limited to 6 pairs of these units, i.e. 12 cars. Although, due to the loss of a trailer car in a 1962 accident, its unmatched power car was placed into the middle of a 13-car train that was run during rush-hours only during the Erie Lackawanna years, the ''Tom Taber Express''. New Jersey state law restricted the length of commuter trains to a maximum of 13 cars. Although with the unmatched power car in the pool of available cars, it was theoretically possible to have every combination of train length from two to 13 cars, the most common train lengths seen were 2 and 4 car trains off-peak and 6 and 8 cars during the rush hour. Three-car sets (two power cars plus a single coach) were used rarely, mostly as shuttle trains east of Newark, and were noted for their faster acceleration and higher top speeds, which may explain their limited use. Although matched sets were not over-powered, it was possible for MU trains to pull an additional freight car (most often milk cars), which would be coupled to the rear-end of the MU train. In later years, the 2-car off-peak configuration was abandoned in favor of a 4-car configuration for reliability purposes. Outbound from Hoboken, commuters could ride on the Morristown Line (the mainline) to Dover, NJ, a trip of 38.3 miles (62 km). The Montclair Branch and Gladstone Branch diverged from the Morristown line at Roseville Avenue Station in Newark and Summit, respectively. The MU's ran off 3000 volt DC overhead electric wire, drawing current through pantographs that could be raised or lowered. In profile, pantographs appear diamond-shaped, but generally get better contact with the overhead wire than a simple trolley pole. Due to the presence of overhead bridges along the line, the overhead catenary varied considerably in height. Where no height restrictiones existed, the catenary was typically at 24 feet (8.7 m), but for some bridges the wire needed to drop in clearance, with Roseville Avenue being the point of lowest clearance at 15 feet 9 inches (4.6 m). This didn't affect the operation of the MUs, since they had been designed with these clearance differentials in mind, but the low clearances restricted the use of other trains on the line that had insufficient clearance. The Lackawanna MUs had two pantographs: one for normal use (on the Dover end of the motor car) and one with greater wire tension that was used only during ice storms (on the Hoboken end of the car). The trains lacked speedometers. On test runs, the trains attained a speed of 63 mph on level track. On suitable downgrades, however, the trains could exceed 70 mph (113 km/hr) and on rare occasions, 75 mph (121 km/hr).〔''The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century'' (Volumes 1 and 2), Thomas T. Taber III, Lycoming Printing Company, 1980, 1981.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Erie Lackawanna MU Cars」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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