TheEMD DE30AC andDM30AC are a class of 46 locomotives built between 1997–1999 byElectro-Motive Division in the Super Steel Plant inSchenectady, New York, for theLong Island Rail Road of theMetropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York. Originally divided equally between the two types, the fleet currently consists of 24 DE30AC locomotives (diesel power only) and 20 DM30AC locomotives (diesel or third rail power).
The DE30AC and DM30AC locomotives replaced agingGP38-2 locomotives, with GP38s used topush and pull diesel trains and other locomotives converted intopower packs (cab control) used to providehead-end power for the trains. The bodies of the DE30AC and the DM30AC are extremely similar; the difference is the ability of the DM30AC to use electric third rail while the diesel engine is off, enabling the locomotive to use theEast River Tunnels intoNew York Penn Station. This permits direct service from non-electrified lines in eastern Long Island via the western electrified main lines all the way to Penn Station. A few such trains a day run on thePort Jefferson,Montauk, andOyster Bay branches, usually during peak times. Due to their height, the DE30AC and DM30AC locomotives, as well as theC3 bilevel railcars that they typically haul, cannot fit through the63rd Street Tunnel, and are thus unable to serveGrand Central Madison station.[4]
Single engines run with six cars or fewer, in which case the engine is on the east end of the train and a C3 cab car is on the west (Manhattan-facing) end. Generally, two engines are used when there are seven or more cars. Running in electric mode requires two DM30ACs per train regardless of train length.
DM30AC 503 was damaged in an accident atHuntington on October 23, 2000, when a defective shoe beam caused a 750-voltshort circuit with the locomotive'sthird rail contact shoe, which in turn caused the locomotive to catch fire.[5] It sat in the LIRR'sMorris Park Facility and had been stripped for spare parts to maintain the remainder of the fleet until July 2018, when it was scrapped.
DM30AC 511 was damaged in an accident on May 25, 2019. It hit a 14-unit long train stopped at the siding east ofSpeonk station, which is 13 units long; this caused the locomotive to lose a third rail shoe and sustain frame damage.[6] It is now sitting in theMorris Park Facility, most likely to be used for parts before being scrapped.[7]
In addition, DM30AC 507 suffered an electrical cabinet failure. Unlike 503 and 511, it was salvaged by being converted into a DE30AC locomotive, renumbered to 423, and returned to service.
In December 2020, theMetropolitan Transportation Authority of New York board approved aFederal Transit Administration-funded $335 million contract for 27 dual-mode locomotives, based on theSiemens Charger design. The order also includes additional options for up to 144 more locomotives, of which 66 could go to the LIRR.[8][9] As a part of the Long Island Rail Road's Capital Program, the railroad is exercising Option 3 of the previously awarded contract to order up to 44 new dual-mode locomotives, which would likely replace the older DE30AC and DM30AC locomotives.[10][11]
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Media related toEMD DE30AC locomotives at Wikimedia Commons
