TheLong Island Rail Road owns an electric fleet of 202M9, 836M7, and 170M3electric multiple unit cars, and a diesel and diesel-electric fleet consisting of 134C3bilevel rail cars powered by 24DE30ACdiesel-electric locomotives and 20DM30ACdual-mode locomotives.^[1]

When the LIRR began operations in 1836, it leased the newly openedBrooklyn and Jamaica Railroad, including its two duplicatesteam locomotives,Ariel andPost Boy, both built byMatthias W. Baldwin. (Ariel was Baldwin's 19th engine, built in 1835.) The LIRR soon acquired, through the B&J,Hicksville in 1836 andJohn A. King (the only engine built by the Poughkeepsie Locomotive Company) in 1838.Post Boy was sold off after an 1852 accident.^[2] Both the "Hicksville" and the "John A. King" were likely acquired second hand by the B & J in 1836 and 1838, respectively.

The "Hicksville" was acquired by the B & J in 1836 from a canal building concern "Proprietors of Locks and Canals", based inLowell, Massachusetts. This company is still in existence. According toRobert Stephenson and Company records, in the year 1831, the firm of "Locks And Canals" purchased two locomotives new from the Robert Stephenson Company (order # 8 and 17) in England. It is likely the B & J purchased one of those two engines, second hand, from Locks And Canals in 1836, and renamed it the "Hicksville" (after Valentine Hicks, second President of the LIRR, and founder of Hicksville, NY). It is also likely, that at some point prior to its re- sale to the B & J, the engine in question was modified to Stephenson's famous 2-2-2 wheel arrangement.

According to "The History Of Brooklyn", by Hazelton, ca. 1920s, the LIRR acquired a second hand locomotive originally named the "Taglioni" from "theDutchess County (NY) Railway, of British origin, with a large funnel smokestack". This is likely to be the "John A. King". The "Poughkeepsie Locomotive Works" may have only performed a wheel arrangement modification on a pre existing British built locomotive. Poughkeepsie is also located in Dutchess County New York, hence the possible entity name confusion in the Hazelton book.

Long before modernpiggyback services, the LIRR began carrying farm wagons aboardflatcars in 1885.^[2]

In the early 20th century, the LIRR was a testing ground for thePennsylvania Railroad'selectrification, includingPhoebe, its first electric (AA1), and was the first company to extensively electrify its primary lines. TheDD1electric locomotives were developed from the prototypes that were tested on LIRR trackage. Later it saw power such as theB3.^[2]

The LIRR's steam passenger locomotives were modernized from 1901 to 1906, and by 1927, it was the firstClass I railroad to replace all its wood passenger cars with steel.^[2]

In 1926, the LIRR was the first U.S. railroad to begin usingdiesel locomotives. The last steam locomotive was aG5s operated until 1955.^[2]

Electricstorage battery cars were used on theWest Hempstead Branch (Valley Stream toMineola) from 1913 until it was electrified in 1926, and on theBushwick Branch prior to the end of its passenger operations in 1924.^[2] TheCentral Branch fromGarden City east toMitchel Field waselectrified withthird rail in 1915, but used ex-Ocean Electric Railwaytrolley cars until 1933. Normal electric trains, such as theMP41 were then used until 1950, when they were replaced byMP54's until the line's abandonment in 1953.^[3]

The Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority started tests of the first gas turbine-powered commuter rail car in September 1966. In late 1967, a second phase for a dual-mode train with gas turbines that could also run on third rail was expected to begin. The cars, if tests were successful, would provide an alternative to extending electrification, eliminate the need to change from electric to diesel trains at Jamaica, and speed travel. The demonstration program's first phase was expected to cost $1,386,000 (equal to $13,432,117 today), of which the Budd Company, the manufacturer, and New York State covered one-third of the cost, and a grant from theUnited States Department of Housing and Urban Development would cover the remaining two-thirds.^[4]

One of the most popular decisions by GovernorNelson A. Rockefeller after the 1966 takeover was replacing the entire electric passenger fleet withM1 cars.^[5] It acquired 770 M1 cars built byBudd andGeneral Electric from 1968 to 1974, and 174 M3 cars, built in 1985 and 1986, also by the Budd Company.^[6][7]

By the late-1990s the LIRR diesel fleet consisted of 28EMDGP38-2 and 23MP15ACdiesel-electric locomotives, along with approximately 223 passenger cars, mostly former electricmultiple units.^[6] These trains were operated using 1950s-era P72/PT75 series coaches built byPullman-Standard, with adiesel-electric locomotive on one end, and for the other end of the train, an older locomotives converted to a "power pack", in which the original prime movers were replaced with 600 horsepower (450 kW) engines/generators solely for supplying HEP (head-end power for the lights and heating) with the engineer'scontrol stand left intact. Locomotives converted includedAlco FA-1s and FA-2s,EMD F7s, and oneF9. One individual power pack was further converted into a power car for the C1 bilevel cars in the 1990s. The power packs were later sold to other operators, preserved in museums, or scrapped.^[8]

In 1997 and 1998, the LIRR received 134 double-deckerC3 passenger cars fromKawasaki, including 23cab control cars, and 46General Motors Electro-Motive Divisiondiesel-electric locomotives (23 dieselDE30ACs and 23 dual-modeDM30ACs) to pull them, allowing trains from non-electric territory to accessPenn Station for the first time in many years,^[9][10] due to the prohibition on diesel operation in theEast River Tunnels leading to Penn Station.^[11] They were also the first trains with computerized voices (complete with LED sign displays) announcing stations along the routes.

Starting in 1999, the LIRR bought 836 electricM7 electricmultiple units fromBombardier, replacing its M1 cars.^[12][13] These cars have an automatic station announcement and LED sign display system.^[14] Delivery started in the early 2000s, with the first ones beginning revenue service in October 2002.

On September 19, 2013, it was announced that the LIRR would procure newM9/M9A cars fromKawasaki.^[15] This procurement included a firm initial order of 92 cars. Given sufficient funding, an option for an additional 324 cars was available. The cars were to replace the M3s and expand the fleet in preparation for service toGrand Central Madison viaEast Side Access.^[16] The first M9s entered revenue service on September 11, 2019.^[17] As of June 2022, 132 M9s have been delivered to the LIRR, and their procurement was nearly three years behind schedule.^[18][19] The last of the M9 cars, were delivered in May 2024, and the last cars entered revenue service in November 2024.

In summer 2017, the LIRR leased 8 single-level coaches fromMARC in order to free up their C3 coaches for theMontauk Branch.

The automated announcements provided on the C3 and M7 railcars were voiced byWALL radio hostVan Ritshie.^[20]

Builder and model	Photo	Build year	Fleet numbers	Active	Power	Notes
EMD DE30AC		1997–1999	400–423	24	3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW)	Diesel power only 423 converted from DM30AC 507
EMD DM30AC		1997–1999	500–502, 504–506, 508–510, 512–522	20	3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW)	Dual mode for operation into New York Penn Station 503 and 511 were wrecked and retired 507 converted into DE30AC and renumbered 423
EMD SW1001		1977	100–107	3 (work service)	1,000 hp (750 kW)	Work locomotives – not used for passenger service 101, 105, and 106 sent toNew York & Atlantic Railway, but eventually returned to LIRR. 101 is painted in a heritage LIRR livery.
EMD MP15AC		1977	150–172	16 (work service)	1,500 horsepower (1,110 kW)	Work locomotives – not used for passenger service 151, 155, 156, 159 sent toNew York & Atlantic Railway 162, 169 & 170 retired

Builder and model	Photo	Build year	Fleet numbers	Power	Notes
SiemensSC-42DM Charger		2025-2031	(44 units)	Diesel: 4,200 hp (3,100 kW) Third rail: 2,100 hp (1,600 kW)	Dual mode for operation into New York Penn Station 44 locomotives purchased; to be delivered by 2031[21][22]

Builder and model	Photo	Build year	Fleet numbers	Active	Notes
KawasakiC3		1997–1999	C car, 5001–5023 T car, 4002–4134 (even numbers) TT car, 4001–4087 (odd numbers)	134	Replacements for C1, P72 and P75 Not permitted intoGrand Central Madison due toEast Side Access tunnel clearances

Builder and model	Photo	Build year	Fleet numbers	Active	Notes
BuddM3		1984–1986	9771-9890, 9893-9946	94 (passenger) 5 (work service)	To be replaced by M9As,[23]: 123  not used forGrand Central Madison services due to grade limitations
BombardierM7		2002–2006	7001–7836	828	7019, 7033-7034, 7044, 7054, 7364, 7425, and 7553 were all scrapped following various incidents
KawasakiM9		2016–2021	9001–9202	200	Additional purchase option for M9A cars to be exercised[23]: 123  M9 cars 9157-58 involved in an incident and taken out of service.[24]

Builder and model	Image	Build year	Fleet numbers	Notes
AlstomM9A		2029-2032	TBD (160 cars)	To replace the M3 fleet and expand the LIRR fleet.[25] Options for up to 242 additional available[26]

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