23-11-04 PHOTOS: Grand Central Madison

In 2023 the opening of East Side Access, partly rebranded as the name of its new terminus Grand Central Madison, was all the rage. While the excitement would soon turn to disappointment as the LIRR completely botched the resulting service changes, the new GCM remained a must see, so myself and a friend arranged a day trip to NYC with plans to visit PORT interlocking and tower in Freeport, Long Island, traveling into GCM and getting some clean up photos at the M Cabin drawbridge in Long Island City. On the day of the trip I even achieved an unanticipated bonus goal of getting an extended amount of rear facing NEC photos from the back of my NJT train into Penn Station. You can see the full set of photos here ( mirror ).

First up we have an NJT NEC line train comprised of single level stock and a leading Comet V cab car, stopped at MENLO interlocking to wait for my train to pass by and platform at Metropark while a southbound Amtrak Regional train led by ACS-86 #637 pulls away on track #4..

Westbound signals at UNION interlocking with an NJT ALP-46 just visible at the Rahway platform on Track #B.

The DOCK drawbridges, tower and PATH ramps.

Amtrak MoW MP15D at Manhattan Transfer.

PORTAL bridge with the new bridge construction to the right.

NJT ALP-45 #4516 at ALLIED interlocking.

Video from the rear window of the entire North River tunnel from BERGEN interlocking to Penn Station.



Arriving New York Penn Station.

Heritage painted Amtrak P32AC-DM #713 waiting to depart with an Empire corridor train.

LIRR M7's #7692 and #7448 adjacent to Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad milepost zero.

LIRR Babylon Branch M7 #7565 passing the 2E position light mast signal at PORT interlocking. PORT was re-signaled around 2005, just before the LIRR stopped installing new position light type signals.

An inbound Babylon Branch train bracketed by M7's #7739 and #7188 arrives at Freeport.

The Freeport Station was reconstructed in 1960 along with one of the initial phases of LIRR Babylon Branch grade separation.

PORT tower was an all relay plant installed in 1960 in conjunction with the station and its use as a short turn terminal. The interlocking was later placed under CTC control from VALLEY or BABYLON before the 2005 rebuild.

LIRR train of new M9 cars arriving Freeport enroute to GCT with #9079 leading and #9120 trailing.

SRS doodlebug #128 at VALLEY.

Entering the new East Side Access Tunnel A at HAROLD interlocking.



M9's #9120, #9064 and #9153 all on the track 303/304 level of GCM.

GCM rotunda and escalator bank.

This part of the GCM upper level concourse it curved because it was built within the envelope of the old GCT lower level loop track.

MNRR M7 #4026 on one of the lower level tracks.

Here inbound and outbound trains of R188's meet at Hunterspoint Ave.



M CABIN on the Montauk Freight Cutoff has been gutted and the bride no longer functions. The adjacent DB bridge is still used by the New York and Atlantic, but is also stuck in the closed position.

LIRR M9 #9159, M7 #7409 and M7 #7273 diving into the Line 2 tunnel at Hunterspoint Ave.

NYCTA 7 train of R188's climbing the Hunterspoint Ave ramp onto the elevated structure.

On the trip back down to DC my Acela hit top speed on the new 150mph segment in NJ.

ZOO tower seen while passing through Philly.

Sunset over the Gunpowder River in Maryland.

Acela Power Cars #2012 and #2037 at the Acela platform at Washington Union Station.

Washington Union Station train hall at night.

Of course the highlight of my trip was when I chanced to see, 4th Street and D!

The last leg of my trip back to where my car was parked was via a MARC local with kab kar #7856.

Thanks for reading, sorry for the gap in posting. I'll be back next time with a bike trip along the Red Bank Rail Trail in Western PA.