Laser Train Over Leewood Drive. On one of the few days that the Laser Train operated with a MNR BL20GHM, MNCW 112 leads south over Leewood Drive in Eastchester, New York on the Harlem Line. The unusual one lane tunnel is rumored to have been built for Babe Ruth to go back and forth to the golf course, but either way is a nice landmark.
With the first full season of at-speed Laser Train running in the books, it's a good time to take a look back at the year's operations. The train was able to dramatically expand the trackage it could cover by increasing its running speed, and thus regular runs were made to Southeast and Danbury, and even (at least one) trip to Waterbury.
The Laser Train car (MNCW 5010) is one of two Comet IIIs (5009 is the other) purchased by the MTA for West-Of-Hudson service. After retirement, the pair came to the east side of the river, and one has become the Laser Train car while the other sits in storage. Frequently operated with a Brookville BL20GH/GHM, it did run for a short time with a GE P32AC-DM.
This car was equipped with The LaserTrain works by vaporizing ("laser ablation" of) leaf residue off of the rails throughout the system. The task of leaf removal had previously been done by MNR's "Water World" trains spraying water, which will still supplement for this task. During the autumn season, leaves falling on the tracks can cause "slip-slide" conditions when run over by trains, and are especially a problem for braking. Poor rail adhesion causes flat spots on train wheels, which requires the trains to be withdrawn from service for maintenance. The LaserTrain does this traveling at 60 miles per hour, while trains that spray water must travel much more slowly to be effective. Metro-North states that during the pilot test last in 2022, this car cleaned over 12,000 miles of track, which resulted in "the lowest wheel-true cost season on record". This colorful wrap was recently applied by MNR, with a leaf design decorating the car.
