50 years ago, the first M-1s debuted in service on the LIRR on December 30, 1968. Designed as an ultra modern high speed commuter car, the M-1 was rushed into design shortly after the MTA took over the Long Island Rail Road in 1965 under Chairman William Ronan and designed by Sundberg-Ferar (also doing the modified R40/R42s at NYCT). The first 16 M-1s rolled out of the Red Lion Road, Philadelphia, PA assembly plant in October 1968. A large order of 620 units from Budd was approved, then followed with 150 option cars in 1973, the latter which allowed all MP72 and MP75 MUs to be converted into diesel coaches. MTA also ordered M-1As for the Hudson and Harlem lines. The M-1 design was adapted into the Cosmopolitan M-2s (AC/DC voltage for New Haven Line) and the late 1960s design continued in production all the way through 1994, with the bodyshell/interior used on the M-3, M-4 and M-6. Info: Kevin Wong

The 1968 M1 black/white brochure (below) was cut to emphasize the car side. The original M1s had the painted blue stripe and the original car order total was 620 units. The 150 car add-on order was exercised in 1972 increasing the fleet total to 770 cars. With the completion of high level platform construction on the West Hempstead Branch all of the LIRR's electrified territory were then equipped with high level platforms for the M1s.

Today only two pairs are preserved: 9547-9548 at RMLI in Riverhead and 9745-9746 is being held for the MTA Transit Museum. Info: Gary Farkash

M1 train #154 at "VALLEY" Tower
6/09/1976  Archive: Dave Keller

M1 Brochure Front
Archive: Brad Phillips

M1 Brochure page 1  - Pass "First Day" 12/30/1968
Archive: Brad Phillips

M1 #9003 interior seating

M1 "No Passengers" sign  Photo/Archive: Richard Glueck

June 24, 1968,  Car 9002 made first appearance in Budd's production line - at the station where assembly of the underframe began.  (9002 was produced ahead of 9001, perhaps because they wanted to start with an "A" car). 
 
Sep 3, 1968:  9002 in the production line station where the floor, sides and roof were assembled. 
 
Oct 17, 1968:  9001-9002 arrived at LIRR (shipped Oct 16), overnight via RDG from Budd to North Philadelphia, PRR from N. Philadelphia to 30th St, then via NE Corridor through Penn Station to Harold interlocking.  Held at Harold through AM rush, then to Dunton Inspection shop at Jamaica.   This was the pattern for following cars until acceptance processing was moved from Dunton to Shea Stadium.
 
Oct 21, 1968:  9003-04 arrived at LIRR.
Oct 24, 1968:  9005-06 arrived at LIRR
Oct 28, 1968:  9007-9010 arrived at LIRR
Oct 30, 1968:  9011-9012 arrived at LIRR
Nov 1,  1968:  9013-9014 arrived at LIRR 
 
Note these are the first days these cars were recorded as being at LIRR.  In  each case, they shipped from Budd in the evening of the previous day.  Info: Hank Raudenbush 

I don't think the cars were displayed more than a day or two at any one location; they were probably moved from one spot to another frequently.  (Hempstead, Port Washington, Long Beach, Penn Station, and Babylon) Info: Matt Kobel [October 17, 1968 1st M-1 Pair displayed at Sunnyside; October 28, 1968 1st M-1 public displays] 1968 PRR Chronology Report.

A driving force in that period, perhaps, was that Nelson Rockefeller was running for election as a Presidential candidate that fall, and it was made clear to the MTA that it was important to get as much exposure of the new cars before election day. This began on the morning after the first pair was delivered from Budd to Harold interlocking, and parked on the interchange siding just east of the tower until after the AM peak. Crews of westbound trains were told to announce to passengers that the first of the new cars could be seen there! As the first few cars came in, most of them would be involved in pre-acceptance testing, installation of shoe beams, etc, so this static display would have been concentrated in late October. Somewhere in that period there was a formal media event at Jamaica station, with a speech by the Governor followed by a trip to Woodside and back. All this had to happen before Election Day.

Back in June, there had been a summit meeting of MTA Chairman Ronan with officials of Budd and GE at which it was laid down that 14 cars MUST be at the LIRR by the end of October (that was the original contract schedule, but some delays had arisen).

Budd rose to the occasion. They worked out an agreement with their union (UAW) that they would not put their usual production bonus plan into effect until the 15th car, but would pay a premium on the first 14. They plastered the plant with stickers showing a pumpkin with the legend "14 by Halloween", as motivation. These came in two sizes - on about 3 inches and one about 10 inches. Inside the electric locker door of 9014 was one of the large ones.

They did succeed in meeting this schedule, but the down side was that a number of problems had to be overlooked until later. The LTK lead inspector at Budd's plant used to tell them that "those pumpkins had better turn into coaches!" Most of the problems, which led to a big retrofit program, were not with Budd's design or work, but with the systems supplied by their subcontractors - especially G.E., WABCO and Motorola.   

Cars 9017 and 9022 were shipped from Budd’s Red Lion plant, where all the M-1’s were built, to Budd’s test lab at the Hunting Park plant, where one was used for the specified compression (“squeeze”) test and one for the climate room test (see below). When the tests were over, they were shipped to the LIRR as a miss-mated pair.  Because of the routing to and from Hunting Park, this pair arrived at the LIRR with 9017 at the east end, not conforming to the other M-1’s (even number east, as in track and train numbers).  Shortly after arrival, this pair was turned on the wye of the Belmont Park branch.   While these cars were at the lab,  cars 9018/9019 and 9020/9021 were shipped from Red Lion to LIRR also as miss-mated  pairs.  Some time later, the LIRR gathered all three of these pairs together and correctly mated them. 

Compression (“Squeeze”) and Climate Room tests:

The specifications required that one car in the order be tested to resist a buff (longitudinal compression) load of 800,000 lbs without permanent deformation.  This had become a general crash worthiness standard for passenger cars, and at the time of the M-1 project it was an I.C.C requirement for MU cars.   This test requires a very large rig, a strength testing machine placed in a horizontal position.   For the test, the car (without interior lining) is brought into the rig, and ballasted to the weight of a completed car.  A large number of strain gauges are applied to record strain at locations all over the structure.  The load is applied to the car at the draft stops by a hydraulic cylinder.    Under the full 800,000 lb load, the car is actually squeezed a couple of inches shorter, but when unloaded, it returns to its original shape and size, as required. 
 
The climate lab provides testing for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems of a completed car.  The lab had an enclosed room big enough for a complete car.  This space can be cooled down to sub-zero temperatures, or heated to well over 100 deg F.   Power is supplied to the HVAC systems, and thermocouples are provided to measure and record temperature at dozens of locations within the car, to  make sure that the specification requirements are met.   Power used by the HVAC systems, air flows and system operation are also recorded.  It takes several days to complete all these tests.
 
These are design qualification tests, which are each made only on one car, to show that the design is adequate.  The general quality control of the manufacturing assures that the rest of the cars will perform as required.   Budd did make a further check; the last station in their assembly line was partitioned off and could be heated so that the air conditioning system of every car had a test to show that it functioned correctly. 
 
Since the cars need to be at different stages of construction for the two tests, the scheduling was simpler with two cars, hence the 9017/9022.  Info: Hank Raudenbush

LIRR Budd M1 First Day of Service 12/30/1968 Photo: E. Moser

The first revenue service M1 departed Babylon at 5:52 AM. As a Babylon local, it arrived at Penn Station at 7:10AM. Info: Matthew Kobel

Second row right:  
LIRR President Frank Aikman

Fourth row right:  
Hank Raudenbush

Third row center seat left, 
looking at the camera: 
Wm. J. Ronan, MTA Chairman. 
Info: Dave Keller

The December 30th interior picture was absolutely on a regular revenue service train, making the usual stops from Babylon to Penn Station. I don't remember exactly which train, but it was one of the first trains of the morning out of Babylon, somewhere around 6:00AM. Most of the officials stayed the night before somewhere near Babylon.

I have to admit, I don't remember what the date was for the static display, as in Hempstead, but I think it must have been sometime between the delivery of the first few cars (14 by Halloween!) and the beginning of regular service at the end of December.

Once the first train went into service, it regular ran as a 10-car train from Babylon to Penn in the morning peak. Then to maximize the exposure of the new cars, it was split into two four-car trains and a two-car train, which then were sent out on midday trips on most, if not all the branches (at least all those where high platforms had been completed). In the afternoon, they gathered again at Penn Station, and made a PM peak trip back to Babylon. When the second train went into service, it also began its day as a morning trip in from Babylon. On several occasions, I would ride part way on one of these, then drop back to the other (which was only a few minutes later), and check with the crews to see if they had any problems. About that time, the mid-day split up was dropped. Info: Hank Raudenbush

LIRR Employee Timetables (ETT), unless there is an "S" next to the time, the train did not stop there. These are reference times listed when the train would be expected to pass control towers/interlockings so the crew can maintain schedule. This means that the 5:52 from Babylon did not stop at Valley Stream (Valley Tower), WIN (Winfield Tower), or Harold (Harold Tower).  Info: William Gilligan

BABYLON: Departs at 5:52 AM and is scheduled to arrive at Penn at precisely 7:05 AM
-----------------------------------------------------Elevated to Grade
LINDENHURST: Stops at 5:57 AM
COPIAGUE: Did Not Stop
AMITYVILLE: Stops at 6:01 AM
-----------------------------------------------------Suffolk/Nassau County Line
MASSAPEQUA PARK: Did Not Stop
-----------------------------------------------------Grade to Elevated
MASSAPEQUA: Stops at 6:05 AM
SEAFORD: Did Not Stop
WANTAGH: Stops at 6:09 AM
-----------------------------------------------------Elevated to Grade
BELLMORE: Stops at 6:12 AM
MERRICK: Stops at 6:15 AM
-----------------------------------------------------Grade to Elevated The Rest of the Way
FREEPORT: Stops at 6:19 AM
BALDWIN: Stops at 6:22 AM
ROCKVILLE CENTRE: Stops at 6:27 AM
LYNBROOK: Did Not Stop
VALLEY STREAM: Did Not Stop
-----------------------------------------------------Nassau/Queens Borough/NY City Line
ST. ALBANS: Did Not Stop
JAMAICA: Stops at 6:42 AM, Scheduled to Depart at 6:45 AM, but probably stayed there an extra 5 minutes which was probably the delay.
KEW GARDENS: Did Not Stop
FOREST HILLS: Did Not Stop
WOODSIDE: Stops at 6:55 AM
-----------------------------------------------------Queens/Manhattan Borough Line
PENN STATION: Scheduled to Arrive at 7:05 AM, but arrived at 7:10 AM, 78 minutes later.  Research: Matthew Kobel

Interesting facts about the M1 maiden voyage of December 30th, 1968:

1.) It was an 8-car train.
2.) At that time, the Babylon Branch still had 22 grade crossings that people had to deal with (11 of which were in the process of elimination):

3.) My grandfather was part of that history as he boarded that train at Bellmore at 6:12 AM.
4.) It's more than likely got up to 65-70 MPH in between Lindenhurst/Amityville, Amityville/Massapequa, and reached 80 MPH from Massapequa/Wantagh, and Freeport Westward.
5.) At that time, the first 4 stations on the Babylon Branch were the only stations in Suffolk County that were in electrified territory. 
6.) M1 had carpeting. Carpeting was used in even number M1 cars only - The odd-numbered cars were used as smoking cars and were equipped with tile floors. Carpeted cars were NO SMOKING cars. 
7.) Watch the Gap diamonds were not on the doors. There were variations of these decals using the MTA pac-man logo as well as the circle M and the name of each railroad.
8.) The average speed of the trip was 37.5 MPH
9.) The highest-ranked officials of the LIRR, including the President were on board and had stayed overnight in Babylon for the occasion; a 41-mile trip.
10.) All passengers on that train had a special name tag to mark the occasion.  Research: Matthew Kobel

The picture of the first M1 at the crossing in Syosset, is the first revenue run returning westbound from Huntington.  I was at work and was able to catch this shot, having seen them go up the Port Jeff earlier in the day, but unable to catch that train.  It was the culmination of a lot of work, a huge investment in high level platforms and electric lines along the Port Jeff.  It was a bitter-sweet triumph in my mind however, as the new fixtures and platforms desecrated the old step-down, homey, railroad architecture we had grown up with, and reminiscent of a slower paced life, steel coaches, and potato fields extending eastward.  South Woods Rd. overpass in the background View E. 12/30/1968 Info/Photo/Archive: Richard Glueck

The M1 #9055 derailment, late Spring 1969, was one I attended with my father.  Nobody was supposed to take pictures of anything "bad" happening to the LIRR, but my father asked his boss if I could take pictures, provided they were for my own collection, and wouldn't wind up in Newsday.  The M1's had just arrived and weren't fitting in too well, due to growing pains and dissimilar equipment.  Then, in a new batch, two burned to the floors in a fire and the press went crazy over it.  Anyway, George Winter (in the shorts), my Father's peer agreed to allow the pictures based on my word of honor.  I kept them squirreled away for almost thirty years!  The M1's are still new equipment in my mind, even though they are now as rare as MP70's!  The M1's in this case, split a switch in Babylon Yard.  It was going to require a great deal of shuffling to get the commuters out the following morning, but as was the case more often than not, the LIRR came through.  These brand new MU cars went into the backshop and required some rebuilding.  Photos/Info: Richard Glueck 

M1 "Three of a Kind" at Babylon Yard
Photo/Archive: Eric Oszustowicz

M1 #9109 Train #1519, since cancelled, East Williston to Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn passing New Hyde Park
3/16/1972 (Votava-Boland)

The LIRR M1 surviving pair at the Railroad Museum of Long Island, in Riverhead. LIRR M1 cars #9547 and #9548 are a familiar face to many Long Islanders. 770 of these cars ran in commuter service from December 1968 to January 2007 - hauling hundreds of thousands of commuters.

Historically, this married pair of LIRR M-1s are significant as they are the only known M1s to have ever traveled to Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan.  On October 1, 1998, #9547 and #9548 were LIRR's Ambassador to the grand reopening ceremony of the restored terminal and were placed on view at track level to promote the future MTA East Side Access project. Photo/Info: RMLI

Cars #9001-9016 built in 1968
Cars #9017-9246 built in 1969
Cars #9247-9476, 9491-9492, 9435-9438 built in 1970
Cars #9477-9490, 9493-9534, 9539-9620 built in 1971
Cars #9621-9770 ordered/built 1972

The removal of the painted blue stripes on the M1 fleet actually goes back to 1982. M1 #9701-9702 and #9755-9756 were the first cars to have this feature without the reflecting yellow front end stripe...At that point the LIRR discontinued painting the blue side striping and some cars got the "silver side" treatment either with silver sheeting (for cars that had to be buffed extensively to remove paint) or plain stainless steel and some cars got striping in at least two discernible shades of blue; #9097-9098 and #9723-9724 were the first to have this blue sheeting on front and sides during that same general period.

Virtually all of the M1 fleet would get the reflecting yellow front end striping by the late 1980's and the M3s would receive them also...MNCR's M1s would keep their blue striping even though they had cars that had the side paint removed (8220-8221 come to mind) their M3s would basically remain the same - with the exception of the blue/white zebra front stripes that some M3 cars would eventually get... The LIRR overhauled some MNCR M1s under contract during the 80s - their blue stripe sheeting was a spotting feature.
 
M1 #9587 and #9221 at West Hempstead  7/1984 Photo/Archive: Jay Bendersky

The last LIRR M1 pair to have painted stripes was #9175-9176 in the late 80s which was a replacement pair (they would have equaled #9771-9772), built extra during the 150 car 1972 add-on order ( #9621-9770) to replace the original pair which was written off early on after a fire. 

Then of course, on the "Farewell to the M1" fan trip on November 4th, 2006 all the M1 cars on that fleet had their reflective yellow bumpers and fully, boldly, painted blue stripes on the sides.mattamity90

Matt: I was on that trip - and I remember that those M1s we used had NO painted side striping but had BOTH shades of blue sheeting that the LIRR used which were medium blue and a noticeably darker purple/blue...By that time any M1/M3 side stripe painting was long over and the remaining M3s still in service with their blue paint are original as-delivered...It actually surprised me that the LIRR M3s delivered in 1985-86 got the original
painted blue striping because by that time a good portion of the M1 fleet were getting the "silver side" treatment with the yellow reflectorized front end stripe...

The LIRR M3s have an interesting feature helping date them: On the handbrake covers between the married pairs there is a date stenciled along with either "New Budd" or "New TA" (For the short-lived "Transit America" name) from 1985 or 1986 which dates when each car was ready to be shipped from Budd's now-closed Red Lion (NE Philadelphia) Plant...Many M3 cars still carry this feature and the stenciling is still readable...
Info: Gary Farkash

"The LIRR currently uses two M-1 cars to "slime" the rails during falling leaf season. Modified M-1's 9401 & 9591 (now E401, E591) are utilized sandwiched between a pair of MP15's.They operate entirely at night and are serviced at Richmond Hill during the day. 

Alcohol/Sandite
E401, M1, currently used, ex 9401
E591, M1, currently used, ex 9591
9775, M3, In process of conversion to alcohol/Sandite car Info: Ben Jankowski, Oyster Bay RR Museum

LIRR M1 #9001 front coupler showing electronics box below coupler for M1-M3 running. Photo: Robert Anderson

M-1 LIRR #9002 coupler close-up 
Photo: Gary Doster

When first delivered, the M3's could not be coupled with the M1's. The electronics in the couplers were different. There was originally no plan to run them together. Then the RR saw the shortsightedness of this plan, to say nothing of the M3's blowing out substations, because they were drawing too much power.

It became a game during the Morning Rush hours. Someone would Go... 1, 2, 3!! on the Radio, and everyone would go to P4 on the M3s at the same time. Substations would blow, and had to reset themselves.

So, they finally had a program where they reconfigured the electronics in all the couplers on the M3's so they could run with the M1's. I don't recall how many months it took. Take a close look at a coupler on an M3. Below the coupling pin, there is a closed box, with a green pin... when the trains couple, that green pin gets pushed in, and the electronics box opens, and they plug into each other.

Photo left/above is M1 #9001 with the coupler view. As the trains couple up, that door below the coupling pin, is pushed open by the trains as those green Buttons hit each other. The equipment with coupling pins instead of  "traditional knuckles" were called, via slang, the "Bull's Prick", unless there were ladies around. 

The door drops down out of the way, and the cars plug into each other. The M-3's will never run with the M-7's, as they have a completely different coupler, design, and the pin is much larger.

While working a drill crew, occasionally, the coupling pins did not line up right, and one would break. If you had a good yardmaster, or car inspector, they would keep it quiet and replace it. Was only a matter of re-bolting a new one on. If you broke the electronics package you were screwed.   Info: Bob Anderson

Gabon Scott  992c - LIRR M1 issued as part of a railway set on 1/14/2000