M1/M3 (railcar)

The M1 and M3 are two similar series of electric multiple unit cars that the Budd Company built for the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad, and for Metro-North predecessors Penn Central and Conrail. Budd branded them Metropolitans, but they are better known by their series names, the M1 for the cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s and the M3 for those of the mid 1980s, with Metro-North versions designated M1A and M3A. The 770 M1 cars built for the Long Island Rail Road between 1968 and 1973 made up the largest single order of electric multiple units in North America up to that time, and the first revenue service ran on December 30, 1968, an eight-car local from Babylon to Penn Station. The Metropolitans had rounded ends and quarter-point sliding doors, were fully air conditioned and were built for 100 mph running, and their high-level boarding forced the electrified stations to be rebuilt. The M3 series, ordered in 1982, had updated mechanical elements and more powerful traction motors.