NORWALK, Conn. – Sporting the vintage colors of the historic New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, Metro-North’s locomotive 222 made stops in Norwalk Friday morning on its first day back in service since leaving the railroad’s paint shop.
Clad in green and gold, it is the sixth in Metro-North’s Heritage Series of locomotives repainted in the colors of one of its predecessor railroads.
Locomotive 222 was traveling Friday from Danbury to Grand Central Terminal, with Norwalk stops at the Merritt 7 office park station and at South Norwalk.
Its color scheme, which was applied as a vinyl wrapper, reflects one used on New Haven Line locomotives until 1954, according to a Metro-North news release.
Locomotive 222 was built by General Electric in 2001, according to a roster of locomotives maintained by Railroadfan.com. It recently underwent several months of restoration at Metro-North maintenance facilities, according to the release.
Metro-North’s 24-mile-long Danbury Branch is not electrified, so its trains are propelled by diesel-electric locomotives. Notably, the railroad uses dual-mode locomotives capable of generating electricity with their internal powerplant as well as drawing energy from a third rail when operating in New York into Grand Central.
The Heritage Series of locomotives was launched in May 2023 to celebrate Metro-North’s 40 years of public service and to honor the railroads that previously provided commuter service on the five rail lines it now manages, the release says.
Operating from 1872 to 1968, the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad was once the predominant passenger and freight rail service provider in southern New England.
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