MTA Metro-North Railroad’s eighth Heritage Series locomotive, P32AC-DM No. 216, wrapped in a U.S. military tribute scheme, “honors the service and sacrifice of the nation’s veterans and was developed with direct input from Metro-North’s veteran workforce.”
Metro-North conducted a system-wide survey of all military-veteran employees to gather ideas and perspectives, followed by the formation of a 12-member committee of veterans who selected the final concept. “The resulting design pays tribute to every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and features military uniform patches,” the railroad noted. “All decals on the locomotive, including the MTA and Metro-North logos, the locomotive numbers and the Heritage Fleet emblem, have been reimagined as embroidered uniform patches. The front of the locomotive is wrapped in a fabric-textured design resembling an American flag with detailed stars, while each side displays silhouettes of iconic military equipment such as the Navy’s transport dock ship USS New York, a Coast Guard Cutter, a Marine Corps Super Stallion and an Army Blackhawk helicopter.”
“Metro-North is proud to recognize and honor the men and women who have served our country,” said President Justin Vonashek. “This locomotive represents our gratitude to the veterans who are part of our Metro-North family and to all who have worn the uniform. Their dedication, teamwork, and service reflect the very same values that drive our railroad every day.”
Following ceremony at North White Plains, No. 216 traveled to Grand Central Terminal to be on public display on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, and Nov. 12 (video below). It will then tour Metro-North’s employee facilities before entering revenue service at the end of November. All Heritage Series locomotives are in service on Metro-North’s Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines, and can be seen on any train that normally operates with the railroad’s dual-mode diesel-electric locomotives.
Merto-North’s seventh commemorative locomotive, No. 203, was unveiled in June 2025, painted in a silver and blue scheme applied to seven Conrail diesel-electric locomotives by the MTA in 1979. The sixth commemorative locomotive, No. 222, debuted in February 2025 and was wrapped in an olive green and a dandelion yellow vinyl, the paint scheme employed on New Haven Railroad locomotives until 1954. The fifth commemorative locomotive expanded upon the originally envisioned Heritage Series, wrapping engine No. 214 to pay tribute to the workforce featuring 2,000 pictures of past and present Metro-North workers to form four larger images of prominent landmarks along each of Metro-North’s rail lines. The fourth commemorative locomotive, No. 217, hit the rails in March 2024, and paid tribute to Penn Central, formed in the 1968 merger of the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads, which also absorbed the New Haven Railroad in 1969. The third commemorative locomotive paid tribute to New York Central, the predecessor railroad that built and operated Grand Central Terminal and the Hudson and Harlem lines. Metro-North No. 211 made its debut run in NYC’s stylish lightning-stripe paint scheme on the Hudson Line on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. The second commemorative locomotive paid tribute to Conrail, the railroad which is Metro-North’s immediate predecessor. Engine No. 201 made its debut on the Hudson Line on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The design of the wrap mimics the paint scheme applied to older FL-9 dual-mode locomotives that Conrail operated for the MTA over the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines from 1976 to 1982. The first rebrand paid homage to Metro-North’s original design. Locomotive No. 208, which made its debut in May 2023, was wrapped in silver, blue and red vinyl. The design was created upon the railroad’s founding in 1983 for the railroad’s historic FL-9 locomotives and worn by them until the last was retired in April 2007 after 51 years of service.
