| Storage at Penn Station has always been limited, due to the lack of space in the area around it. The Pennsy built it as a run through station, with trains going on to Sunnyside yard to be turned and serviced. The problem for the LIRR was that this was the end of the line. Since there was no storage capacity, trains ran back out to the Island after morning rush, only to deadhead back to Penn for their afternoon runs. The advent of Conrail and Amtrak, as well as a decline in rail freight in the city caused a number of changes over the years. One of them was the availability of the ex NYC 30th St yard for other uses. The MTA took advantage of the situation to build a layup yard for the LIRR on the site, known as the John Cammerer yard, in honor of a state senator from Long Island. This is how it looks from the street, full of LIRR MUs in the middle of the day. The facility saves the LIRR several million dollars each year by avoiding the need to run trains as much as 100 extra miles each day in deadhead moves. |