This was a joint order with other cars in this group built for another Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary, the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad. These cars were the last MP54 class cars built for the LIRR, and this was the basic design used by the LIRR in various classes with minor differences. There were about 800 of all types of MP54 cars on the LIRR.

Oddly enough, this design utilized a flat-roof also known as railroad or clerestory-style, which had been used on the first MP54 class cars built beginning in 1908 but later abandoned in favor of an arch or round-roof design used on cars built after World War I due to economics. The return to the flat roof serves as proof that the cars were indeed built by the PRR since the cars built for the WJ&S needed a flat roof for pantographs, the device used on the roof to pick up AC power from the overhead catenary.

As painted by the CNY NRHS, the car wears the first LIRR paint scheme, which was basically a PRR scheme except for the LONG ISLAND lettering on the letterboard. This scheme ran from 1908 to 1949 when the LIRR declared bankruptcy and needed to change its image. This car, along with all other LIRR cars, wore two later paint schemes; the Tichy light gray scheme with off-white roof and window trim from about 1949 to 1955, and then in 1955, a dark gray body with Brunswick Green roof. Both of these schemes used white condensed gothic LONG ISLAND lettering. The storm or end doors of all LIRR headend or control motor cars in MU service began to be painted a bright orange in 1952 and in 1955, the entire ends were painted a bright orange.

Just about all of these cars were modernized in the 1950s or 1960s by the LIRR to extend their life, getting better heating, lighting and 3-2 seating instead of 2-2 seating. Records indicate that 1149 was rebuilt in June, 1963, and it was one of the last cars modernized. As per LIRR practice, rebuilt cars were renumbered; 1149 became 4149, the first “4” indicating it was a rebuilt control-motor car equipped with Automatic Speed Control.

All MP54s were gone by 1972 and 1149 (4149) was withdrawn from service sometime in 1971. The MP54A1c cars held up rather well and were among the last to be taken out of service and replaced by the Budd-built “Metropolitans.” The CNY NRHS acquired #1149 in 1975.

–Mike Boland, Long Island-Sunrise Trail Chapter, NRHS.