Late Friday Links 11/1

I have only two quick videos to share with you all this Friday afternoon. October ended fairly uneventfully for the LIRR (thank goodness!).  This first day of November has been pretty rough for the LIRR as there have been widespread really bad slip-slide conditions all over the system.  There have even been reports of trains sliding right past stations!  The Sandite trains will have plenty of work to do tonight!  Anyways, here's an interesting video I found online, plus one more from the LIRR:

• LIRR Trains at Queens Village 1999
• This railfan video shot from the platform at Queens Village gives us an interesting look at the LIRR's equipment during this very transitional time.  First off, we see plenty of M1's and M3's rumbling down the mainline, and it is certainly strange to see no M7's at all.  Also, the first DE's and C3's arrived on scene not to long ago and we get a look at these engines while their still in their toddler stage (and oh what a troublesome couple years those were!).  The video also has a clip of the C1 prototype coaches making up a revenue train during rush hour.  And what's more, towards the end of the video we even see the really old diesel equipment!  The video has all three stages of LIRR diesel equipment during this time, the old stuff, the transitional phase (the C1 cars) and finally what we have now, the DE's and C3's.
• 4 arrested in LIRR ticket vending machine scam
• Last week it was reported that hidden cameras were discovered on ticket machines at four different stations in Queens and Nassau Counties.  Newsday is now reporting that four Romanian nationals have been arrested in connection with the scam.  The linked Newsday article also unveils some more info on the recent scam.  First off, the devices were also found at the Chappaqua Metro-North station.  The devices may also have been planted at more than just the four initial stations we thought.  The report says that two of the culprits were arrested while trying to retrieve cameras and skimmers at Sea Cliff station (that and Chappaqua seem to be the only new stations added to the list).  Definitely give the article a skim, as it mentions officials are now looking into seeing what damage they may have caused. 
• Ticket Vending Machine Security 
• The LIRR uploaded a video onto its YouTube channel just before 3:00pm this afternoon with some tips for keeping your information secure while using TVM's. This comes not too long after at four stations in Nassau and Queens.  All the stuff they say should be common sense anyways, but just in case, the video is linked above.  The voice-overs are quite dramatic.

If you plan on riding the LIRR this weekend, be sure to check for any service changes before you head out, there are a bunch of them this weekend.  Due to WANTAGH switch replacement,  service is reduced from half-hourly to hourly between Freeport and Babylon, and there is overnight busing which messes up lots and lots of connections.  All in all, the Babylon, West Hempstead, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, and Montauk Branches all have some sort of schedule adjustments at some point in the weekend.  Click on those links to get a look at the timetable cards for specifics.

Also, Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00am on Sunday, I'll have a post tomorrow morning as to what the LIRR does during this twice-yearly clock fiddling, but don't forget to fix all your clocks and watches sometime this weekend.