The bridge originally had 4 tracks, all with catenary. These tracks split in Queens with 2 headed to Penn via Sunnyside and the other 2 going to Fresh Pond to interchange with the Long Island. The freight tracks had catenary all the way to Fresh Pond. I remember watching 100+ car freight trains on the bridge being pulled by box cab electrics and electrics that looked like a diesel (I didn’t know what a EF3b until later). There was a set of crossovers just before the split that allowed routing trains to any of the 4 tracks, if necessary. With the advent of Amtrak, only the 2 tracks leading to Penn were needed. The crossovers were removed and the catenary taken down on the freight line. With seriously reduced freight traffic, the rails were removed from one of the freight tracks. I worked across from the split for the last 20 years and crossed the Triborough bridge twice a day. I only noted 2 freights per day; southbound in the AM and northbound in the PM. I remember when they painted it dark red. It was a big improvement over the rust red and grimy black. Within about 3 years it began to fade and oxidize to pink and, today, it is a nondescript grayish white with a hint of red.
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