Constance, don't be sorry. I was tweaking people by the nose intentionally. For those of you who are not old enough to remember the 50's and 60's, allow me to state, we took for granted what railfans would kill to see today. The LIRR was spotted with five individual designs of MU cars, of which I can recall, and varieties therein as well. The FM's were the throatiest Diesels I can remember. I wish I knew more about them then, other than just watching them speed through! We had five varieties of ALCO locomotives, six if you counted the L2's as a separate species. Oh, I forgot to mention the Baldwin switchers and the NH locomotives! Riding into the East River tunnels, you passed Sunnyside Yard which was a pinata of colored passenger cars, plus GG1's, B1's, and P5a's racing back and forth. Rarely, you might spot one of a several remaining DD1's.
Long Island parlors wore blue stripes and were heavyweights, other cars either had orange stripes or no stripes at all. Then you got to see Sperry cars, Turbines, and other occasional oddities. A group of us would plant ourselves on the line, usually around Nassau Tower, between 5PM and 7:30PM on a July Friday night, Yashica A's in hand and squeeze off two or three rolls of B&W film, then process them and share the next week.
I am fortunate to remember the final steam powered commuter trains, but just as a memory.
I don't doubt the service and equipment is probably safer today, probably economized, but more expensive, and the need for railroad structures and yard's minimized. I doubt anyone in richer for it.
Wasn't that a time?
