[SamAdams76]

Willie Green gave up in despair, I believe.

I'm a big advocate of rails-to-trails as I use those paths frequently - for walking, not biking, however.

I do like the the commuter trains in the NYC metro area. I frequently use Metro North as well as LIRR from time to time. Much better than driving around this area.

Well, that's my input to this thread.

[Alberta's Child]

Most of the major rail lines in New York east of the Hudson River trace their roots to the New York Central Railroad or the Pennsylvania Railroad systems. They merged to form the Penn Central in 1968 out of desperation in the face of many challenges in the railroad industry. Two years later the merged company filed for bankruptcy — the largest in U.S. history until the collapse of Enron in 2001.

By 1976, Conrail and Amtrak were formed out of the shattered remnants of the Penn Central and several other bankrupt railroads in the Northeast (Central Railroad of New Jersey, the Reading Railroad, Erie Lackawanna, and others).

[RoosterRedux]

I used to live in NYC. And had a house in Darien...so I spent a lot of time on the Metro North. I love trains (even though I worked downtown and the commute was at least an hour and a half).

My favorite thing about the Metro North is the bar car. Do they still have the bar car? Nothing like the bar car on a Friday night. And all the folks drinking big cans of Foster's (tho' I was a Heinie drinker). Unfortunately, I don't drink anymore but I have some very pleasant memories of those days.

Also a big fan of rails-to-trails since I am a cyclist.