BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

Just as the Long Island Railroad played an important part in transporting sightseers to the 39/40 New York World's Fair, so did it for the 64/65 exposition with service from Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan through special spurs directly to its own terminal at the fairgrounds, and boasted a short twelve minute ride each way.

Seen below is fleet number 1525 and one of thirty cars (1500 to 1529) custom built for the fair in 1962 by the Pullman Car Works division of the Pullman Standard Car Company of Chicago, Illinois.

These 'Multiple Unit' (MU) electric cars were very fast, quiet and comfortable with amenities usually found only in pricier long haul parlor coaches.

Certainly a memorable chapter in the history of a railroad that dates back to 1834.

Photo courtesy of Ron Zeal.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[Hart Bus]

I don't remember the car numbers, but after the M-1/M-3s arrived these MU were converted to the diesel shuttle service on branches like Port Jefferson. They had a diesel engine on one end for push-pull service and a small freight engine on the other end. These small engines were called "power packs" to supply the electricity to the coach cars, for light, heat, a/c, etc. These coaches required a trainman to open the doors with a key.

The true diesel coaches each had their own small motors for heat and light. Anyone could open those doors by pulling on them. When the train pulled into the first high-level platform station a passengers would open the door and everyone would get off. If it was a ground level platform, someone would open the door and lift up and latch the part of the platform that covered the stairs and everyone would step down.

Funny story about the converted electric cars. Right next to the west end of the Greenlawn LIRR station is a bank. One day a robber goes in and holds up the bank. He calmly walks out of the bank and gets on a W/B train. One of the tellers told the engineer what happened. Once he got the indication that all the doors were closed, he proceeded slowly out of the station and stopped the train about 100 yards west sot that the cops could surround the train and capture their man.