Re: (erielack) What Locals Called the Railroads

[AL TILLOTSON <CPLNAJT_@_NJTRANSIT.COM>]

Reminds me of a stormy, miserable evening at Hoboken, late 70's/early 80's. 
For whatever reason, all westbound trains were horribly late boarding at
Hoboken, or missing altogether.

I was among the assembled throng waiting on a platform for a very delayed
Pascack Valley train to pull in and begin loading.  At this point things were
so late that there were probably 2 trains worth of anxious commuters waiting to
board for home.

Over the station PA system comes a harried voice- it wasn't the normal track
announcer- "New Jersey and New York Division train now boarding track 14".

Only me and 3 other people in the milling crowd head over to track 14; The
Voice must have recognized their mistake in using the NJ&NY name, as a quick
follow up announcement was "Pascack Valley train to Spring Valley now boarding
track 14".  I was just making the right onto 14 at that point, and out of the
corner of my eye it looked like the old movies of the Oklahoma land rush, as
the crowd moved as one toward 14.  I got a window seat that night...

>
>Interestingly enough, the Pascack Valley line, though it had been Erie for
years, and at that time Erie Lackawanna, was still referred to as the NJ&NY on
many maps up through the 1960's (not to mention timetables!).
>

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