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Re: (erielack) EL THRU LINE PASSENGER TRAINS

There is always the danger of remembering it better than it really was.  
Now I wasn't the savvy rail rider that many of you guys were, I was just 
a kid in high school when I took my one and only EL trip in August 
1969.  After taking #28 Cleveland-Youngstown, I rode #6 to Scranton.  I 
loved the EL and getting to ride it one last time, but from my limited 
perspective it was service in decline.  The 1300 series coach I was on 
had the air jacked up and it was so cold in the car all night.  The 
conductor or trainmen could not adjust it.  (I was just wearing a 
windbreaker jacket which I loaned to a girl sitting in the seat opposite 
me.  She got off in Binghamton and by that time it was almost morning.)  
I think there was a broken window shade (in the down position) near were 
I was sitting.  Maybe all these are little things, but to non-railfans 
who is going to miss that?

 From an employee perspective too, when your job is going to be gone or 
you're transferred in a few months and there are service issues you 
can't control, how enthusiastic are you going to feel about what you are 
providing.  EL leadership wanted this train gone and they weren't going 
to give you anything except the minimal to keep it running until it 
could be ended.  I am sure there was some first class service (maybe in 
the sleeper), but for the most part it wasn't.

Mike O



Montgomery, Edward T wrote:
> I was reading the recent DIAMOND where it was written that EL's thru line trains from Chicago to New York (Hoboken) were considered the best trains to ride on.  I know that president Gregory Maxwell wanted first class service for as long as 5 and 6 ran.  The question I have is how bad was the NYC, PRR later PC service compared to EL's.
>
> Happy New Year!
>
> Ed Montgomery
>
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