The crossing watchman has lowered the manual gates for former New York Central RS-3 5527 and its rush hour train at Needham Center, MA, on an August 1971 evening, Because the ex-New Haven Needham Branch did not require cab signals, it was the one Boston commuter line where Penn Central could assign non-NH/PRR power.
The three biggest passenger carriers - Pennsylvania, New York Central, and New Haven - merged to create the ill-fated Penn Central, whose passenger losses and poor service led to the formation of Amtrak and state-owned commuter lines.
