As the left-handed semaphore begins to drop amid a web of wires, a set of former New Haven "Washboard" MUs running as a New Haven-Grand Central local for Penn Central approaches the station at Stratford, CT. The lead car had thus far escaped PC's paint shop.
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.
