Given today's crowds on Metro North, it is noteworthy that in the late 1960s, commuter business on Penn Central's Hudson Line was light enough that two-car MU trains were sufficient for off-peak service. With the Harmon shop in the background, a pair of ex-NYC MUs prepared to depart Croton-Harmon station for Grand Central early on a Saturday morning.
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.
