R36 Combine Coach wrote:The bottom line is that electrification became a victim of its own success and required added capacity. Had the Main Line been double tracked in 1986-88 and wired with third rail at the same time, it could have been the winning ticket in capital projects.
During the electrification, they actually double tracked three distinct areas of the line. They double-tracked from JS West of Deer Park to BRENT just East of Brentwood, CI1 to CI2 to the West and East of Central Islip, and finally at Ronkonkoma itself. At the time they were also double-tracking from AMOTT in between Syosset and Cold Spring Harbor all the way to just West of Huntington.
I wonder if I will see an electrification project happen in my lifetime? Most likely it would be the Central Branch, or from Babylon to Patchogue or even to Speonk.
This is the train to (NYC). Stopping at: Babylon, Lindenhurst, Copiague, Amityville, Massapequa Park, Massapequa, Seaford, Wantagh, Bellmore, Merrick, Freeport, Baldwin, Rockville Centre, Lynbrook, Valley Stream, Jamaica, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, Woodside, Penn Station OR Grand Central.