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Well...I can remember some trips, on no. 40 riding to NYC, in the '70s that could have been so rated. I've seen that a number of times over the years. Including stopping at a station where the engine pulls way up towards a parking lot, late at night, with a 6 car consist while only using the rear car. There they are, right where ya spotted the train. There's an old story told to me by a senior South Shore Line engineman many years ago. The South Shore Line coach yard and terminal, until just a few years ago, was in the open, slightly lower than, and adjacent to, Grant Park, in Chicago. In the era of WWII, in typical interurban fashion, the headlights were detachable from the front of the cars because they were multiple units. Grant Park had some huge ventilators that were very close to the edge that bordered the park. This afforded a bit of privacy from the park and Michigan Avenue. A lot of men would be in town on liberty from Great Lakes and it seems they would take their new-found friends to Grant Park. Since they would be going off to war soon, they would need this privacy to make their farewell statements. After 8pm all would be dark in these little corners with nothing but very dim lights coming from the South Shore Line's platforms. Clever carmen in need of entertainment would perform a dirty stunt. They would take a motor car and trailer, with the trailer on the north end. Turn all the lights out on the train and slowly, and quietly move the cars to the throat of the terminal with out the air hoses made. They would give the trailer a little kick so it would roll in silence back towards the terminal. One carman would remove the headlight from the train door and hold it in the optimum position. At the appropriate moment the other carmen would flip the headlight switch on in the cab and they would have a searchlight. As the lucky couples would jump up and scramble for their clothing the carmen would sing "Moon Over Miami" at the top of their lungs. Gee...I miss railroading. Mitch
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