subway156
Member
When we moved to Pennsylvanis in January of 1968, I had (up to that point) planned my life as an MTA employee in New York City. Then, my father moved us to the city that was famous for Bethlehem Steel. That's the company that supplied strucutral steel for many buildings and bridges. The most famous, the Empire State Building. That steel was transported by the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which was headquartered right within the city limits. Both companies are gone now. But, I had visions of driving those subway traisn all over the city. I wanted to work on the 3rd Avenue El because that was the first one I ever rode. When I learned we were going to move here, I tried to talk my father into letting me live with my garndmother so I could persue my dream. No way! I was six months before my 15th birthday and was not allowed to stay. as time went on, I did barely survive 3 years as a laborer on ConRail, but that system was made up of 6 rosters, I hadn't enough "whiskers" to survive. I wouldn't have been able to bid on any full time job for several more years, so I left.
