It serves New Jersey and beyond via the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Counties of Nassau and Suffolk via the Long Island Rail Road. To get to points north, such Upstate New York, New England and Canada, one must still use Grand Central Depot, or, after its replacement in 1913, Grand Central Terminal.
The growth of highways and the auto industry ruined passenger rail travel in America, beyond the commuter level. In 1963, New York's Penn Station was a dirty relic, and hardly resembled the great temple of transit that people who hate its replacement want to think of it as.
The upper structure was demolished, and service continued below ground, protected by a temporary steel roof, until 1968, when the new Penn Station opened, with the new Madison Square Garden above.
Penn Station II, New York, which opened in 1968
By 1968, both the Pennsylvania and its great rival, the New York Central Railroad, were bankrupt. They merged, forming the Penn Central Transportation Company. It didn't work: They filed for bankruptcy in 1970, their regional service was taken over by the newly-formed Amtrak in 1971, and Conrail took over their local service in 1976. In 1983, New Jersey Transit took over. All the while, the LIRR kept rolling in and out. Penn Station remains America's busiest passenger rail terminal.
*
September 8, 1910 was a Thursday. There was no NFL, NBA or NHL yet. But there were games in what would later be called Major League Baseball:
* The New York Highlanders beat the Washington Senators, 8-2 at League Park in Washington. Jack Warhop went the distance, backed by a 4-for-4 performance by his 1st baseman, who was also his manager -- who was also a man throwing games, though not on this day: Hal Chase. In 1913, the Highlanders officially changed their name to what people were already calling them: The New York Yankees.
* The New York Giants played the Boston Doves at the Polo Grounds, and the game was called due to darkness after 10 innings, tied 1-1. The Doves were named for their owner, John Dovey. He sold them to William Russell in 1911, and they were renamed the Boston Rustlers. Russell died after the season, and the team was bought by James Gaffney, an officer, or "Brave," in New York's Tammany Hall political organization. So they were renamed the Braves.
* The Brooklyn Superbas lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-1 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Named for a circus troupe, Hanlon's Superbas, because they had once been managed by Ned Hanlon, they resumed using one of their former names the next season: The Brooklyn Dodgers.
* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
* The Cleveland Naps beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-4 at League Park in Cleveland. The home team was named for their 2nd baseman and manager, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie. After he left in 1914, they were renamed the Cleveland Indians. Lajoie went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Ty Cobb did not play for the Tigers in this game.
Lajoie and Cobb would famously battle for the American League batting title to the end of that season, with Cobb sitting out the last 2 games and Lajoie going 8-for-8 in the finale, and Cobb still winning it -- until 1981, when someone discovered that one of Cobb's games was counted twice, giving him 2 more hits than he should have had.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3 at West Side Park in Chicago.
* And a doubleheader was played at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The Chicago White Sox won the opener, 1-0. Fred Olmstead pitched a 1-hit shutout. The St. Louis Browns won the nightcap, 6-4.
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