19:18 <raptop> TFW when you see a train-nostalgic piece for a system that did a much worse job of fulfilling transportation needs than the author claims

19:18 <raptop> (okay, that's most of them)

19:19 <raptop> In this case, it's just providing more evidence for my suspicion that Fairfax's first rail connection with DC proper was when Vienna metro station opened in 1986

19:19 <raptop> (Note that the subway entered service in the 1970s)

19:20 <raptop> You see the pattern elsewhere, with eg: KC's peak trolly service (somewhere in the 1910s) having 25 lines. The current hilariously insufficient bus service has more

19:24 <raptop> This rant brought to you by https://ggwash.org/view/79256/heres-how-the-washington-old-dominion-railroad-created-northern-virginias-suburbs

19:24 <raptop> Notably: "Unfortunately, as was the case elsewhere, railroads began losing riders when paved roads replaced dirt. The public used the automobile in ever increasing numbers, and revenue fell as a result. By the time of the Great Depression, the W&OD was worn out and broke. It entered bankruptcy in 1932, and it ceased all passenger traffic on the Great Falls Division in 1934."

19:24 <raptop> Also, wow. electric to diesel switch in 1941