LIRR trains and commuters through the years

Steve Anglin of Babylon, dressed as Santa Claus, boards a Babylon-bound LIRR train on Dec. 16, 1965. Anglin was director of special services for the railroad and welcomed commuters to a Christmas party aboard the train.

Alexander Serzanin of Syosset tends the bar at a Christmas party aboard the 5:38 p.m. LIRR train from Jamaica on Dec. 19, 1952.

Recently installed automatic gates at the LIRR railroad crossing on Straight Path in Lindenhurst on Dec. 20, 1976.

Robert Valonis operates the public announcement console at the LIRR's Movement Bureau in Jamaica on Feb. 2, 1987.

Newlyweds Jim and Laura Fennelly eat wedding cake after exchanging vows aboard an LIRR car on its return leg from Montauk on Sept. 18, 1993. The couple were the first ever to be married on the Long Island Rail Road.

Julie Maxian of Bayport and Dick Gaetjens of Shirley hold the "5:14" club's sign at their annual Christmas party aboard an LIRR train from Jamaica on Dec. 19, 1962.

The first LIRR train to use the new overhead tracks and station at Floral Park breaks through the ribbon at opening ceremonies on June 28, 1962. The elevated tracks eliminated several grade crossings in the area.

The Sperry Ultrasonic Detector Car reaches the Montauk station after traveling 61 miles of track from Patchogue on Dec. 5, 1963. The Detector Car was leased to the LIRR for the day in order to electronically check for weak areas along the tracks. Two days earlier, a train had derailed near the Brookhaven station, injuring 20 passengers.

Passengers wait at the LIRR information booth at Penn Station in Manhattan on Jan. 20, 1972.

Al McGovern and Martin Kaufman, both of Glen Cove, are presented with birthday cakes by Frank Gallow of Wantagh on Aug. 25, 1966. Four passengers and the conductor planned a group party aboard the 4:55 p.m. Oyster Bay train to celebrate their birthdays, which ranged from March to August.

Islip High School students dance to rock and roll in the baggage car of an LIRR train as part of their "Rolling Prom" on June 24, 1961. A local businessman came up with the idea to hold the prom aboard a train bound from Islip to Montauk, and a donor paid the $3,700 Lloyds of London insurance for the 12 mph trip.

A worker heads for the block tower during the morning shift change at the LIRR Jamaica Station on Aug. 31, 1970.

The first LIRR electric train to Hempstead on May 26, 1908, taken at Floral Park.

The Long Island Rail Road was chartered on April 24, 1834, and is the oldest railroad still operating under its original name in the United States. It is also the busiest commuter rail in North America, according to the MTA, transporting an average of 301,000 people each day. These commuters were aboard on April 24, 1950.

LIRR passengers ride in a parlor car from Greenport to Manhattan on June 1, 1970.

LIRR passengers aboard the 6:09 p.m. train from Babylon to Penn Station on Aug. 26, 1985.

Ronnie Atanasio lights a cigarette for a fellow LIRR commuter on Feb. 3, 1988. An MTA ban on smoking aboard all LIRR trains went into effect less than two weeks later on Feb. 15.

A conductor waves his hat as a sign of departure on this westbound LIRR train at the Mineola Long Island Rail Road station on July 26, 2011.

People disembark from a Metro North train at Grand Central Terminal on March 20, 2013.

Hundreds of passengers wait at Penn Station after an eastbound LIRR train derailed in an East River tunnel on June 17, 2013.

LIRR commuters move about Penn Station during the Friday evening commute on June 21, 2013.

LIRR commuters make their way on a rush-hour train to Ronkonkoma from Penn Station on January 27, 2014. The LIRR has been named North America's busiest railroad.