Today’s Wall Street Journal laments the demise of the bar car (D4, Personal Journal). Rolling imbibers say it’s a crucial aspect of their social lives. The MTA says they’re scrapping them to make room for extra seating. I say keep the bar cars and add more regular cars to accommodate the extra ridership.

But who asked me?

Happy Hour on Rails May Sound Its Last Call

By Jennifer Saranow

For the past 20 years, Charles Lawrence has left his Manhattan office job in time for the New Haven line 6:04 p.m. or 8:04 p.m. train from Grand Central Terminal. There, the 50-year-old commercial real-estate broker from Fairfield, Conn., settles into the bar car, buys a beer and chats with other regulars.

Their latest topic of conversation isn’t just sports or business, but whether the train’s operator will eliminate the bar car itself. “It’s this sense of community that ties people together,” he says. “When there’s no bar, people will just disappear — take a seat and go home.”

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