A Sorter of Trains, and a Magnet for Blame.

For decades, a standard response to delays and disruptions on passenger trains in New York City has been to blame it on Harold. That would be the Harold Interlocking, a century-old intersection of 14 train tracks in Queens, where hundreds of trains traveling between Pennsylvania Station and points east and north are sorted out each day. The central role it plays in the life of the city is invisible to almost all New Yorkers. At least until something goes awry. Then it could be poor Harold's fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]