Up until the arrival of the M2 class modern MUs in the early 1970s, the New Haven's electrified New Canaan branch had the look of a country interurban in off-peak hours as a single car covered the Stamford-New Canaan shuttle run. This solo "washboard", as these fluted-side cars were informally known, was southbound approaching Talmadge Hill station in Darien, CT, on a summer afternoon.