> "Commuter rail" typically refers to suburban commuter trains, e.g.
operations by Metro North and the LIRR, historically operated by a steam
railroad.

There were at least two "blends":  PATH, when it was the Hudson & Manhattan
shared with the PRR, looked like a subway, but trains had conductors and it
ran on PRR rails.  SIRT, under B&O operation, looked like a subway, too, but
it too was as B&O 
railroad.  Indeed, even after MTA takeover for a while, fares were collected
by conductors, and cash fares got a railroad style cash receipt.

The South Shore looks like a railroad, but has its roots in interurban
practice.

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