This exhilarating ride zips us along to the eastern hamlet of Speonk in the Town of Southampton and beyond on southern Long Island. When the train pulls out of Jamaica Station, and with the cab occupants in a good humor, we have a panoramic, nearly unobstructed view of the scenery ahead as the express travels along Montauk Track No. 2. As the train passes Valley Stream, tracks branch off on the left to West Hempstead and on the right to Long Beach. Narrator Tim Hosey doesn't miss a beat alerting us to the landmarks along the way.
Because this is an express run and there are no grade crossings for a very long stretch, except for one unscheduled stop, the train unimpededly barrels along, bypassing the bedroom communities of South Shore Long Island, with the first stop far out in the village of Patchogue, about 60 miles from Manhattan. The tiny hamlet of Speonk lies approximately 13 miles farther east.
The trip continues from Speonk to Montauk on Vol. 2, in single-track territory, traveling through the expensive resort communities of The Hamptons. The train passes through Amagansett, which is of historical interest because during the Second World War, in June, 1942, four German saboteurs were dropped off from submarine U-202 on Atlantic Avenue beach in Amagansett, where they made their way to the village's LIRR station and took a train to New York after burying their explosives and German naval uniforms. A Coast Guardsman assigned to watch the beach noticed the suspicious strangers on the beach and notified the police and the FBI. The saboteurs were eventually apprehended.
There's less narration that's also less audible on Vol. 2 but enough to keep the viewer apprised of where he is.

I really like RVP cab ride videos, and this is the best I've seen so far. I've always found the LIRR intriguing, and though I've caught glimpses of it while visiting the area, I never had the time to railfan it, save riding it once. This video was better than I hoped: An unobstructed look from the head end with good video quality, sound, and superb narration; more on the narration later.

The trip begins as an equipment move from a yard facility through a maze of tracks to Jamaica station. From there we head east, cross over the main on a fly-over and proceed through Queens, Nassau county, then Suffolk county to the end of the ride at Speonk. It's an exciting ride with lots of signals, interlockings, stations etc. It was very interesting to see the transition from the urban to the more leafy/residential parts of NYC, through the suburban towns in Nassau and western Suffolk counties, and then to the exurbs and then the rural areas of eastern Long Island. Fascinating.

On top of all this, the narration and banter in the cab made it so much more so interesting and fun to watch. Towns, junctions/interlockings, mileposts, signals, and general comments really made this better than it would be "on paper". It was all professional but they were clearly having fun doing this video.

Best cab ride video ever. Highly recommended.