MTA operator who served 47 years dies

The subways’ longest-serving train operator died Wednesday at age 77.

Leon George had a stroke on his way to work Sept. 10, his family told The News.

The Savannah, Ga., native worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for 47 years. He joined as a conductor in 1971 and became a train operator in 1973.

George refused to retire after decades of work. He also took demanding jobs, like operating A and F trains, among the longest trips in the system.

“That was his life,” Barbara Campbell, his cousin and retired MTA station agent, told The News. “He said, ‘If I retire, what would I do?’ He said, ‘This is what I love.’”