What was going on when I was born?

The line for passengers formed early. Even though the bus was scheduled to leave Manhattan at 10 last Friday night, some of the travelers had arrived at the terminal before 8. They had good reason to be punctual, they said. The 43 travelers, almost all of them women, knew that the last one on board would be the last inside the Ogdensburg Correctional Facility when the bus finally rumbled into this rural upstate town - nine hours later. They were the friends and family of inmates being held in the prison.

Twelve years after first being proposed, a Federal regulation goes into effect Monday to require funeral homes to provide an itemized list of services and materials they offer, along with the cost of each item, before a person agrees to any arrangements. The rule, which is being put into effect by the Federal Trade Commission, has long been sought by consumer groups and resisted by funeral homes, but it withstood challenges in the courts and in Congress. Rule Survived Battles ''It is a minor miracle that the rule survived with substantial provisions,'' said Michael Pertschuk, a member of the commission and one of the principal proponents of the regulation. ''New York City, New York State and New Jersey already have adopted similar rules, so the impact of the new regulation there will not be great, but it will reinforce those rules,'' Mr. Pertschuk said. California and a few other states also have similar rules.

''It just requires funeral homes to have a price list available and to tell the truth, yet it led to screams and howls from the industry.'' - Jessica Mitford, author of ''The American Way of Death.'' (B10:6.)

WHEN Devil's Bag crossed the finish line in the Derby Trial Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday, the colt had retained his role as a favorite for the 110th Kentucky Derby that is now five days away. But in victory, he seemed to have lost more than he had won. An aura of magic surrounded Devil's Bag when he turned 3 years old last Jan. 1. After a sensational, undefeated campaign as a 2-year-old, he seemed destined to be measured against only himself and history. The aura dimmed after his first defeat and during other small setbacks. During the final quarter-mile of the Derby Trial, it all but disappeared. He had led virtually from the start and figured to draw away. Instead, Devil's Bag struggled just to keep going, veering away from the rail with fatigue, and had to be whipped and driven to preserve a 2 1/4-length victory.

Formalizing of agreements with Peking on such issues as scientific and cultural exchanges, economic cooperation and development of nuclear energy was planned by President Reagan before he was to start on the final leg of his six-day trip to China. The agreements, to be formalized today, call for guarantees against double taxation for American corporations in China, a new round of exchanges of performing arts groups, museum exhibits and other cultural programs, and arrangements enabling American companies to help build Chinese nuclear reactors. (Page A1, Column 6.) Concerted pressure on Libya's leader will be sought by the United States in consultations with Britain and other allies, Reagan Administration officials said. Until Britain broke diplomatic ties with Libya last Sunday over the shooting in London of a police constable by someone inside the Libyan Embassy, only the United States, which expelled all Libyan diplomats in 1981, had taken action against the Government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. (A1:4.)

The attention focused on a case involving possible improper payments by the Bechtel Corporation to South Korean officials is impeding efforts by the Administration and some members of Congress to ease the restrictions in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits such payments, according to Congressional aides and business lobbyists. Those seeking to keep the law or make only minor changes in it say the Administration has failed to vigorously enforce the act. In the Bechtel case, for example, it took almost two years for Federal agents to interview the person whose complaints triggered the inquiry. In early 1982, Daniel E. Charboneau, a former official with Bechtel in Korea, wrote to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Francisco about his suspicions about possible improper payments by Bechtel's Korean agent.

MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1984 The Economy Orders for machine tools were up only 2.7 percent in March from the month before, disappointing analysts. But compared with March 1983, they were more than 66 percent higher. (Page D1.)

Because of an editing error, an article in Metropolitan Report on Friday about antismoking legislation in Suffolk County misidentified the County Executive, Peter F. Cohalan. He is a Republican.

The United States plans to consult with Britain and other allies in the hope of converting the latest concern over Libyan activities into concerted international pressure on Col. Muammar el- Qaddafi, Reagan Administration officials said today. Until Britain severed diplomatic ties with Libya last Sunday after the shooting of a British police constable in London by someone inside the Libyan Embassy, only the United States had taken any action against the Libyans. The Administration expelled all Libyan diplomats in 1981, advised all American companies and personnel to quit Libya and barred the importation of Libyan oil. There have been no American diplomats in Libya since 1980, after the United States Embassy there was burned down. No Support for U.S. Moves The American moves, however, received no support from allies, some of which, like Italy, Britain, and France, have considerable trade with Libya.

For 32 years, Walter F. Patronik, a quiet man known as Whitey, was a slitter at the Bethlehem Steel plant at the end of this mill town on Lake Erie. A slitter cuts steel rolls to size. It is a job that takes skill and experience, and Mr. Patronik, who went into the mill when he was 18, worked hard and made himself into a good slitter. He made about $26,000 a year. Then, in December 1982, Bethlehem said it was going to close most of the works, built beginning in the 1890's in the robust days of Middle West expansionism that had begun with the Civil War and the population and industrial expansion that followed the war.

SAM GOLDAPER BOSTON, April 29 - Bernard King and the Knicks were on different wave lengths today. While the Knick captain scored 26 points against the Celtics' double- teaming and sagging defenses, his teammates appeared absent without cause. The result was a resounding 110-92 loss to the Celtics at the Boston Garden in the first game of their National Basketball Association playoff series. The second game of the four-of- seven Eastern Conference semifinal will be played here Wednesday night.

The first fission reaction at the much-delayed Diablo Canyon nuclear plant was produced without incident today shortly after midnight, nearly 10 years behind schedule. But hours later plant operators recorded a nonradioactive water leak within a coolant system that was quickly contained. Plant officials said the leak lasted 10 minutes and posed no danger. The start-up of the first of two reactors at the $4.9 billion Diablo Canyon plant, where about 80 demonstrators gathered this afternoon outside its gates, was greeted by many in the nuclear industry as a long-awaited and overdue victory. 'Industry Is Very Happy' ''The industry is very happy to see this thing on line and will be even happier when it begins replacing a lot of imported oil that Pacific Gas and Electric is now burning,'' said Donald C. Winston, a spokesman for the Atomic Industrial Forum, an industry group.