I have have been temporarly homeless in the past on long layovers where the next train is not to the next day. I have ridden the subway all night long, I have spent time snoozing in churches and hours on auqward benches at Penn Station. Last Layover I hiked around Staten Island and Slept in a Park. I used to be able to sleep in Coach Cars in the basement of Grand Central till morning with a ticket. Why or how do NYCs Homeless survive all year round is behond me. I have to agree that when you can take Metro North to the woods up north why would you want to stay in a hot and dirty city in the summer. BTW I am Applacian Trail Bound.
My only overnight experience between trains was when I took my son (5 yr old) on a Chicago-Louisville-St Louis-Chicago trip to ride the Monon's thoroughbred before its operation was ended. Our trip was via Monon RR, Chicago to Louisville, and Louisville to Mitchell, B&O (#1 National Limited) to St Louis, PRR to Effingham, IC to Chicago. Monon was scheduled into Louisville after midnight and left to return to Chicago at about 6:00 AM. Cheap me didn't want to pop for a hotel and so I had planned to stay in the station until they boarded the train. On the way into Louisville, I asked the crew what they do with the equipment upon arrival, and was told it stays in the station, gets cleaned and is parked until it boards. So I inquired whether we could stay on the train. The answer was yes. So we did. A very surprised cleaning crew came on, woke us up, did their job, turned out the lights and we went back to sleep. Rest of the trip went as planned except that the PRR train scheduled to leave St Louis at about 6:00 PM was delayed and didn't leave until about 6:45 PM meaning that the 45 minute connection at Effingham was in Jeopardy. As it turned out we got the signal first, and as my son and I were stepping onto the platform, the City of New Orleans hit the diamonds behind us as we stopped far enough East to clear the plant. That was too close but we made it. Back home and back to our own beds.
Maybe 15 years ago, I wanted to take the Maple Leaf from NYP, meet a friend in Syracuse and continue on to Toronto to catch the Canadian. I was coming down from Boston so took the last NYP bound train and spent the am of the following night in NYP lounge until the 7 am departure of the Maple Leaf. I did not get any sleep. Something like the old Owl would have made this trip better!
There was a article about sleeping car routes in Trains or Classic Trains that as late as the late 1960s ones sleeping car would be set off for connections or till a reasonble hour in the morning. There was a map with this issue.
C&O, you're hiking the Appalachian Trail? Good for you! I hiked a short section in New York State 46 years ago, started in Bear Mountain Park and over the Hudson and enjoyed it immensely.
Good luck!
CandOforprogress2 I have have been temporarly homeless in the past on long layovers where the next train is not to the next day. I have ridden the subway all night long, I have spent time snoozing in churches and hours on auqward benches at Penn Station. Last Layover I hiked around Staten Island and Slept in a Park. I used to be able to sleep in Coach Cars in the basement of Grand Central till morning with a ticket. Why or how do NYCs Homeless survive all year round is behond me. I have to agree that when you can take Metro North to the woods up north why would you want to stay in a hot and dirty city in the summer. BTW I am Applacian Trail Bound.
If your a Veteran you can stay at the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmans club in Midtown Manhatten for $65 a night. You don't always need a reservation either. It's not a 4 star hotel but not a flop house either, fairly nice. I would be careful of walking the neighborhood after dark but you should be checked in by that time I would think and otherwise call a cab.
http://ssmaclub.org/
As to setout sleepers, I took advantage of theree different ones at one time or another--the Atlanta-Louisville car on the L&N, and the Atlanta-Washington and Asheville-Washington cars on the Southern. That was much better than detraining about four or five in the morning, as I had to do three years ago when I rode from Ft. Worth to Los Angeles on the Texas Eagle.
I never did board a setout car at an early hour, though.
Johnny
http://ssmaclub.org/?page_id=83
Yes I am a Navy Vet and this will work. Better then sleeping on a park bench and ending up in a episode of "Law and Order".
Thanks for the SSMA Club information. I did not know about this organization. Just finding that out makes reading all the pro-Amtrak comments worthwhile.
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