Like what kind of passenger amenitys did they have? Was there a degisnated track and waiting room? Was there a seperate tickit counter so on and so forth.
I rode the Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to New York's Grand Central Station in January 1991. I believe the change to Penn Station was made later that same year. I was glad I had the chance to ride into and out of Grand Central. There was a separate ticket counter for Amtrak. I don't remember any separate lounges or designated tracks, but Grand Central had (and still has) many amenities available to all comers. A favorite movie that features several interesting scenes inside Grand Central -- and on the boarding platform for the 20th Century Limited -- is Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest."
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/02/nyregion/from-journey-s-end-to-a-commuter-stop.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/07/travel/travel-advisory-grand-central-trains-rerouted-to-penn-station.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/08/nyregion/riding-the-past-from-grand-central.html
[/quote]
wanswheel http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/02/nyregion/from-journey-s-end-to-a-commuter-stop.html http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/07/travel/travel-advisory-grand-central-trains-rerouted-to-penn-station.html http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/08/nyregion/riding-the-past-from-grand-central.html
These are three wonderful examples of writing about railroads and train travel. E.M. Frimbo and The New Yorker made reading about train travel nearly as satisfying as riding. Here we have three examples from The New York Times to show this art lived on, at least until 1991.
As a patron of the Lake Shore Limited I detest the loss of GCT as my entry point into Manhattan, but I have to admit I've enjoyed the convenience as I come and go from points south or northeast.
Before the change to NYP there was nothing particularly welcoming to Amtrak customers at GCT. A counter dedicated to Amtrak tickets was about all. There was no waiting room, but there was no first class lounge at Penn Station, either, at that time.
For several years toward the end of Amtrak service the LSL used the lower, or suburban level for arrivals (the upper level was always used for its departures) because it has a loop which allowed trains to be turned in the station before heading out for servicing and later backing into the upper level departure tracks.
For me it's always interesting to enter and depart New York City, but GCT and its remarkable Park Avenue Viaduct will always remain a real treat for the senses.
Amtrak had a couple of ticket windows and generally used two track upstairs (41 and 42 maybe?) I usually waited by the gate and sat on my suitcase. The waiting room was not alway a great place to wait...
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Does Amtrak still serve Grand Central Station?
ATSFGuy Does Amtrak still serve Grand Central Station?
To answer your question, Amtrak does not serve Grand Central Terminal.
Grand Central Station is the adjacent post office.
I thought the Empire service was going to use GCT during the Penn Station track work, but I don't see any notice in the ATK schedule. To do so the dual modes would have to modify their 3rd rail shoe, or borrow MetroNorth locos.
The Journal News expects GCT to get 6 Amtrak trains a day, 3 in each direction.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2017/05/18/amtrak-grand-central/328515001/
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2017/06/12/amtrak-grand-central-terminal/389719001/
NKP guy
Ask a native Manhattan dweller about nowadays, but my mother was one for her first 23 years. She always called it Grand Central Station, same as the radio series
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
schlimm NKP guy ATSFGuy Does Amtrak still serve Grand Central Station? To answer your question, Amtrak does not serve Grand Central Terminal. Grand Central Station is the adjacent post office.
Ask a native Manhattan dweller about nowadays, but my mother was one for her first 23 years. She always called it Grand Central Station, same as the radio series [/quote]
I lived and worked in New York City for eight years. My wife was a native New Yorker. Most of the people that I knew, including my wife, referred to it as Grand Central Station, but technically they were wrong. It is Grand Central Terminal, as was noted above. Believe me I was not going to get into an argument with my wife about the correct name for Grand Central......
Most of the people that I associated with in New York did not care what it was called.
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
I think most New Yorkers simply call it "Grand Central." Notice no one ever seems to call the other place "Penn." It's not often called "Pennsylvania Station," either. It's "Penn Station," as in "...and lead us not into Penn Station, but deliver us from evil..."
The only time I've ever heard it referred to as Pennsylvania Station was in "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" by Glenn Miller.
Amtrak is returning to Grand Central this summer as part of a temp reroute...while Penn Central is getting fixed.
Did the NYC serve Grand Central Station?
Yes, they also built it and its predecessors...
MidlandMike I thought the Empire service was going to use GCT during the Penn Station track work, but I don't see any notice in the ATK schedule. To do so the dual modes would have to modify their 3rd rail shoe, or borrow MetroNorth locos.
narig01 MidlandMike I thought the Empire service was going to use GCT during the Penn Station track work, but I don't see any notice in the ATK schedule. To do so the dual modes would have to modify their 3rd rail shoe, or borrow MetroNorth locos. I'm not positive about this, but if I remember correctly Amtrak's P32 dual mode locomotives were built with third rail shoes that can be set for either overrunning(into Penn Station like LIRR) or underrunning(into Grand Central on ex NYC). I also could not say if Amtrak maintained this feature either.
I'm not positive about this, but if I remember correctly Amtrak's P32 dual mode locomotives were built with third rail shoes that can be set for either overrunning(into Penn Station like LIRR) or underrunning(into Grand Central on ex NYC). I also could not say if Amtrak maintained this feature either.
narig01 narig01 MidlandMike I thought the Empire service was going to use GCT during the Penn Station track work, but I don't see any notice in the ATK schedule. To do so the dual modes would have to modify their 3rd rail shoe, or borrow MetroNorth locos. I'm not positive about this, but if I remember correctly Amtrak's P32 dual mode locomotives were built with third rail shoes that can be set for either overrunning(into Penn Station like LIRR) or underrunning(into Grand Central on ex NYC). I also could not say if Amtrak maintained this feature either. On reflection I forgot about one other issue that will force Amtrak to use MetroNorth power into Grand Central. There is a requirement for locomotive crews to have an exit thru the nose as there are man places in the tunnel into Grand Central were there is insufficient room for crew to use cab side doors to exit a locomotive.
On reflection I forgot about one other issue that will force Amtrak to use MetroNorth power into Grand Central. There is a requirement for locomotive crews to have an exit thru the nose as there are man places in the tunnel into Grand Central were there is insufficient room for crew to use cab side doors to exit a locomotive.
They must have backed off on that. None of the MN P32s have nose doors and they run into GCT all the time.
The MN P32s do have nose doors. That restriction only applies to the outer two tracks, though, and the inner two apparently have enough clearance to exit from the side doors. The current plan is to use a P32 on one end and a P42 on the other with the latter given the ability to remotely command mode switches.
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