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Anyone her who remembers the last time Amtrak went into Grand Central?

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Posted by NorthWest on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 11:10 AM

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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Posted by oltmannd on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 8:24 AM

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.

 

 

They must have backed off on that.  None of the MN P32s have nose doors and they run into GCT all the time.

 

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by narig01 on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 2:34 AM

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.

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Posted by narig01 on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 2:27 AM

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. 

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Posted by NorthWest on Monday, June 19, 2017 11:10 PM

Yes, they also built it and its predecessors...

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Monday, June 19, 2017 10:25 PM

Did the NYC serve Grand Central Station?

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Posted by wanswheel on Monday, June 19, 2017 2:05 PM

 

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Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Monday, June 19, 2017 1:07 PM

Amtrak is returning to Grand Central this summer as part of a temp reroute...while Penn Central is getting fixed.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Monday, June 19, 2017 10:03 AM

The only time I've ever heard it referred to as Pennsylvania Station was in "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" by Glenn Miller.

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Posted by NKP guy on Monday, June 19, 2017 8:59 AM

   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..."

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Posted by PJS1 on Monday, June 19, 2017 8:51 AM

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. 

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Posted by schlimm on Sunday, June 18, 2017 11:08 PM

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.

 

[/quote]

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

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Posted by wanswheel on Sunday, June 18, 2017 10:25 PM
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Posted by MidlandMike on Sunday, June 18, 2017 9:12 PM

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.

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Posted by NKP guy on Sunday, June 18, 2017 6:32 PM

 [/quote]

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.

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Sunday, June 18, 2017 6:12 PM

Does Amtrak still serve Grand Central Station?

 

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Posted by wanswheel on Sunday, June 18, 2017 12:18 PM

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Posted by oltmannd on Friday, June 16, 2017 4:44 PM

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/

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Posted by NKP guy on Friday, June 16, 2017 3:39 PM

 

[/quote]

wanswheel

 

   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.

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Posted by saguaro on Thursday, June 15, 2017 9:31 PM

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."

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Anyone her who remembers the last time Amtrak went into Grand Central?
Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 9:45 AM

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.

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