X Files: Padlocked Mystery Rail Car Under Waldorf Astoria

[csxengineer98]

the history chanel did a show on this car in question about 3 weeks ago.. i cant remember what the titel of it is off the top of my head..but it is a seriouse of shows about what is underground of differnt cities of the world...for example..the ruines of the old eastern roman empire under istanbul and the caticomes under paris... the car in question did belong to Rosovelt and was used to transport him and his armord car...

csx engineer 

[Anonymous]

I just joined this forum and was intrigued by the "Mystery Train". I am probably a year late and the mystery already know to all of you train X-perts. 

This is what I know about it:

It is FDR's personal rail car that had a ramp to help him get into the Waldorf Astoria unseen by the public. This was done to conceal his polio. The X which makes it one letter too many indicates that the rail car did not belong to the railroad, but to the gov't. It is armor plated and has gun turrets on top.

I saw this on the History Channel. 

 

 

 

[oltmannd]

In the story the mark is reported as MNMCX - which, of course has one too many letters to be a valid mark.  The article aludes to "X" meaning something extraordinary, like military, but we all know that just means it's a private car.

Looking up AAR marks, MN and MNCW belong to Metro North.  Wanna bet when the guys went down to slap a coat of paint on that car to change it from PC green to blue, they misread the new mark?

UMLER has MNCW 10, 11, 12 as AAR cartype M190, "store supply car".  Shows built in Sept 1941 and 85' long - rebuilt in 1994.

I'm thinking the car in question is a cousin to these......

 

[wallyworld]

A case of much ado about nothing? It would not surprise me as a run of the mill tool car doesnt have much tourist related charisma. Intentionally priming the dollar pump by feeding the rumour mill aka Roswell NM, does everyone a disservice, if the posting on Preservation News is to be believed, whose correct identification of the car is likely. Mark Twain identified the problem correctly, to paraphrase him; Everything I know I read in the newspaper.

[railroad65]

http://rypn.sunserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic_view=threads&p=92295&t=21397

[oltmannd]

Looks like a plain old baggage car to me.  How can they tell armor plating by just looking at it?  Looks like regular old passenger trucks, too, unless they are 3 axle trucks which would make them unusual for a 60' baggage car and would support the armor claim.  Wish they'd published some better pix.....

[wallyworld]

Last night, PBS aired a show about "secrets" of New York and it featured a segment on this car. There was a gentleman from the transit authority ( Metro North?) who felt very strongly that the car was left docked at the platform in 1945 at the time of Roosevelt's death. He also felt very confident that this car was dedicated to carrying Roosevelt's Pierce Arrow..hence the specialty trucks, armour plating etc. I have no idea if his confidence is founded on facts, it sounded more like an educated guess. The only fly in the ointment in this theory is, based on what little I have seen of the car, there appear to be no doors situated in relation to a large automobiles turning radius to allow it to be off loaded on a narrow platform..

[espeefoamer]

HMMM... Heavily armored,millitary green paint showing through.

Anything in there besides  SHACKLES???

[samfp1943]

Pretty interesting story, underground in NYC for how long? And No graffiti!  Hard to imagine...

Hopefully, someone will update this posting when Richard Stravopoli gets it open. Kinda looks like an old baggage car from the picture. It will be quite a story when the details are put together.

[dknelson]

Roswell!  Roswell!  oooooo

actually the descriptions sounds like an ordinary converted troup sleeper which would explain the special unusual suspension, the military (i.e. Pullman) green paint showing through the blue, and the plating over the windows that would look like armour.   It might also explain the X if it was in MOW service

 

Addendum: looking more closely at the picture it clearly is not a former troop sleeper but some sort of baggage car.  The story gets ever more interesting .... maybe I was right the first time -- this is the alien autopsy car!

Dave Nelson

[Clutch Cargo]

Perhaps it is the secret love nest of Judge Crater.

Any booze and chorus girls in there?

kurt

[chad thomas]

Is this the original shackle car?

[vsmith]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-rrties1sep27,0,7683933.story?page=2&coll=stam-news-local-headlines

Helps if you activate the URL link

 

[daveklepper]

I recently read a report that Metro North had taken steps to clear out derelicts, and is int he process of installing security equipment to prevent their return.

[eastside]

Almost every time I take MetroNorth I take a glance at the Waldorf Astoria platform as the train passes.  You can't miss it because the WA is only about two blocks out of GCT and every outbound train is on the next track.  It's well lit, as if it's still being used, but I've never seen a car standing at the platform, and I've been doing this since the early '80s.  It must be at some distance away from the platform.  I've seen pictures of FDR using the platform.

More interesting is that so vast is the underground trackage (don't forget GCT has several levels) that there are rumored to be over a hundred derelicts living at least part time there.  I would have thought that one of them would have gotten into the "mystery" car long ago.

[mudchicken]

FDR's ghost...and Fala's too.......

[wallyworld]

Did anyone identify it's owner? I was hoping they would find a mint condition, armor plated Pierce Arrow lying inside under a foot of dust, but more than likely it will be a petrified baloney sandwich.

[Anonymous]

This subject was flogged on Railway Preservation News' Interchange last week see: http://rypn.sunserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic_view=threads&p=92283&t=21397&sid=28e3c25824a40f62d70ac6645f6cafad

[Murphy Siding]

     Where's Geraldo?  This might be Al Capone's train!

[wallyworld]

Interesting story about an abandoned military car two stories beneath a hotel in New York. The link is below.



http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-rrties1sep27,0,7683933.story?page=2&coll=stam-news-local-headlines