GCT Secret Station in Waldorf Astoria Hotel

[veyoung]

The History Channel has been running a documentary on New York "Underground"
lately in which President Roosevelt travelled in his private rail car from
Washington to New York to an unloading platform in the tunnels north of GCT,
and then rode a special elevator from track level up into the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The show keeps mentioning how FDR, and subsequent
presidents, travelled from Washington to this location by rail. How?
Wouldn't Penn Station been more easily accessible by rail from DC.

[fur...@mail.croydon.ac.uk]

I don't know what the route to the station from Washington was, but
there's something about that platform here:
http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/gct61.html

I remember reading about it last year sometime.

[hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com]

The hype in that 'documentary' was way overdone. Stuff that they
claimed were "military top secrets" were actually widespread public
knowledge. The "secret" hotel platforms were used by other people in
their private cars.

From Grand Central Terminal, I think they went out to the New Haven
Line, then down over the Hell Gate Bridge back onto the Pennsylvania.
To get from DC to Hyde Park, they take a similar route, only using the
NH to get the Hudson Line up river. Yes, Penn Station would've been
easier, but I don't think that had direct access to hotels nor was
that part of town as nice as the GCT area.

There's a book, "The President Travels by Train" that goes into this
in more detail.

Even back in the 1940s travelling by train required extensive
expensive security precautions. Every interlocking, every grade
crossing was a point of possible sabotage to derail the train. A
pilot train went ahead first. Other trains were held up until the
president's train passed. I can see why they welcomed air travel as
soon as it became safe and practical, although it was very risky in
bad weather. Truman flew home in a bad storm and his family was
furious, back then, that was high risk.

I think Nixon took a revenue Metroliner to NYC once. He'd probably
have used frequently except for security concerns.

[veyoung]

"I think they went out to the New Haven
Line, then down over the Hell Gate Bridge back onto the Pennsylvania."

Thanks. Now, why didn't I think of that? Duh!

<hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote in message
news:508f1054-5123-4fb7...@v46g2000hsv.googlegroups.com...

[Pac Man]

"veyoung" <veyou...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:6m3oj.11402$fs4.2803@trnddc02...

> "I think they went out to the New Haven
> Line, then down over the Hell Gate Bridge back onto the Pennsylvania."
> Thanks. Now, why didn't I think of that? Duh!

The problem is that the train would be pointing in the wrong direction
when it got to New Rochelle (the jct. on the NH between the GCT and Penn
Station lines). I seriously doubt that they backed up all the way.

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

[Jishnu Mukerji]

Pac Man wrote:
> "veyoung" <veyou...@verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:6m3oj.11402$fs4.2803@trnddc02...
>
>>"I think they went out to the New Haven
>>Line, then down over the Hell Gate Bridge back onto the Pennsylvania."
>>Thanks. Now, why didn't I think of that? Duh!
>
>
> The problem is that the train would be pointing in the wrong direction
> when it got to New Rochelle (the jct. on the NH between the GCT and Penn
> Station lines). I seriously doubt that they backed up all the way.

For the President they just attached another locomotive at the other end
and then it became moving forward in the other direction. :)

[gl4...@yahoo.com]

In article
<508f1054-5123-4fb7...@v46g2000hsv.googlegroups.com>,
hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

> Even back in the 1940s travelling by train required extensive
> expensive security precautions. Every interlocking, every grade
> crossing was a point of possible sabotage to derail the train. A
> pilot train went ahead first. Other trains were held up until the
> president's train passed.

Except possibly for one circumstance:

My understanding is that wartime troop "hospital" trains were the only
train to have priority over a presidential train.

--
-Glennl
e-mail hint: add 1 to quantity after gl to get 4317.

[Candide]

"veyoung" <veyou...@verizon.net> wrote in message

news:idHnj.7464$v86.3324@trnddc08...

Until jet air travel replaced ocean liners for trans-Atlantic crossing,
the very wealthy of New York City and elsewhere would boast they only
went to the Westside of Manhattan to leave the country. The inference
being the wealthy and powerful for the most part lived on the Upper
Eastside of Manhattan and Cunard's and other docks were on the Westside
piers.

Speaking of GCT "secrets", another program on the terminal was
meandering down the maze of tracks and showed a rather old rail car. The
program was rather recent, so was wondering what the car could have been
and why is it still down there. Did not seem like it had been moved in
ages.

Candide

[Jaap van Dorp]

The car has been in GCT since 1984, its a standard B60 PRR Bagager car and
is part of old GCT Wreck crane train.
The car was painted blue and recieved its number MNCX 002 in North White
plains paint shop.
MNCR recieved 3 such cars from Conrail in 1983 as part of their Mof W
fleet.
One car is at the Danbury Railway Museum as toolshop car it came of the
Wire train in stamford Ct, this is a 100% identical car.
Neither car has doors big enough to fit a yugo through.
The car is of Rivet construction and the trucks are standard Bagage car
trucks for that time.
If and when President Roosevelt traveled by train his car went by road the
night before, it did not travel by rail.
Yes the elevator was used to bring his car down to platform level.
The Walforf platform is still there in open view, just north of track 8 in
yard next to track 11.

Jaap van Dorp
Engineer MNCR

"Candide" <PityM...@anywhere.com> wrote in message
news:%ADoj.2116$4f.482@trndny08...

[Jaap van Dorp]

There were over 900 B60's built from 1928 on, a lot of them ended in Mof W
service.
Here is picture of Danbury railway museum B60 the sister to the GCT car.
Currently the roof walk is removed it was part of New Haven line wire train.
http://www.danbury.org/drm/images/bagmn-1.jpg

"Jaap van Dorp" <GEjo...@comcast.spam.net> wrote in message
news:PImdnTaT5N1DkT7a...@suscom.com...

[Candide]

"Jaap van Dorp" <GEjo...@comcast.spam.net> wrote in message
news:PImdnTaT5N1DkT7a...@suscom.com...

> The car has been in GCT since 1984, its a standard B60 PRR Bagager car
and
> is part of old GCT Wreck crane train.
> The car was painted blue and recieved its number MNCX 002 in North
White
> plains paint shop.
> MNCR recieved 3 such cars from Conrail in 1983 as part of their Mof W
> fleet.
> One car is at the Danbury Railway Museum as toolshop car it came of
the
> Wire train in stamford Ct, this is a 100% identical car.
> Neither car has doors big enough to fit a yugo through.
> The car is of Rivet construction and the trucks are standard Bagage
car
> trucks for that time.
> If and when President Roosevelt traveled by train his car went by
road the
> night before, it did not travel by rail.
> Yes the elevator was used to bring his car down to platform level.
> The Walforf platform is still there in open view, just north of track
8 in
> yard next to track 11.
>
> Jaap van Dorp
> Engineer MNCR
>

Thank you!

Candide

[gl4...@yahoo.com]

In article <PImdnTaT5N1DkT7a...@suscom.com>, "Jaap van Dorp"
<GEjo...@comcast.spam.net> wrote:

> The car has been in GCT since 1984, its a standard B60 PRR Bagager car and
> is part of old GCT Wreck crane train.

> One car is at the Danbury Railway Museum as toolshop car it came of the

> Wire train in stamford Ct, this is a 100% identical car.

I would assume they must still use it for wreck tool storage. Otherwise,
it seems like they would have gotten rid of it years ago, just like the
one at Danbury.

[Jaap van Dorp]

Correct the car is full of blocking , slings , hoisting gear, etc
The car was offered to the Danbury Railway museum but they never got back
to MNCR., the car is absolete, it was part of wreck train and double ended
crane now residing at DRM..

<gl4...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:gl4316-0202...@69-30-10-125.pxd.easystreet.com...

[mike griffin]

I like snakes.