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What the three-letter code was for Grand Central Terminal? Was this code used by NYC and PC or was it created for Amtrak? Where was the Amtrak baggage room?
What the three-letter code was for Grand Central Terminal? Was this code used by NYC and PC or was it created for Amtrak? Where was the Amtrak baggage room?
I think you're probably right. My suspicion is that Amtrak introduced the codes when it rolled out ARROW; the 1970s timetables make no mention of them.What the three-letter code was for Grand Central Terminal? Was this code used by NYC and PC or was it created for Amtrak? Where was the Amtrak baggage room?
I might be completely wrong here-------but I do not think the station codes for anywhere were put into use until Amtrak did so.
The more I think about it, I think I am right. After all, before Amtrak there would have been no country wide agreement on such things, with competing lines, many more cities served, much occasion for confusion.
Or, maybe it was done internally (like when checking your bags) by the railroads but the passengers did not know about it. I can tell you for absolute certainty that the old timetables, of which I have many, did not list station codes.
I have no idea when station codes started getting used by whom. All that I know is station codes are used by railroads other than Amtrak for stations that have nothing to do with Amtrak. For example NJT uses BNW for Newark Broad Street, and HOB for Hoboken, SUM for Summit, SEC for Secaucus. I don't know whether some of these codes come from Erie-Lackawanna days for the Hoboken Division or are a creation of NJTRO.I think you're probably right. My suspicion is that Amtrak introduced the codes when it rolled out ARROW; the 1970s timetables make no mention of them.
I think you are both right. After all, Albany (NY, GA and OR) could have all been coded ALB by NYC, Southern and UP! It would have been very confusing.I think you're probably right. My suspicion is that Amtrak introduced the codes when it rolled out ARROW; the 1970s timetables make no mention of them.I might be completely wrong here-------but I do not think the station codes for anywhere were put into use until Amtrak did so.What the three-letter code was for Grand Central Terminal? Was this code used by NYC and PC or was it created for Amtrak? Where was the Amtrak baggage room?
The more I think about it, I think I am right. After all, before Amtrak there would have been no country wide agreement on such things, with competing lines, many more cities served, much occasion for confusion.
Or, maybe it was done internally (like when checking your bags) by the railroads but the passengers did not know about it. I can tell you for absolute certainty that the old timetables, of which I have many, did not list station codes.
Well, maybe not- consider:Ironically Amtrak started with a majority of ex-airline execs at the reigns at its inception. For whatever reason these same execs decided to start their own route coding even though the airline coding could have worked just as well.
IIRC, there was quite a stir among Red Caps who already knew many of the airline codes from handling bags on a daily basis. Many of the Amtrak codes may seem simpler but then the baggage personnel had to learn the entirely new system that is only used by Amtrak to the best of my knowledge.Well, maybe not- consider:Ironically Amtrak started with a majority of ex-airline execs at the reigns at its inception. For whatever reason these same execs decided to start their own route coding even though the airline coding could have worked just as well.
BDL CVG GEG ILM JFK LGA MCO MDT MDW MSY ORD PHF SDF
to name a few.
At one time, Amtrak tickets were sold from the windows facing the ramp from the main concourse up to the old waiting room. Later on, Amtrak used a good portion of the old New Haven ticket office, until they moved out with the Empire Connection completion.Where in Grand Central was the Amtrak ticket office (when Amtrak served Grand Central)? Did they pull the baggage up the passenger ramps or was their am unseen passage to bring baggage from the train into the terminal?
More simply if you're standing there today and facing the ticket windows, Amtrak sold tickets from the windows on the left side of the ramp dividing the windows. Metro North sold from the right, much like they still do. Now the windows on the left get used for other purposes, like currency exchange.At one time, Amtrak tickets were sold from the windows facing the ramp from the main concourse up to the old waiting room. Later on, Amtrak used a good portion of the old New Haven ticket office, until they moved out with the Empire Connection completion.Where in Grand Central was the Amtrak ticket office (when Amtrak served Grand Central)? Did they pull the baggage up the passenger ramps or was their am unseen passage to bring baggage from the train into the terminal?
Somewhere in the cob webs I seem to remember NYS Off Track Betting using a lot of the ticket window space.More simply if you're standing there today and facing the ticket windows, Amtrak sold tickets from the windows on the left side of the ramp dividing the windows. Metro North sold from the right, much like they still do. Now the windows on the left get used for other purposes, like currency exchange.At one time, Amtrak tickets were sold from the windows facing the ramp from the main concourse up to the old waiting room. Later on, Amtrak used a good portion of the old New Haven ticket office, until they moved out with the Empire Connection completion.Where in Grand Central was the Amtrak ticket office (when Amtrak served Grand Central)? Did they pull the baggage up the passenger ramps or was their am unseen passage to bring baggage from the train into the terminal?
What would the currency exchange be for?Somewhere in the cob webs I seem to remember NYS Off Track Betting using a lot of the ticket window space.Now the windows on the left get used for other purposes, like currency exchange.
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