# Three-Letter Code for Grand Central Terminal



## National Limited (Oct 23, 2010)

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?


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## Long Train Runnin' (Oct 23, 2010)

It would have been GCT. Amtrak uses it occasionally when track work by MNRR has Empire Service Trains use grand central every now and again.


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## Trogdor (Oct 23, 2010)

NYG.


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## the_traveler (Oct 23, 2010)

The code is actually NYG (New York Grand) - as opposed to NYP (New York Penn). I'm not sure where the Amtrak Baggage Room was, but there was only 1 Amtrak train that used it that offered baggage service (the LSL).


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## Bill Haithcoat (Oct 23, 2010)

National Limited said:


> 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.


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## Mackensen (Oct 23, 2010)

Bill Haithcoat said:


> National Limited said:
> 
> 
> > 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.


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## jis (Oct 23, 2010)

Mackensen said:


> 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 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.

Also some of the Amtrak stations have an IATA code in addition to the Amtrak code too. This specifically holds true for stations that have code share service to them where Amtrak is a codeshare with an airline, e.g. Continental out of EWR. In some cases the Amtrak code and the IATA code coincide like in case of EWR or BWI. In other cases Amtrak code for a station which has nothing to do with the airport with the seemingly same code other than possibly being located in the same city or county (e.g. Amtrak BOS (Boston South Station, IATA BOS Boston Logan International Airport, or the city of Boston).


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## the_traveler (Oct 23, 2010)

Mackensen said:


> Bill Haithcoat said:
> 
> 
> > National Limited said:
> ...


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.


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## Bill Haithcoat (Oct 23, 2010)

Keep in mind some things about pre Amtrak travel. One, there were more trains going to more cities. Plus there were long distance trains called "locals" which made extremly frequent stops. I mean---really---sometimes four, five or ten minutes between stations. Imagine the horrors of keeping up with all those station codes and before widespread computerization.


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## railiner (Oct 23, 2010)

One things for certain....the pre-printed bag tags with their big 3-letter code, and their different colors and/or stripes, sure make it a lot easier to handle baggage. Especially compared to ancient hand-written tags. The spelling could be bad, the penmanship poor, the letters too small or lightly written...you get the idea....


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## had8ley (Oct 23, 2010)

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.


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## National Limited (Oct 23, 2010)

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?


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## JAChooChoo (Oct 23, 2010)

had8ley said:


> 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.


*Well, maybe not- consider:*

*BDL CVG GEG ILM JFK LGA MCO MDT MDW MSY ORD PHF SDF *

*to name a few.*


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## had8ley (Oct 23, 2010)

JAChooChoo said:


> had8ley said:
> 
> 
> > 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.


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## the_traveler (Oct 23, 2010)

That may be why the same codes are used for both the airports and train stations in the same city! Examples include BOS, PVD, ALB, SYR, ROC, BUF, PHL, BWI, ATL, TPA, MIA, STL, MSP, DEN, LAX, PDX and SEA - besides others.


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## railiner (Oct 23, 2010)

National Limited said:


> 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?


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.

I've mulled over it for hours, and I just can't recall where the baggage was handled. I vaguely remember the train crews used a small area of the ticket office during their layover from ALB. And I believe Amtrak had a small 'mini-commissary' somewhere near the entrance to track 28. It wasn't much more than a 'cage' with large refridgerators. Amtrak also had a small mechanical force based in the area.

If I'm not mistaken, early Amtrak years at NYG, had no Amtrak employees. The trains were staffed by, and station services provided by Penn Central, later Conrail employees. Later on, when Amtrak expanded their employment of train crews, and Conrail passenger operations were taken over by the commuter railroads, Amtrak also took over their own station services at NYG.

But I still can't recall where they bags were handled!


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## AlanB (Oct 23, 2010)

railiner said:


> National Limited said:
> 
> 
> > 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.


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## had8ley (Oct 24, 2010)

AlanB said:


> railiner said:
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> 
> > National Limited said:
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Somewhere in the cob webs I seem to remember NYS Off Track Betting using a lot of the ticket window space.


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## the_traveler (Oct 24, 2010)

had8ley said:


> AlanB said:
> 
> 
> > Now the windows on the left get used for other purposes, like currency exchange.
> ...


What would the currency exchange be for?




IIRC, POU and NHV use the same money that NYC uses!



(NYG is only used by MNCR.)

I also recall OTB being there. It was to bet if Amtrak (and especially the LSL) would arrive into NYG on time!


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