Old Car Storage GCT

Was there any truth to the old story or was it a wives tail that older cars were stored somewhere below GCT?

there use to be a repair shop in lower level area were now LIRR terminal is being build, years ago a big fire ripped trough a bunch of coaches stored for repair.
they were removed in hospital train to Bridgeport at time for scrapping.

currently only cars stored are: loaded hoppers in winter to prevent freezing of ballast (emergency use)
one old NYC troop sleeper used as office, and few box cars for various storage.
one old tool car from wreck train, often referred to as the president Roosevelt limousine car by a MN office jockey who believes his own stories.

I remember hearing stories that there were a load of coaches there that could never be moved over the road. It was probably the office jock who perpetuated this and others.

After Mott Haven Coach Yard closed, right around the 1968 PC merger, the lower level storage tracks, west of Track 116 or so, were designated as "Madison Avenue Coach Yard". That's where the last of the long-distance trains-- sleepers and diners--- were serviced before Amtrak came in 1971.

By the late Conrail/early MNCR ere, 1984-85, the yard was used for storage of passenger cars such as the NY State-financed D&H Adirondack cars. There was a huge vandal and homeless population in GCT at the time, and the cars were infested with these creatures. A number of fires gutted the cars, including most of the D&H cars.

In late 1985, MNCR sold all of these cars, plus the remaining NH 4400-series MUs, to New Haven-based scrapper Chuck & Eddie Salvage. MNCR moved the cars in a couple of hospital moves (through air only, no brakes on some cars, burned cars sagged in the middle, late at night and 20 mph) to C&E's leased location in the old NH Cedar Hill Yard in North Haven, and cut the cars up there, during 1985-86.

Some cars (4-8 or so) did survive the slaughter, mostly Budd-built coaches (AT&SF, ACL and SAL cars) sold through brokers as intact cars.

(kevinli52) Thanks for the responses. I knew I would get the correct ones instead of someone saying they were used in the Lincoln funeral train. (lol)

I was just looking at some track diagrams of GCT, is the "Roosevelt Car" on the upper level? It seems from some diagrams that the whole storage yard on the lower level is gone now due to ESA. Honestly I couldn't find a map big enough to read so I could be wrong.

yes it is on track opposite track 11/13 and no it is not Roosevelt car its old tool car of Harmon Wreck train, later while MN assigned to GCT wrecker.

H.F.Malone wrote:After Mott Haven Coach Yard closed, right around the 1968 PC merger, the lower level storage tracks, west of Track 116 or so, were designated as "Madison Avenue Coach Yard". That's where the last of the long-distance trains-- sleepers and diners--- were serviced before Amtrak came in 1971.

Where did Amtrak do this work?

DutchRailnut wrote:yes it is on track opposite track 11/13 and no it is not Roosevelt car its old tool car of Harmon Wreck train, later while MN assigned to GCT wrecker.

Thanks Dutch, I figured the wasn't ever used by FDR.

There was some "yard" tracks on the upper level used by Amtrak for layover,cleaning,and minor repairs.
When the Rohr Tubros were in GCT.they were plugged into ground power at the track they arrived on,
untill departure time.

At least in the mid 1980's the Amtrak turbo trains usually came in on a loop track where the inbound crew was finished. A GCT emergency engineer would take the train around the loop, change ends and yard the train in the East Yard. I made that move a lot of times. If it was standard equipment then a GCT yard crew would handle the move sometimes to a station track and sometimes to the yard. Metro-North crews handled all Amtrak trains regarding yard moves in the terminal.
Noel Weaver

Correct, made that move to east yard and later to platform track many times during qualifying with Barney Menck and Mr. Winchell.