Here we go again, big mysteries of Grand Central!

https://screen.yahoo.com/popular/inside-york-citys-most-secret-040000228.html?vp=1

(Sigh)

So many other stories to tell about railroading, even about Grand Central, and what do we get? This retread job.

Hmmm, here's a thought--suppose we launch a campaign to "restore FDR's armored train" (and yes, "train" is deliberately used here). Of course, this is only a part of it, and the Ferdinand Magellan is only another part--and we need to put together the whole thing--need to find other pieces, need to find and restore stand in pieces, and that would include locomotives of types that would have been part of the POTUS consists of the time--

Let's see, how much would UP like a sister 4-8-4 to go with the 844, in other words, to get the 838 running again?

How many of those heavyweight Pullmans that have been documented by Rainier Rails would qualify, either as stand-ins, or potentially as cars that actually were in POTUS specials of the time?

How good might some of us be at conning--er, convincing--others to make donations to this? Might actually accomplish something useful this way!

Bah, problem is, too many of us are too honest!

It is on the Internet, so it must be true and correct!

Bob

Consists I have seen of FDR special trains unually included a car for pool reporters. Sometimes it was a "Club" series car that was a combination sleeping car-diner.

What total claptrap. I do like the bit about "all trains within 2 thousand miles would be affected", yeah right. If somebody managed to "take out" the electrification in Grand Central Terminal the railroad could have run steam (and later Diesel) power locomotives down the "West Side" freight line. That line ends a few blocks west of Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Sure it would be disruptive and cause some delays, but "all trains within 2 thousand miles would be blocked", Ok, whatever.

Whoops, maybe I just leaked a "secret" to Hitler..... Loose lips sink ships...

Cheers, Kevin

And it's not as if the NYC was the only railroad serving New York City either. There was also the PRR of course (and Penn Station is just 10 blocks or so from Grand Central, not much more than a 20 minute walk -- yes I've timed it), plus various ferries and carfloat operations by the Jersey Central, the Erie, the DL&W, the B&O, the Lehigh Valley, etc. connecting Manhattan with their terminals and yards just across the river in New Jersey. There was plenty of redundancy.

-Philip Marshall

Funny how they mention "destroying" the rotary converters with sand.

The allies, with the help of the French Resistance did in fact delay the shipment of Panzer Tanks towards the Normandy invasion beaches with "Carborundum" (industrial strength sand).

In one case the Germans parked their Panzer tanks in a heavily guarded field away from the invasion (so they could send them where they would be most useful). And they parked the flatcars (for transporting the tanks) in a less well guarded siding nearby. The resistance reported this intelligence to "HQ" and sacks of silicone carbide (just really hard man made sand) were air dropped "behind the enemy lines".

The French resistance (under the cover of darkness) poured the grit into the journal boxes on the unguarded flat cars. Once the invasion came the Germans loaded up the tanks on the train cars and headed towards the invasion beaches. Of course, they had lots of hotboxes and were delayed by a few days. A few days is all it took to secure the beachhead and eventually win the war.

So the sand did delay things a bit, but did not settle or destroy anything.

So typical of someone from Manhattan to think that 80% of the total US war effort happened right there in Manhattan. The other 99% of the country was just "assisting" a little bit.

$50 for a few sacks of sand; cheap, hotboxes on a train full of Nazi Panzer Tanks; PRICELESS....

Cheers, Kevin.