Photos & Videos Photos Great Passenger Trains Remembering New York Central passenger trains

Remembering New York Central passenger trains

By Brian Schmidt | January 15, 2021

| Last updated on April 29, 2025


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Chesapeake and Ohio
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
New York–Chicago 20th Century Limited at Grand Central Terminal, circa 1960.
Don Wood
Chesapeake and Ohio
a steam engine passenger train
NYC’s Motor City Special
Chicago–Detroit Motor City Special at Kensington (Chicago), 1940s.
A. C. Kalmbach
a steam engine passenger train
a diesel passenger train in front of buildings
NYC St. Lawrence Division train 59

Utica–Ogdensburg, N.Y., with cars from New York off train 35 at Utica, arriving Watertown, N.Y., July 1955.
John C. Illman

a diesel passenger train in front of buildings
a steam engine passenger train at a passenger depot on a snowy day
NYC’s Water Level Limited
New York–Chicago Water Level Limited at Englewood (Chicago), January 1947.
Milton B. Nafus
a steam engine passenger train at a passenger depot on a snowy day
a diesel train in a train yard with freight trains
NYC’s Chicagoan
New York–Chicago Chicagoan at Toledo Central Union Terminal, 1952.
Wallace W. Abbey
a diesel train in a train yard with freight trains
a steam engine passenger train
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
New York–Chicago 20th Century Limited on Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, 1902.
Classic Trains collection
a steam engine passenger train
a group of people sitting around an observation car
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
New York–Chicago 20th Century Limited, 1938 version, observation car interior.
New York Central
a group of people sitting around an observation car
a steam locomotive passenger train at a depot
NYC’s North Shore Limited
New York–Chicago North Shore Limited at Harmon, N.Y., March 1946.
Frank Quin
a steam locomotive passenger train at a depot
a streamline locomotive passenger train
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
New York–Chicago 20th Century Limited, 1938 version, publicity photo between Spuyten Duyvil and Harmon, N.Y.
New York Central
a streamline locomotive passenger train
freight and passenger trains in a train yard
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
Chicago–New York 20th Century Limited, just out of La Salle Street Station (Chicago), 1947 or ’48.
Ed Kriss
freight and passenger trains in a train yard
a passenger train
NYC’s Commodore Vanderbilt
New York–Chicago Commodore Vanderbilt at Englewood (Chicago) in April 1948.
Bob Borcherding
a passenger train
Steam passenger train departing a station
NYC’s New England States
Chicago–Boston New England States departing La Salle Street Station (Chicago), October 1950.
Bob Borcherding
Steam passenger train departing a station
a book cover showing a diesel locomotive
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
New York–Chicago 20th Century Limited, 1948 version, publicity booklet.
Classic Trains collection
a book cover showing a diesel locomotive
An information booth with a lit up clock over it
NYC’s Grand Central Terminal

Information booth and gold clock at center of Grand Central’s upper-level concourse, late 1940s or early 1950s.
New York Central

An information booth with a lit up clock over it
a diesel passenger train witih a train station in the background
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
Chicago–New York 20th Century Limited, ready to depart La Salle Street Station (Chicago), 1946.
New York Central
a diesel passenger train witih a train station in the background
people dining in a dining car
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
New York–Chicago 20th Century Limited, 1948 version, dining-room car interior.
New York Central
people dining in a dining car
a diesel train departing a station in the background
 
 

NYC’s New England States

Chicago–Boston New England States departing La Salle Street Station (Chicago), late 1940s or early 1950s.
a diesel train departing a station in the background
a conductor standing in front of an observation car
NYC’s 20th Century Limited
New York–Chicago 20th Century Limited, heavyweight (pre-1938) version, between New York and Harmon.
Classic Trains collection
a conductor standing in front of an observation car
a passenger train passing buildings
NYC’s 20th Century Limited

New York–Chicago 20th Century Limited, 1938 version, passing Marble Hill station (Bronx, N.Y.).
New York Central

a passenger train passing buildings
a passenger train in front of a station
NYC’s 20th Century Limited

Chicago–New York 20th Century Limited, departing Englewood Union Station (Chicago).
Edmund M. Spieker

a passenger train in front of a station
train platforms with a train station in the background
NYC’s Buffalo Central Terminal

Platforms, head building, and office tower of Buffalo Central Terminal, just before its June 22, 1929, opening.
New York Central

train platforms with a train station in the background
a sleeper car on a passenger train
NYC Sleepercoach

26-room Slumbercoach-style car, rebuilt by NYC from Budd-built 22-roomette car.
New York Central

a sleeper car on a passenger train
a diesel passenger train
NYC’s Commodore Vanderbilt

Chicago–New York Commodore Vanderbilt at Clark Street interlocking (Chicago), 1949.
Donald Sims

a diesel passenger train

New York Central is the Railroad of the Month all through January 2021. This week, Classic Trains editors celebrate the Central’s great passenger trains.

Only from Classic Trains!

A version of this photo gallery first appeared online in October 2018.

7 thoughts on “Remembering New York Central passenger trains

  1. I saw this at the Grand Central Terminal 100 anniversary a few summers ago.
    The China at the dining tables w3as impressive

  2. It would help if the button to advance the slide show remained in the same place and one didn’t have to move the mouse up and down to click on the arrow. Poor planning and programming

  3. Pix # 12 is not the New England States (The States was an all Budd silver train in 1950). Pix # 19 is not the 1938 version of the Century (nor the 1940 version either) but rather the 46/47 version. Its all in the striping. There would also be some differences in the consist but not discernible in this pix.

  4. The shot of the smooth sided train is not the New England States, most likely it is the Comordore Vanderbilt.

  5. the slumbercoach depicted here is not a rebuilt nyc 22 roomette car but an original (one of four) budd slumbercoach, leased to the new york central in 1958. it was returned to budd at the end of the lease (1962?)
    and eventually wound up on the northern pacific with other identical models. by late ’62, the budd kit-bashed
    cars — the 22 roomette rebuilds — had begun arriving on new york central property. they were assigned
    to the 20th century limited and the new england states and then, as all ten were delivered, to other nyc trains.

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