NYC 20th Century Limited

I am of the understanding that when the NYC was at its peak (19-- teens, 20s, 30s), the Century (and perhaps other trains) had multiple sections. How many sections ran in each direction? Was each section a complete train with Pullman, Dining, Observation, etc? How were the departure times managed? Certainly they could not all depart at the same time. Was the first one more exclusive and luxurious than the others? Also, the Century was described as very exclusive. What exactly does that mean? Were certain people or groups of people excluded for reasons other than their ability to pay the fare?

Howard Sterenberg
Grand Rapids Michigan

The number of sections was a function of customer demand, but in the case of the 20th Century Limited it was often more than 2. Each section was complete and with comparable amenities. They departed one after the other on rather short headways. The train wasn't considered to be on time unless the last section arrived on time. Exclusivity was a matter of the first class fare, accommodation charge plus a supplement. In today's currency it was pretty expensive.

Good Morning:

If you haven't read this one, take a look at Karl R. Zimmermann's book, 20th Centruy Limited. It has a lot of material (some in color) which will give you a good idea of waht the Centruy was like. Then there are the old standbys by Beebe and by Hungerford.

IIRC, the record for sections operated in one day was eight. Again, relying on what's left of my memory, the last section is the one that made all of the scheduled stops.

The following appeared in the June 7, 1942 Form 1001 timetable:

"The 20th Century Limited and other New York Central passenger trains are frequently operated in two or more sections. It is therefore necessary that friends who expect to wire you en route, or meet you at stations, shpould know the number of your Pullman car as well as the number or name of your train. When more than one section of a train is operated, it frequently happens that only the regular section will make all the scheduled stops. Passengers expecting others to accompany them oart of the journey, or to join them en route, are requested to inquire at starting point what stops will be made."

The extra fare in 1942 between Chicago and New York was $7.50.

Also, back in the day, the Century had a Boston section which operated into and out of south Station via the B&A. This, of course, later became the New England States.

work safe

My February 9, 1942 NYC System Timetable shows the total one-way fare for a Roomette passenger from GCT to Chicago to be $46.85, including the $7.50 extra-fare surcharge. It also states that a 10% Federal tax is not included, which would make the total fare $51.54 in 1942 dollars. I assume that this would equal at least $600 in 2010 dollars.

DonPevsner wrote:My February 9, 1942 NYC System Timetable shows the total one-way fare for a Roomette passenger from GCT to Chicago to be $46.85, including the $7.50 extra-fare surcharge. It also states that a 10% Federal tax is not included, which would make the total fare $51.54 in 1942 dollars. I assume that this would equal at least $600 in 2010 dollars.

Good guess. $689.87 in today's currency. Brought to you by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Inflation Calculator: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl, and also the letters "N," "Y," an "C."