The long-held rumor that this abandoned train car under Grand Central/Waldorf Astoria was once used to transport President Franklin Delano Roosevelt or his limousine has been confirmed to be false

UPDATE: Since the “FDR Train Car” under Grand Central and the Waldorf Astoria was moved to the Danbury Railway Museum in Connecticut on May 31st, 2019, it has been confirmed that the car is New York Central Baggage Car 002. After speaking with the Danbury Railway Museum we have determined the car was not, in fact, President Roosevelt’s, a myth that was promoted by former Metro North Historian Dan Brucker and widely repeated in the press.

The car’s “extra-wide doors” said to transport FDR’s limousine are actually standard size for baggage cars of that period. Furthermore, the President’s limousine would have never been able to make the turn into the car’s interior. Additionally, Brucker had pointed to the “bulletproof” armor on the car’s exterior and the shock-absorbing suspension on the car’s trucks, which was also standard for a New York Central boxcar of the time, which were extremely durable and built to last, later to be replaced by lighter configurations with the emergence of newer manufacturing and engineering technology.

So what was the car used for? Grand Central used the Baggage Car 002 to transport the rigging for a hundred-ton capacity electric double-ended crane in Grand Central’s tunnels before being left on Track 61. The Danbury Railway Museum estimates the car was under Grand Central for 20 - 30 years.

We went down to see the car years ago and loved to share the story of FDR’s secret train car and platform, which we believed to be true following our tour and conversation with Brucker. It’s unfortunate that one of our favorite “secrets” of New York City turns out to be a fable, but Track 61 is still an important landmark for presidential history as it was used to transport presidents and high-level military and government officials to the Waldorf – don’t forget, every U.S. president since Herbert Hoover in 1931 through Barack Obama stayed in the Waldorf Astoria’s presidential suite. In 1977 William D Middleton’s Grand Central: the world's greatest railway terminal mentioned Track 61, “General John J Pershing was the first to use it, on a visit to the city in 1938. During the 1944 campaign Franklin D Roosevelt gave a foreign policy address at the Waldorf and then descended into the "basement" to the presidential rail car for the journey home to Hyde Park. On other occasions, the siding has been used for such diverse affairs as a 1947 "debut at the Waldorf" for a new 6,000 horsepower diesel locomotive, or for a 1965 "underground party" for pop artist Andy Warhol.”

For years we didn’t want to believe the comments from railfans stating the myth was false and the car held no connection to President FDR. Like many, we pointed to the numerous articles from very prominent sources. But each article by outlets including CNN, Business Insider, Gothamist, and Bloomberg all took the same tour of Grand Central by Dan Brucker, hearing the same story, with Brucker displaying a photo of FDR’s cabinet members outside the elevator at the end of the platform. While Brucker’s first accounts just mentioned the siding track, platform, and elevator, his later tours included the train car and the tour guide would take photos for tour guests as they posed on the rail car. In April 2017 Brucker was fired from Metro-North due to these tours, which were “unsanctioned” during his off-hours and presented a “security risk,” according to the NY Post. It is unknown how Brucker came to believe the car belonged to President Roosevelt.

The only known rail car used to transport the President is the Ferdinand Magellan, a Pullman Company observation car that was designated a National Historic Landmark and is located at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Florida.

Thanks to the Danbury Railway Museum for confirming the whereabouts and details of the NY Central “FDR Car” Baggage Car 002.

VIDEO: On May 31st, 2019, the car was transported by an EMD FP10 (F10) engine to the Highbridge shop for inspection and restoration.

The [Transport Net]

The photos below document the state of the car in Metro North’s Highbridge Shop in the Bronx. Credit: Paul Pesante, May 2019.

*** Original Post ***

Yesterday we posted about the Waldorf Astoria hotel and referenced the secret train car and platform under the Waldorf-Astoria that used to belong to President Franklin D. Roosevelt!! Following requests for more details, here's more info one of our favorite secrets of NYC:

We recently obtained access to the secret platform which President FDR used to access a private elevator that would take him directly to the hotel's grand ballroom. The president had polio and was in a wheelchair – this method of entry allowed him to hide his disability from the public. The train car, which still sits on the track, was customized for the president; featuring a suspension system design to prevent lateral motion when the president sat in his wheelchair, an iron-clad bulletproof exterior, and steel plates under the roof that could be lowered and used as a gun turret. The elevator, Track 61, and the train car all remain under the Waldorf and although they cannot be accessed to the public, are sometimes visible from trains leaving Grand Central Terminal.

One of our other favorite secrets of Grand Central is M42, GRAND CENTRAL'S CLANDESTINE SUBSTATION.

The "FDR Car" Track 61 Myth