What railroad did I probably travel on back in ~1963?

Both PRR and NYC system maps show Cleveland, Ohio on their routes. No solution there.

I had a similar question about a childhood trip to Detroit, then one day I remembered the chessie cat, solved! Any hope you remember some clue like that?

If you went up the Hudson River out of New York and along the shore of Lake Erie here and there in Western New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, you were on the New York Central. In many places along the NYC west of Buffalo, the Nickel Plate Road's single-track main is visible on a parallel track to the south of the NYC.

If you went south out of New York, through Philadelphia and around Horseshoe Curve, you were on the Pennsylvania RR.

Did you take a ferry to Hoboken? If so, it could have been the Erie Lackawanna.

If you bumped into Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in the diner, you were on the New York Central. 

They would have been on the 20th Century Limited, not a Cleveland train.

Here are a few more clues.

If you lived in Westchester or F airfield county or the Bronx, it was highly likely to be the NYC.  You would have taken a suburban train into GCT or boarded at Harmon.  If you lived in New Jersey, it was nearly certain the PRR, boarding at Newark or taking a suburban train to New York.  From Long Island, PRR would have been likely as LIRR suburban trains went into Penn Station.  If you were in Brooklyn, Staten Island or Manhattan, no basis for a guess.

On the arrival end, if you arrived at the small station on the Lakefront, it was PRR.  If you arrived on what seemed to be an underground platform at a huge station in downtown Cleveland, then it was the NYC.

If you don't remember, maybe one of these clues will stimulate your folks memories.

Another visual clue that I forgot to mention.  If the cars were a dark red, it was the PRR.  If they were gray or stainless steel, it was NYC.

Well, mystery solved.  I requestioned my Dad about the trip and he now recalls we left Grand Central and said it was a New York Central train.  Hooray!

Also, it was Grand Central Terminal.  Grand Central Station was a post office and a subway stop.

Jon  

Now that I know it was the New York Central, anyone care to speculate on what was the most likely equipment that took my family to Cleveland?  

BwanaBob posted:

Well, mystery solved.  I requestioned my Dad about the trip and he now recalls we left Grand Central and said it was a New York Central train.  Hooray!

Well, that was easy! Always ask an eye witness first .

Without question, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford...even before '63

Capetrainman posted:

Without question, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford...even before '63

I never knew the New Haven went as far as Cleveland, Ohio.

H W...it seems there are still things to learn

It was definitely NY Central, my Dad remembered it.  I will ask him if it was a sleeper or not; I don't remember much except being really tired, especially when we arrived.

Thanks rattler21, I will do that.

In 1963, there was only one overnight train, #57 (Cleveland Limited).  Same in 1960 and 1965, the only difference being the number of sleeping cars and coaches.  That is during the time I ws working for the railroad and traveling from NY all over the railroad, including a roomette on #57 to cleveland.

If you were traveling coach, it would have been a 56 seat reclining seat car.  It could have been

- Budd stainless steel full body

- Pullman stainless steel on sides only

- Pullman smooth side in two tone gray.

They were all in pool service.  Although there were fixed consists, cars were changed in an out as needed with specific cars based on operating convenience.  If you took a sleeping car, it would have been a 10-6.  Again there was a mix of stainless steel and two-tone gray.

I've posted a question to the NYC and Passenger Car List groups to see if I can get some train consist data.

Checked with Dad again,  we were definitely in coach, and just slept in our seats.  No wonder I was exhausted when we got to Cleveland.

Maybe we were on the same train. I went to Chicago from Buffalo on the Central on my way to Navy boot camp at Great Lakes in 1963. We went through Cleveland on that trip. Later I went back to Great Lakes to school but crossed into Canada at Niagara Falls.

Pete