New York Central "20th Century Limited" on Live TV (1955)

Episode of the CBS show "Omnibus" from the evening of January 9th, 1955 with a live remote broadcast of New York Central's prestigious "20th Century Limited" departing Grand Central Station. Host Alistair Cook rode the head end from GCT to its first stop, with architect Eliott Noyes and TRAINS magazine editor David Morgan providing additional commentary. After the train departs the program moves to inside A tower, the dispatcher's office, and finally a ticket booth, before joining Cooke onboard the head end of the train as it was making its first stop.
Yes, this was a live broadcast. Given the primitive technology of television at the time, I can't imagine the logistics, co-operation and organization of trying to get everything "right" so as to show everything they wanted to without delaying the train. Although apparently the train's departure was delayed by five minutes (reason unknown), forcing TRAINS editor David Morgan to ad-lib for several minutes before the train actually left.

[@mrpeel3239]

Omnibus was a terrific, "you-are-there" show. This episode is truly historic. Thankful GCT not torn down and still a living, breathing rail terminal to this day.

[@Ken_in_Wisconsin]

46 crew members on that train. Wow.

[@jefflewis4]

46 crew for only 170 passengers, most were probable sleeping car passengers who paid a premium price though. It was the luxury domestic travel of its day. The baggage handlers likely worked multiple trains though. Most of the porters stewards, and waiters (almost all of them were black) were paid very little and had to rely on tips for their income.

[@J.M.Chadwick6]

A wonderful glimpse into the past of the great New York Central Railroad and its magnificent Grand Central Terminal. Thank God the Terminal was saved and may it last forever!

[@johnmurray8428]

Indeed.

[@simonf8902]

Absolutely. Unlike the tragic fate of Penn Station.

[@johnmurray8428]

@@simonf8902 and London’s Euston.

[@donreed]

07/15/24: I was three years old when this film was created. Thank you very much. It's a real fine film. It was shot just before New York City went to hell in the late 50s-1960s (stay the hell out of NYC today, if you value your life!).

[@brandonoconnor1079]

WOW! What a wonderful piece of railroad history!! Thank you for sharing this piece of history with us. This is like traveling back in time.

[@simonf8902]

In 1958 this train was a star of North by North West.

[@locojohn6637]

Wow… simply wow. From 1955 when live TV was cutting edge and looking into the past almost 70 years ago. Look at how folks are dressed. Simply a more refined time of travel. Love hearing the guy yelling (at work somewhere in the background off camera). Those engineers were all trained on steam too as diesel-electrics had only been in service for about a decade and the engineer wearing a tie !! Everything classic here! Thank you for putting this on YT.

[@chriswright2250]

Nice to look back in time.

[@harri2626]

What a wonderful piece of railroad history. Good to see the much respected, British-born, TV and radio reporter Alistair Cook. He was well known for his weekly "Letter from America" talks on BBC radio for many years.

[@braised44]

Such an interesting piece of railroad history!

[@christopherstory2136]

When rail travel was truly awesome.

[@simonf8902]

Fabulous outside broadcast equipment. The 20 the Century Limited was still a big deal in 1955.

[@nrd515]

I wish I had been on it back then, but I wasn't born until '56. I did ride the 20th Century in 1966, and it was pretty sad by then. The B&O/C&O train we went to Washington D.C. the next year was a lot nicer. We did have an adventure on that train, we hit a pickup truck near Willard, Oh, at about 70 MPH. The truck exploded and the driver was killed. Our lead E unit had damage to the front end, and it was leaking air, and another one had to be brought in to replace it. Before the new E Unit arrived, our train was joined up with another short train, and it's loco and the replacement one joined the undamaged loco that was trailing on our train, so we made the rest of the trip with 3 E Units. We were over 4 hours late getting to DC.

[@bruce_adams]

During the accommodation section, (24 min.), it's fascinating how quickly space is found for the passenger. I'm impressed how they get his hotel information so that they can contact him in case a roomette opens up on his preferred train. Old-style customer service!

[@ThomasELeClair]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And I was four years old in 1955.................I remember around 1958 , my dad took me to the terminal......his mother was coming in from their home state , Nebraska.................As a young gearhead nothing amazed me more than the giant power of trains......................As a gifted machinist today ; I still love trains.................

[@simonf8902]

Alistair Cooke is an absolute star reporter. This is an amazing document.

[@lucasrem]

He does not understands terminal station, funny.

[@b3j8]

Still a proud 1st class train. But the glory days of both train and railroad were over by then.

[@essessessesq]

yes, just 3 years later coach cars added

[@robertnichols4833]

THANK YOU for posting this wonderful bit of history.

[@johnemanolis]

I like the mention of model railroading. The apex of the hobby.

[@JackF99]

I didn't realize they had model railroading back then. I thought it was just toy trains for kids at that time.

[@patrickcalabro8718]

I liked the newscaster’s 🎙 microphone setup and interviews with the train crew without the “stick it in your face” go-between, 🎤 as seen in today's exchanges. It sounded like a conversation, not an interaction between two sides. And the interviewer, having no gloves, 🧤 could keep his hands 🙌 in his pockets on this cold 🥶 day. thank you 🧑‍🎤 🏁 👩‍💼👩‍🎓

[@ebf82234]

That "interviewer" is the immortal David P. Morgan, Editor Emeritus of the iconic "Trains" Magazine.

[@daleeckerman6645]

Grand Central should never be called a "Station." It should always be referred to as "GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL". This is a wonderful piece of history - both in terms of seeing "the Century" and in terms of how remove live broadcasts took place (a little rough, stiff and disjointed). Kudos for putting this on KZbin.

[@cats0182]

In the golden age of radio, there was a program called "Grand Central Station".

[@ronrollo5023]

thats why the eliot said 'u know it as Grand Central station' he subsequently referred to it as 'terminal'​@@cats0182

[@johncox2284]

True story. A Station is a facility at an intermediate location with trains passing through it. A terminal is at the end of the line where trains come in from just one direction, or terminate.

[@xr6lad]

@@johncox2284umm Union station in LA might disagree. And it isn’t in the rest of the world. Euston, Kings Cross and St Pancras (amongst many) are all Euston station, King Cross station etc in London. Same here in Australia. Same in Germany ‘Hauptbahnhof’ means central or Main station no matter whether it’s a through station or terminal. So not a true story.

[@johncox2284]

@@xr6lad Yeah. "Terminal" is an Americanism just like calling a station a depot. In the UK a depot is a repair facility

[@xr6lad]

How fast the decline set in. Barely ten years later they couldn’t be bothered to wash it and keep it polished daily and onboard service was gradually cut till the meals became like dog slop.

[@donreed]

By 1970, NYC was a cripple.

[@markmartindale7215]

Pig slop

[@CampSwampy18]

The decade after this was filmed people in upstate NY were sitting naked in the dirt smoking weed at a music festival. The decline was everywhere.

[@markmartindale7215]

@@CampSwampy18 What does that have to do with passenger rail service?

[@briannelson3686]

Thanks so much for posting this Carl - amazing glimpse into the 20th Century in her glory days as well as Grand Central!

[@johnmurray8428]

A wonderful video. Thank you.

[@jackchen7003]

This was about 30 years before Metro-north. Amazing to see how different it was back then

[@manidig]

There were a few changes but Grand Central still works the same way every day. Nothing goes to Chicago but during rush hour trains leave with the same frequency. The same switch motors move the frogs on the many switches but it's all digitally controlled. The passengers might not be going to Detroit or Chicago but when there's a Yankees game extra trains are added just as many people are on these trains as was when this was shot.

[@jfchonors8873]

Gotta love the woman sitting in the rear observation car wearing a fur stole

[@drewguild3879]

Amazing for the time...TY Carl. And to see DPM in person. The antiquated way to reserve a Pullman. Now I just click my mouse for a roomette. TY

[@paulmatulavich7321]

Wished they had shown the locomotive pulling the 20th Century Limited, with the well known lightning stripe motif and New York Central medallion on the nose.

[@Ken_in_Wisconsin]

@paulmatulavich7321 I think you may be forgetting that the Century was pulled out of Grand Central by an electric motor. The engine change to the diesels was done at Harmon.

[@JoseMorales-lw5nt]

Just wanted to point out an easily forgotten fact about this great structure. Yes, the facade of the building indicates this is GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL. The IRT train station below street level is officially designated GRAND CENTRAL STATION. Here's the fun fact. There is a structure officially known as Grand Central Station. That's courtesy of the United States Postal Service. That's right, the building located at Lexington Avenue and E. 45th Street is officially known as Grand Central Station. Passports can be obtained at that particular station.❤

[@ronbennett7885]

Passenger rail was in slow decline prior to WWII. During the war, the RRs had some of their best years due to rationing of goods, such as cars, and moving troops. However, afterwards, the decline continued rapidly. RRs tried with aggressive PR, such as this, to attract more passengers. For the RRs, freight had long been more profitable. By the 60s, it was clear there would be no turnaround. Leaving the remains of passenger rail largely to various government authorities.

[@yuckyool]

David P Morgan was actually Editor of "Trains Magazine" through 1987, well into the era of deregulation and railroad merger-mania that transformed the railroad "hobby" into profitable businesses. Many changes, and yet all built on the legacy of hundreds of thousands of miles of smooth grade, ballast, ties and steel rail 4' 8.5" apart.

[@user-qm7nw7vd5s]

Too bad there is no longshot, establishing shot of the train platform. Love that classic Scottish/ Irish accent of the train engineer. What a civilized city.

[@charlesmorschauser5258]

46 people to service that great train wow wish it was still running

[@richphx]

Great video!

[@cats0182]

What a look at the past. I was transfixed the entire time. Two things I noted. First, there was no mention of the red carpet; wonder if that was eliminated by 1955. Second, it looked looked like the train was pulled into the station; there was the engine at the end of the platform that followed it out. I remember the train being pushed into the station so that the Observation Car with the drumhead was clearly visible from the station.

[@jfchonors8873]

Diesels are always kept at the far end of the platform so as not to fill the waiting room or Waldorf/Astoria with exhaust

[@cats0182]

This was 1950 --they were still using the NYCRR electrics to get the train from the Mott Haven Yard and from GCT to Harmon.

[@jaygatz4335]

Right at the beginning, it looks like you can just see the edge of the carpet on the platform.

[@Ken_in_Wisconsin]

@@jfchonors8873 There were no diesels used whatsoever. The train was pulled into the platform by the S Motor electric as shown.

[@danabrown4628]

I was in Grand Central to catch a train to CT in 1963, and I noticed passengers walking on the famous red carpet to board the Century.​@jaygatz4335

[@byrd56]

24:17 - Reservation clerk says "ny-un" for 9, just like a telephone operator from that era. Either it was a New York thing, or it was much like aviation pilots and air traffic controllers saying "nine-er" for 9.

[@marcellocolona4980]

I think it was done on purpose, just like aviation.

[@whereisthedollar]

Where the heck did you find this ?

[@ctrlzyx2]

Yeah, this is nuts! Alistair Cooke, too. Beautiful find!

[@philipciaffa6643]

Transfer cars were a post-war experiment, that was abandoned by the late-1950s. The Santa Fe westbound sleeping cars with ATSF customers would join the Santa Fe Super Chief in Chicago bound for Los Angeles, CA for a trans-continental trip from New York City. The eastbound Santa Fe Super Chief would carry New York Central 20th Century Ltd sleepers with their passengers to join the eastbound train for trans-continental service from LA to NYC. Ridership declined as passenger jets wooed the train-riding public to air traffic.

[@Robbi496]

Always wanted to know what David Morgan sounded like when he spoke

[@Ken_in_Wisconsin]

So this was 70 years ago. Just about every single person you see in this video is deceased. It's a reminder of the ephemeral nature of our very existence.

[@rayshowsay1749]

Oh my! 'David P Who?' said Grand Central Station. Uh oh; and looking outside just now, that looks more like pieces of sky than rain that's starting to fall ...

[@epe1238]

They flew out of there in the day compared to the crawl out today.

[@mikekelly5822]

I was a big fan of Omnibus. It came on late Sunday afternoon in the MIdwest. Somehow I missed this episode when I was eleven years old. How and where was the poster able to retrieve this NBC broadcast?

[@davidsharp3110]

Great video! 100th like.

[@Neil-ru7kw]

Pretty amature editing , and tv broadcasting was still teething .

[@Mrbeahz1]

Grand Central Terminal, not station.

[@stephenvanwoert2447]

Did New York Central and Santa Fe serve the same station in Chicago? If not, how did they exchange those Santa Fe through cars?

[@johnplampin7274]

NYC was at LaSalle St. Santa Fe was at Dearborn. Switcher took cars to yard, then over to to other rr which then made up the new train. Most passengers got off and enjoyed shopping at stores like Marshall Fields, or dining at the Pump Room or elsewhere. If you stayed in your car, you had to endure loss of AC, etc. the transfers usually took several hours (cleaning, etc also). There were various other transfers also. I think all gone by 1958 sometime.

[@stephenvanwoert2447]

@@johnplampin7274 Interesting. Thank you. I know that there were several RR termini at a former time. It must have been a hassle to make connections.

[@johnplampin7274]

@@stephenvanwoert2447 Parmelee transfer buses ran between the various stations ...luggage (if not on a through car) could go by transfer van to the new station for a small fee....so if you did go shopping or whatever you did not have schlep your luggage around.

[@wiedep]

Awkward and stilted, like an Ernie Kovacs comedy sketch. They're trashing the railroad, why would NYC allow this?

[@cliffordporteriii6625]

It’s Grand Central Terminal. Grand Central Station is for the Subway 4,5,6,7, and the S to Times Square as per the FDNY. 👍🏽😎🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🇺🇸🇺🇸