by Sam Roberts
ALSO BY SAM ROBERTS
A Kind of Genius: Herb Sturz and Society’s Toughest Problems
Only in New York: An Exploration of the World’s Most Fascinating, Frustrating and Irrepressible City
Who We Are Now: The Changing Face of America in the 21st Century
The Brother: The Untold Story of Atomic Spy David Greenglass and How He Sent His Sister, Ethel Rosenberg, to the Electric Chair
Who We Are: A Portrait of America Based on the Latest U.S. Census
CO-AUTHORED BY SAM ROBERTS
I Never Wanted to be Vice-President of Anything! An Investigative Biography of Nelson Rockefeller (with Michael S. Kramer)
EDITED BY SAM ROBERTS
America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York
ART CREDITS
© MTA Metro-North Railroad/Frank English: vi–vii, 2, 3, 11, 19, 31, 68–69, 79, 126, 155, 190, 195, 217, 218, 221, 232–33, 261, 262, 267, 271, 275, 289, 291, 303.
Courtesy, Frank English: i, ii, v, xii, xv, xvi, 7, 14, 21, 34–35, 93, 102, 103, 105, 108, 111, 197, 200–201, 203, 204, 208, 209, 226–27, 234, 235, 237, 242, 244, 245, 246, 255–57, 259, 261–65, 268, 272, 277, 292, 296, 304.
Ed Nowack/Penn Central Company: viii; Arthur Rothstein/Library of Congress: xi; Library of Congress: 22, 27, 58, 87, 282; Penn Central: 45, 55, 62, 64, 112, 120; Signal Corps, Brady Collection/National Archives: 39; Museum of the City of New York: 48, 87; Wide World Photos/The New York Times: 66, 94–95, 114; Rubenstein Library/Duke University: 70; The Library of Congress: 76–77; The New York Times: 83, 159, 229; Otto Nelson/Avery Library of Columbia University: 84, 90; New York City Dept. of Information Technology & Telecommunications: 96, 97; David V. Hyde/Penn Central Company: 119; Ward Allan Howe: 125; Municipal Archives of the City of New York: 124; Neal Boenzi/The New York Times: 137; Edward Hausner/The New York Times: 142–43; Jack Manning/The New York Times: 148, 241; Neal Boenzi/The New York Times: 158; Ewing Galloway: 163; Patrick A. Burns/The New York Times: 167; William Eckenberg/The New York Times: 172; Arthur Brower/The New York Times: 177; The Associated Press: 181; Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times: 184; Sara Krulwich/The New York Times: 188; Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times: 196, 240; Keith Meyers/The New York Times: 197; Bill Swersey for The New York Times: 212; Vic DeLucia/The New York Times:224; David W. Dunlap: 243.
A NOTE ON SOURCES
QUOTATIONS from contemporary sources come mostly from interviews or correspondence by the author with, among others, Peter Stangl, Richard Ravitch, Peter Kalikow, Joseph Lhota, Kent Barwick, Laurie Beckelman, John Belle, Ben Cheever, Nina Gershon, Judah Gribetz, Ashton Hawkins, Tony Hiss, Karl Katz, Harry Kelly, Caroline Kennedy, Maxinne Leighton, Fred Papert, Andrew Penson, Frank Prial Jr., James Sanders, John Zuccotti, and Metro-North officials and employees.
Other citations include contemporary news accounts, among them, articles by my Times colleagues; fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, screenplays, and other publications cited in the text, the bibliography, or both; primary sources, including letters and other documents from the New York Central Railroad and William J. Wilgus and others in the collections of the New York Public Library, the New-York Historical Society, the New York Railroad Enthusiasts and its Williamson Library, the New York Transit Museum, and the New York Central System Historical Society website, http://nycshs.org/; and documents from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and other city, state, and federal agencies.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR ATTRACTIONS THAT ALL VISITORS SHOULD CONSIDER IS THE WORLD-FAMOUS WALKING/AUDIO TOUR OF GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL. FOR MORE INFORMATION, YOU CAN VISIT WWW.GRANDCENTRALTERMINAL.COM/INFO/AUDIOTOUR.CFM.
CONTENTS
WELCOME
DEDICATION
FOREWORD BY PETE HAMILL
PROLOGUE: THE ACCIDENTAL TERMINAL
RAILS VS. RIVERS
THE COMMODORE
THE DEPOT
THE STATION
THE ENGINEER
TERMINAL CITY
ALL ABOARD
GATEWAY TO A CONTINENT
SAVING GRAND CENTRAL
THE RESTORATION
THE CHARACTERS
COMMUTATION
SECRETS OF GRAND CENTRAL
HOW IT WORKS
SINCE 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
EPILOGUE: THE SECOND CENTURY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALSO BY SAM ROBERTS
ART CREDITS
A NOTE ON SOURCES
NEWSLETTERS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by Sam Roberts
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ISBN 978-1-4555-2595-9