The Commodore Vanderbilt was to the Twentieth Century Limited what the Pennsy's General was to the Broadway Limited—a secondary backup train which nevertheless could have qualified as a premium train on most other railroads. At the time of this schedule, the Commodore Vanderbilt was an all-Pullman train as well—although the westbound Advance Commodore Vanderbilt did in fact carry a coach between New York City and Chicago.


From the pages of the Official Guide, May 1948

New York Central System herald

The Commodore Vanderbilt
The Advance Commodore Vanderbilt

New York Central System
April 25, 1948

65 67 Train Number 66 68
Daily Daily Miles Services Daily Daily
3 15P 3 45P Dp 0.0 New York, NY (Grand Central Tml.) (ET) C R Ar 7 05A 8 25A
R 4 01P R 4 31P 32.7 Harmon, NY C D 6 07A D 7 26A
F 5 18P 72.8 Poughkeepsie, NY C
F 5 55P 142.2 Albany, NY C R
F 6 23P 159.1 Schenectady, NY C R
7 42P 236.8 Utica, NY C
7 59P 250.6 Rome, NY C
8 40P 289.6 Syracuse, NY C R D 1 30A
10 06P 369.9 Rochester, NY C R
11 15P Ar 435.9 Buffalo, NY (Central Terminal) C R
11 20P Dp
4 05A D 4 24A 727.6 Toledo, OH (ET) C R 6 15P R 7 38P
F 5 10A 860.6 Elkhart, IN (CT) C R 3 18P R 4 40P
F 5 33A F 5 45A 875.7 South Bend, IN C F 2 54P
902.4 La Porte, IN C F 2 34P
F 6 30A 935.0 Gary, IN C F 2 03P
D 7 00A D 7 25A 954.5 Englewood, IL R 1 44P R 3 14P
7 15A 7 40A Ar 961.2 Chicago, IL (La Salle St. Sta.) (CT) C R Dp 1 30P 3 00P
Through Sleeper New York-San Francisco (Alternate Days-See Note)
39 Connecting Train Number (Burlington-D. & R. G. W.-W. P.) 40
1 30P Dp 0 Chicago, IL (Union Sta.) (CT) C R M Ar 9 45A
8 20A Ar 1034 Denver, CO (MT) T C R Dp 1 00P
7 25A Ar 1604 Salt Lake City, UT (MT) T C Dp 8 00P
7 50A Ar 2525 Oakland, CA (PT) C Dp 6 45P
8 50A Ar 2532 San Francisco, CA (via ferry) (PT) T C Dp 6 00P
Through Sleeper New York-Los Angeles (Alternate Days Eastbound-See Note)
1 Connecting Train Number (Various RR's—See Notes) 4

0 Chicago, IL (La Salle St. Sta.) (CT) T C R Ar 11 30A
510 Kansas City, MO (Union Sta.) (CT) T C Dp 1 10A
1124 Tucumcari, NM (MT) T C Dp 1 05P
1916 Phoenix, AZ (MT) T C R Dp 10 03P
2340 Los Angeles, CA (Union Psgr. Tml) (PT) T C R Dp
12 30P
12 01P Dp 0 Chicago, IL (North Western Sta.) (CT) T C R
9 00P Ar 488 Omaha, NE (CT) T C
5 25P Ar 1514 Salt Lake City, UT (MT) T C
2 05A Ar 1964 Las Vegas, NV (PT) T C
10 40A Ar 2299 Los Angeles, CA (Union Psgr. Tml) (PT) T C R

Train 65 (New York-Chicago): 13 stops, 17:00, 56.5 MPHTrain 67 (New York-Chicago): 5 stops, 16:55, 56.8 MPH

Train 68 (Chicago-New York): 8 stops, 16:35, 58.0 MPHTrain 68 (Chicago-New York): 4 stops, 16:25, 58.6 MPH

NOTE: California observes Daylight Savings time during this time period. Local time in California is one hour later than shown here.

NOTE: Train 65 does not carry checked baggage.

NEW YORK CENTRAL SYSTEM
The Water Level Route—You Can Sleep
PULLMAN, COACH AND DINING CAR SERVICE EASTBOUND
Regularly assigned cars are air-conditioned.
Air-conditioned equipment is assigned as far as possible but the right is reserved to employ
non air-conditioned cars as necessitated by volume of traffic or emergencies.


No. 66—Advance Commodore Vanderbilt—Daily.

Lounge Sleeping Car...Chicago to New York—6 Double Bedroom—Buffet.

Sleeping Cars..San Francisco to New York—10-Section, Drawing-room, 2 Compartment (from W. P.-D. & R. G. W.-C. B. & Q. No. 40 at Chicago). Leaves San Francisco May 1, 3, and every other day thereafter.

Chicago to New York—6-Compartment, 3-Drawing-room.

Chicago to New York—13 Double Bedroom.

Chicago to New York—18 Roomette.

Chicago to New York—10-Section, 2 Double Bedroom, 1 Compartment.

Chicago to New York—8-Section, Drawing-room, 2 Compartment.

Dining Service. Pullman Cars only; no coach passengers carried.


No. 68—The Commodore Vanderbilt—Daily.

Lounge Sleeping Car...Chicago to New York—6 Double Bedroom—Buffet.

Sleeping Cars...Los Angeles to New York—4 Compartment, 4 Double Bedroom, 2 Drawing-room (from S. P.-C. R. I. & P. No. 4 at Chicago). Leaves Los Angeles May 1, 3, and every other day thereafter.

Chicago to New York—4-Compartment, 4 Double Bedroom, 2-Drawing-room. (Two.)

Chicago to New York—13 Double Bedroom (Three).

Chicago to New York—10 Roomette, 5 Double Bedroom.

Chicago to New York—18 Roomette (Two).

Chicago to New York—6-Compartment, 3 Drawing-room.

Chicago to New York—14-Section.

Observation Lounge Sleeping Car...Chicago to New York—4 Double Bedroom—Buffet.

Dining Service. Pullman Cars only; no coach passengers carried.


PULLMAN, COACH AND DINING CAR SERVICE WESTBOUND

No. 65—Advance Commodore Vanderbilt—Daily.

Lounge Sleeping Car...New York to Chicago—6 Double Bedroom—Buffet.

Sleeping Cars...New York to Los Angeles—6 Section, 6 Double Bedroom (in C. & N. W.-U. P. No. 1 from Chicago.)

New York to Chicago—6 Compartment, 3 Drawing-room.

New York to Chicago—13 Double Bedroom.

New York to Chicago—18 Roomette.

New York to Chicago—10-Section, 2 Double Bedroom, 1 Compartment.

New York to Chicago—8-Section, Drawing-room, 2 Compartment.

New York to Chicago—New York to Chicago—12-Section, Drawing-room.

Albany to Chicago—8-Section, 5 Double Bedroom.

Dining Service.

Coach...New York to Chicago.


No. 67—The Commodore Vanderbilt—Daily.

Lounge Sleeping Car...New York to Chicago—6 Double Bedroom—Buffet.

Sleeping Cars...New York to San Francisco—10-Section, Drawing-room, 2 Compartment. (In C. B. & Q.-D. & R. G. W.-W. P. No. 39 from Chicago.) Leaves New York May 1, 3, and every other day thereafter.

New York to Chicago—4 Compartment, 4 Double Bedroom, 2 Drawing-room (Two).

New York to Chicago—13 Double Bedroom (Three).

New York to Chicago—10 Roomette, 5 Double Bedroom.

New York to Chicago—18 Roomette (Two).

New York to Chicago—6 Compartment, 3 Drawing-room.

New York to Chicago—14-Section.

Observation Lounge Sleeping Car...New York to Chicago—4 Double Bedroom—Buffet.

Dining Service.

Pullman Cars only; no coach passengers carried.


It might appear as though the New York Central was shortchanging important secondary cities such as Cleveland, Albany and Buffalo, but fear not. During this time period there was a wealth of mid-tier trains targeted directly at these intermediate markets. The Central was free to market its premium trains directly to the New York to Chicago traffic—and it did.