Track 61 at the Waldorf Astoria: The 'FDR Train' Is the Wrong Car

Track 61 is a real private platform beneath the Waldorf AstoriaAstoriaThe Queens neighborhood famed for Greek tavernas, beer gardens and one of the city's most livable food scenes., linked to Grand CentralGrand Central TerminalThe 1913 Beaux-Arts rail terminal with the turquoise zodiac ceiling, whispering gallery and oyster bar.'s underground tracks so VIPs could enter unseen. General John J. Pershing used it first in 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt used it on October 21, 1944. The rusting car there is New York Central Baggage Car 002, not FDR's train.

The Real Platform Under the Waldorf

Track 61 was not a public station. It was a piece of Midtown logistics, built so VIPs could move between the hotel and the rail network without crossing a lobby or a sidewalk. The platform’s tunnels tie directly into Grand Central Terminal, whose lower levels still carry the terminal’s rail history. Pershing’s 1938 use came first. Roosevelt’s 1944 arrival is the best-known chapter: the president’s armor-plated Pierce-Arrow was rolled off the train and onto a freight elevator designed to lift the 6,000-pound car. The point was speed, privacy, and control. The platform is real. The presidential use is documented. What many visitors see there now is not.

Why the FDR Train Is the Wrong Car

The rail car parked on Track 61 today is often photographed as Roosevelt’s train. It is New York Central Baggage Car 002. Researchers have debunked the presidential label, and the confusion says less about the car than about the platform’s secrecy. Track 61 is difficult to access, rarely opened to the public, and usually encountered through photographs. A rusting car in a dark tunnel invites a story, and the FDR story is the one that stuck. The real relic is the space itself: the platform, the tunnel connection, and the freight elevator. The car is a stand-in, not the presidential vehicle.

What the Myth Gets Right

The myth persists because the underlying facts are solid. There is a presidential platform under a Manhattan hotel. There is a connection to Grand Central’s underground tracks. General John J. Pershing used it first in 1938. Franklin D. Roosevelt used it on October 21, 1944. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum records the president’s wartime travel, and the Waldorf Astoria’s own history confirms the private entry arrangement. The error is only the object: the car displayed today is not FDR’s. Visitors who want the true story should look at the elevator, the platform, and the route, not just the rail car.

Visiting the Track 61 Story

Track 61 has no regular public access, and no standard ticket guarantees entry. The practical move is to visit Grand Central Terminal, the public anchor of this underground system. The terminal is generally open daily from early morning to late night, check current hours with the official Grand Central Terminal site before going. Visitors can stand in the main concourse, then descend to the lower level and dining concourse to see how tracks, ramps, and passages stack beneath Midtown. That does not put you on Track 61, but it explains the network that made Track 61 possible.

A guided Grand Central Terminal history tour is a bookable activity related to this story, it gives context on the terminal’s underground rail network and architectural history. Traveler reviews are available on the activity page. From $35 (estimated). Afterward, walk to Rockefeller CenterRockefeller CenterThe Art Deco complex hosting the winter ice rink, Christmas tree, Radio City and NBC studios. or continue toward Central ParkCentral ParkThe 843-acre engineered wilderness at Manhattan's heart, designed by Olmsted and Vaux in 1858. for a Midtown day that stays above ground.

More on the place itself: grand central terminal.