It is about that time… baseball season just beginning, and again this year you can take the train to the game on Metro-North. Although the new Yankees E. 153rd Street station stop makes it easier to get to the stadium, taking the train to the game really isn’t a new idea. The railroad has operated special game trains for years – even back in the New York Central days! And we’re not just talking about baseball – football too! Before Giants Stadium was completed in 1976, the team’s home games were played at various locations – and from 1956-1973 that location was the original Yankee Stadium. Instead of accessing the stadium on the Hudson Line (like today), train riders would take the Harlem Line to Melrose station, and from there walk the short distance to Yankee Stadium.

Below you will find a few of the brochures the New York Central printed about taking the train to Yankee Stadium for baseball and football games. With the exception of the final two (which are more current Metro-North versions), they were all printed in 1966. Special thanks to Otto Vondrak who owns and scanned most of them for me!

New York Central’s special Yankees trains, from 1966

Taking the train to the football game, 1966

The back of the card shows how to get from Melrose to Yankee Stadium, 1966

A little bit more current “Take the train to the game” brochures.