By Justin Franz  

NEW YORK CITY — Don’t let anyone tell you that people don’t like to ride trains anymore. 

On Friday morning, tickets for four round-trip excursions reviving the experience of the New York Central’s 20th Century Limited sold out in just 60 seconds, according to its organizer United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey. The trips will run between New York City and Albany-Rensselaer on October 2, 3, 9 and 10 and feature NYC tavern-lounge 43 and observation-sleeper-lounge car Hickory Creek. 

URHS officials said they hope to add additional runs this year, but that regardless, they will have an even larger schedule when they do the trips in 2022. 

“Thank you all for your absolutely incredible level of interest and support,” said URHS President Kevin Phalon. “The response to our announcement of these trips has been nothing short of overwhelming—above and beyond what we ever thought was possible.” 

The excursion will depart New York City at 11:20 a.m. on train 233 each day it runs and arrive in Albany-Rensselaer at 1:50 p.m. After a layover, the excursion will depart Albany at 4:30 p.m. on train 244 and return to New York City at 7:05 p.m. 

Hickory Creek was built in 1948 and was acquired by URHS in 1991. The car is Amtrak-certified and is available for private charters. It will also make an appearance on this year’s Autumn Colors Express in West Virginia. Tavern-lounge 43 was built in 1947 by the Budd Company. It was also acquired by the URHS in 1991 and has been restored to its historic appearance.

More information is available at URHS’s new excursions website: HudsonRiverRail.com.