Chasing The Lack Of Light. The 'darkest' departure of the Amtrak Maple Leaf (Train 63) occurred this year on Saturday, November 2, 2024, which departs New York Penn Station/Moynihan Train Hall at 7:15 AM. Sunrise on that day was at 7:28 AM, and as the time changed back to Daylight Saving to Standard Time, the next time it will be close to that hour is the first week of January. The photo at this location on the west side of Manhattan near the Henry Hudson Parkway is seldom in 'proper light' on the nose of the locomotive, and so timing like this provides a creative opportunity. In the background, Grant's Tomb sits above the scene, where President Ulysses S. Grant famously lies in an above ground crypt, and is not actually buried in the earth.