midnight
Their expedition began with a theatre-party . Bertie had engaged four boxes , and they met there , an hour or so after the performance had begun . This made no difference , however , for the play was like the opera-a number of songs and dances strung together , and with only plot enough to provide occasion for elaborate scenery and costumes . From the play they were carried to the Grand Central Station , and a little before midnight Bertie 's private train set out on its journey . This train was a completely equipped hotel . There was a baggage compartment and a dining-car and kitchen ; and a drawing-room and library-car ; and a bedroom-car -- not with berths , such as the ordinary sleeping-car provides , but with comfortable bedrooms , furnished in white mahogany , and provided with running water and electric light . All these cars were built of steel , and automatically ventilated : and they were furnished in the luxurious fashion of everything with which Bertie Stuyvesant had anything to do .