Late entry, but I voted for Cincy. But I would have loved to see the Big 4 terminal here in Dayton, Ohio when it was still in operation. But, I’m way too young to even remember when they finally tore out the final parts of the platforms in the mid to late 70’s. I’m only 27, lol. All that’s left now is a few concrete slabs I think, unless those were torn out since my last time up there in the late 80’s. I’ve tried to find more pictures of the terminal, but since cameras were not too grand then, some pics don’t show as much detail as I’d like. Maybe that will be my big project in my architectural corse in college this year, lol.
I voted St. Louis simply due to the variety of railroads and ability to view the operations from adjoining street bridges over the tracks.
Let’s see - I remember Pennsylvania Station and GCT and had the fortune to see many of the other ones listed.
Here are some others for your consideration.
Nashville Union Station b4 it disinegrated - the train shed was worth the trip and the folks there were very friendly.
South Station in Boston - b4 it was rebuilt. It’s great now, but in the day when I remember it…
Indianapolis - Lot’s of trains and interesting architecture
Fort Street - Detroit
Mount Royal - Baltimore- a classic
I am truly surprised that nobody mentioned 30th Street in Philadelphia or Penn Station in Baltimore.
In Chicago, I recall Central station quite well - interesting place with trains from different railroads. LaSalle St. never did that much for me, but the big room at Chicago Union Station - lovely!
work safe
I voted for St. Louis,as I too think it would be nice to have seen it in it’s past glory. So many different railroad companies AND so many different people coming together in one place., the “Gateway City”. Another one I’ve been to and pondered is Denver Union Station, looks like it would’ve been glorious-“back in the day”. For a smaller Station I’d choose Marshalltown, Iowa., with the C&NW, M&StL and CGW. Again not just for the variety of trains, though I love the granger roads, but for the people and the place. I’d like to walk around, explore and talk with folks. There are so many more of the little ones I’d probably rather visit. As I’m from Northern California and currious of the past, I might pick Riverbank on the ATSF Valley Division, or Perhaps little College Park between San Jose and Santa Clara on the SP Coast Division, still again what was at Tracey in years past has always intriged me too. Seeing the perrishable traffic mixed in with the passenger trains would be memorable.
My hometown station, San Jose on the Southern Pacific was quite the place for me as a kid. Especially with the canneries going, the switchers, commute trains, frieght drags etc…sights, sounds, smells of all that was happening. WP had a frieght house just around the corner,I remember running over there to see their switcher. Ah, plus those airplanes that constantly pass over head even today, coming into the airport could keep youngsters entertained.
So if we can only pick one “great station” okay… but would we just sit there and foam! Or would we ride the trains in our one visit? Where would you head, if say , when you fell asleep and woke up you’d be back here? So the route and it’s sights, scenery and passengers are the important point What year or month might matter somewhat also.
The Main Street Station in Richmond, Virginia will reopen to Amtrak service on the eighteenth of December. Extensively restored, it will serve the Virginia - New York / Boston trains. The station originally served the C&O and SAL passenger service until the SAL departed for the Broad Street Station. The triple cross of the SAL, SR and CO is about two blocks away.
The Hull Street Station (SR) has also been revitalized and serves as a railroad museum. The Braod Street Station is now the Science Museum, with one track still operational. It is used by the American Orient Express when it stops here several times a year. The Florida - New York trains only stop at the Staples Mill Road Station, an Amshack that is still in good shape but with the most uncomfortable seats in town.
As an operating station it is hard to beat Washington Union Station. It is architectually significant and It has all the amenities including a multiplex cinema. Second would be the Spanish Mission architecture of Los Angeles.
Union Station in DC was a great place to visit in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. I always enjoyed seeing so many different railroads and different kinds of engines.
My favorite place though wasn’t mentioned and it’s actually a 3 way tie between N&W’s Roanoke, VA station and Baltimore’s B&O Camden Station and Pennsy’s station. All 3 places had free access to the platforms, lots of action, friendly employees and great equipment to see. It was also easy to cop cab rides at those places.
I never got to see the Baltimore Hillen Station of the Western Maryland during steam but if I could time travel I’d certainly go there to see those classy little K-2 Pacifics.
Roger
LA’s Union Station is still a very active place today with a subway, light rail, commuter trains, Jamtrack, and bus services. Been to New Yorks Grand Central, and the “new and improved” Penn Station built in the 60’s. It reminded me of a big porcellen toilet where poeple were to be slurped down the drain to the platforms below. It was a reall awful place, bereft of any character. The original magnificient palacial structure of granduer and awe, was torn down and replaced with a porcellen toilet.
So my vote would be to see Pennsylvania Station in the Big Apple at its height, Say 1920’s
Went to Penn Station many times starting about 1953 with my family. Dad was a Wreckmaster at Edgemoor, DE and we always had a pass. I can remember the demolition going on during periodic visits. As I was about twelve or thirteen when that started. I didn’t realize the full import, and or course still miss that imposing building. We visited Washington and Philadelphia just as often.
I also really miss the Horn & Hardart’s. We took in all the major museums in those cities–enjoyed the mass transit,too. Saw many shows at Radio City Music Hall, probably three or four a year for about fifteen years.
I have almost thirty-five years as a Conductor starting with Penn Central–worked the Clockers from '94 til now. Visit those big old stations while you can. GCT is really in great shape. The Oyster Bar is in full swing, and the Transit Museum outpost has changing displays and a small gift shop.
Maybe the Farley project will bring back some classic scenes to Penn Station. The NJT project is very nicely done. It’s always worth the trip to visit any of the listed sites. If impossible, there are some great books out there.
Al
Dear everyone,
The way that the public has regarded railways in the past forty years can probably be best described as idiotic!!! Remember the saying, “Waste not want not?” We seem to have forgotten that. Why?
Fifty years ago, Los Angeles had what was probably the best public transportation system in the WORLD! Between the Pacific Electric interurbans and the Los Angeles Railway trolleys, you could go practically anywhere in Southern California. What did we do? We got rid of them! And then, we start rebuilding the same lines decades later. You might not have known, but the Blue Line light rail system is on the same route as the Pacific Electric’s old Pasadena-Long Beach line!
What does this have to do with stations? Plenty…
Take New York’s Penn Station, for example. One of the most magnificent, beautiful, and wonderful structures ever to grace the earth. And I’m not even a Pennsy fan. What did we do? We knocked it down. And then we replace it with a large toilet, as vsmith described it. Keep in mind that I really do not like modern architecture–it’s an excuse to replace cherrywood panneling and brass fixtures with unsightly steel cables! And then we knocked down Cincinatti Union Station, Chicago’s Dearborn, C&NW, Central, and Grand Central stations, and everything else. It’s a wonder that some real estate developer didn’t turn Los Angeles Union Station Station into condominiums!
Now that I’ve got that out of my system, let me add the following remarks. Being from southern California, LA Union Station occupies a special place in my heart. I have also visited Union Station in Washington D.C. I went there many times, because its food court had the best food I had in D.C.! It is a beautiful structure, not to mention immense!!! Then there is Albuquerque. I have spent a large amount of time there, although I was born after they knocked down the Alvarado and the Indian Building (what a shame). I never saw the station, (weep, weep) but the pictures speak vo
I would pick Union Station because of the large variety of trains.
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by trainjunky29
Dear everyone,
The way that the public has regarded railways in the past forty years can probably be best described as idiotic!!! Remember the saying, “Waste not want not?” We seem to have forgotten that. Why?
Fifty years ago, Los Angeles had what was probably the best public transportation system in the WORLD! Between the Pacific Electric interurbans and the Los Angeles Railway trolleys, you could go practically anywhere in Southern California. What did we do? We got rid of them! And then, we start rebuilding the same lines decades later. You might not have known, but the Blue Line light rail system is on the same route as the Pacific Electric’s old Pasadena-Long Beach line!
What does this have to do with stations? Plenty…
Take New York’s Penn Station, for example. One of the most magnificent, beautiful, and wonderful structures ever to grace the earth. And I’m not even a Pennsy fan. What did we do? We knocked it down. And then we replace it with a large toilet, as vsmith described it. Keep in mind that I really do not like modern architecture–it’s an excuse to replace cherrywood panneling and brass fixtures with unsightly steel cables! And then we knocked down Cincinatti Union Station, Chicago’s Dearborn, C&NW, Central, and Grand Central stations, and everything else. It’s a wonder that some real estate developer didn’t turn Los Angeles Union Station Station into condominiums!
Now that I’ve got that out of my system, let me add the following remarks. Being from southern California, LA Union Station occupies a special place in my heart. I have also visited Union Station in Washington D.C. I went there many times, because its food court had the best food I had in D.C.! It is a beautiful structure, not to mention immense!!! Then there is Albuquerque. I have spent a large amount of time there, although I was born after they knocked down the Alvarado and the Indian Building (what a sham
Dear vsmith,
I noticed that they moved the station back, but it still looks to be in pretty sorry shape. I feel sort of sorry for it, and I am contemplating starting some sort of group for its preservation. It is sad to think about it now when it was an amazing place in its prime. The movie stars who wanted to avoid the press at LA Union Station disembarked in Pasadena. So many notables went through there its hard to count them, many going to the Green Street Hotel across the street. And now…it’s boarded up. Don’t even get me started on the South Pasadena station…
But about the rebuilding on old Right of Ways, did you know that the PE’s old Oak Knoll line to Pasadena (the eastern of its two routes there) has its Right of Way still largely intact? It won’t be long now untill we find some awful thing to do to it as well, just like we did to all those other wonderful things that should have been preserved.
I’ve got an idea that should solve LA’s smog problem, at least in part: rebuild the old PE and LARy. Make it into a kind of historic yet functional attraction, like San Francisco’s cable cars. Railfans everywhere would be having a field day! And at the same time, we protect the environment, preserve history, and make mass-transit the glorious spectacle it was in the age of the trolley. Any takers?
Once more, I hope you enjoyed my random thoughts,
Daniel
I voted for Chicago’s Dearborn Station. Though it’s train shed never looked completed, the station itself stood out as a gem among it’s rivals scattered across the city. I wish it were still ‘alive’, serving passenger trains. Fortunately, the station was spared destruction and now serves as the center piece to an upscale residential development in the heart of Chicago’s South Loop.
Losing Grand Central in the Windy City was a shame, as was the old Chicago & Northwestern Station. To see photographs of both in their heyday…only to realize that they’ll never be back…is enough to make a grown man cry. The wanton destruction of architectural wonders continues to boggle the mind.
On the city’s south side, I thought Englewood Station was fascinating, if for no other reason than two of America’s most famous passenger trains–Pennsy’s Broadway Limited and NYC’s 20th Century Limited–both stopped there. If only I could go back in time and stand on Englewood’s platforms to watch them both arrive, briefly pause then speed away…
So much of what I’ve seen has been through photography in books. I’m glad someone had the foresight to take photos; otherwise, these magnificent stations would be but a fading memory in the minds of people who’d actually seen them.
Dear SuperChiefFan,
It’s really sad.
There are two historic stations that have been or are being restored in Ohio. Both of them were rescued by local efforts and are worth a visit if in the area.
Dennison, Ohio http://www.dennisondepot.org/DD_PIC.html
Marion, Ohio http://www.mariononline.com/agencies/MUSA.htm
The one I would have liked to visit in its prime did not make your list. I want to see Elizabeth NJ in the 40s or 50s. PRR up top which included through passenger trains from the NH, ACL, and SAL. And on the lower level you had CNJ, RDG and the B&O. Both levels were 4 track and both were very busy.
CONCERNING KANSAS CITY UNION STATION:
I read in the paper just recently how this station is on the verge of falling on hard times (again). It seems they’re not making enough money to pay the bills. The Science City was not a big a hit has they hoped. I went through it in 2000 just for the sake of seeing what it was all about. It came as a part of a tour package: Science City admission, a movie, and a tour. Amission to the museum back in 2000 was not free, it had to be purchased with a Science City ticket. They’ve since moved the historical museum to a free area. S.C. is, in my opinion, a giant expensive children’s play ground. Lots of neat stuff there but it’s all kids stuff. Interesting exhibit that I liked was the part that recreated an old time town and old time station depot with authentic depot equipment. I don’t know if that part still exists. They also have a window vestibule for watching trains (but it requires admission to S.C.). There are sillouettes explaining what types of rolling stock and locos to watch for.
But, alas, all this didn’t live up to expectations. Even the serveral restaurants in there are not enough to support the station. There were, at one time, 3 fast food restaurants and three sit-down-order-from-menu style restaurants. Fritzs or Fitzes Bottling company was an affordable restaurant but they closed up. Then there’s the one where the old ticket booth used to be, it’s a little more fancy and upscale, and the other one on the east side of the main waiting room that is really fancy and really upscale. On top of that there is the museum, two gift shops, and Amtrak. They also have some corporations that rent space in the offices right there in the building. ALL of this is not enough to support the station, especially when the tenants move out. Another blame is on the managment for not being able to schedule enough events there. I went and saw the Titanic display when it was there. They’ve also hosted at circus exhibit and
You have got a real tough question for me choose from.
Based on the choices, I chose St. Louis. I was born there, my Dad worked for the NYC and took me there, and it is still a grand structure.
GCT was almost a no brainer along with Cincinnati.
However, I would go with Buffalo Central Terminal in its heyday. Yes, it is in poor shape from years of neglect but the exterior has finally been sealed from the weather.
What can be done with it? I don’t know. There is an organization called the “Central Terminal Restoration Corp.” which is starting to deal the problems of deterioration.
Will they suceed? I hope so.
If you are interested, they have a website at www.buffalocentralterminal.org
Regards, Jerry
Voted for Penn. Central but the one I remember most growing up was the CNW in Green Bay. The old 400 brought us up there many a weekend from Chi-town. Unlike the the P.C. it’s still up and going strong as a resturant with tons of memorabilia. C.N. still runs past a few times a day.
The Chicago CN&W Station was great feast when I was younger. I remember walking up the dimly lit platform up along the length of the “400” which was polished to a wet luster just like a new car still in the showroom… Up along the rows of bumper posts beyond the iron gates guarded by elderly uniformed sentrys, steam would steadly hiss and billow and mix with the faint odor of cigar smoke from the waiting room echoing with the callers announcement, " Last Call for Train Number …" It seems like only yesterday , the kiosks of fresh flowers, the smell of freshly popped popcorn from the counter…having a coke and watch the human parade pass by on their way to somewhere else. Wonderful place. I suppose I could be describing a hundred other places, but compared to the antiseptic bathtub it later became, it was a terrific place to do nothing and enjoy every minute of it.