Does anyone know of any location where an actual main runs (or ran) through the interior of a building? I’m not talking about sidings or spurs. I guess the High Line in NYC would’ve qualified, but that’s the closest thing I have found in my research thus far.
I am not really certain, but for some reason, I think, I recall a line through a building in the downtown area of Indianapolis? Off of the I-70 area???
Sorry been too many days since I was up there for much time to be really certain[%-)][sigh]…
Not through the interior of any buildings, but the Chicago Milwaukee & North Shore ran right through the middle of the American Motors manufacturing facilities in Kenosha.
Not exactly through a building, but Place Bonaventure in Montreal was built over the tracks leading into Central Station. On the opposite end Place Ville Marie was built over the continuing tracks just before they entered the Mount Royal tunnel. There are likely other places where the air rights have been used for buildings. Parkades have been built over main tracks in several places that I know of, but they are probably not buildings in your sense.
But these buildings were all built afterwards - apart from possibly an industrial lead passing through an industrial warehouse or factory I doubt that it ever happened when the building was there first. Most main lines were built before major structures became a potential obstacle.
John
I know it’s kinda a cheap one, but any station that completely encloses the tracks…
There were many historic examples. Two modern examples are KCS Shreveport-Fort Worth main line runs through the Pilgrim’s Pride grain elevator complex at Pittsburg, Texas, and another location just north of Tower 55 in Fort Worth, see here:
http://faculty.simpson.edu/dick.tinder/www/080502FtWorth/TRE2011a.jpeg
RWM
Mains 3 through 6 pass through the refueling shed at Hauser, Idaho, if you consider an open-ended steel-frame canopy to be a building.
A station on the Monon in Indiana - perhaps at its namesake town ?
Also, I beleive there was something similar on one of the railroads in Vermont or nearby Quebec.
- Paul North.
When the northbound Shinkansen route was built into (or out of) Tokyo’s Ueno Station, it was built through a heavily built up business area. The new right-of-way was cut right through the western sides of a number of commercial buildings, leaving them ‘notched,’ with the new right of way occupying about three stories worth of prime office space.
Chuck
Does this qualify?
The San Diego Trolley in Southern California …
The above photos were originally posted in “The San Diego Trolley with Photos” thread in the TRAINS Magazine TRANSIT forum. About a mile east of the above location, the line diagonally goes through a two building area, but that one is not roofed.
And, then there is Pasadena, CA …
It is hoped these photos help answer your question, OldArmy94.
Best wishes,
K.P.
Awesome. Thank you, I always know that I can count on the good folks here to help!
Perhaps not through the inside of a building, but the Metro North (ex-NYC) mainline along the east shore of the Hudson River goes through the Sing Sing Correctional Facility grounds in Ossining, New York. There used to be an enclosed pedestrian bridge over the tracks as well - not sure if that is still there.
This is probably a stretch, but…
Union Station, Chicago had at one time (I believe this is true) a thru track from the south side thru to the north side which the Milwaukee Road interchanged a train (run thru?) with PRR/PC/Conrail.
Need some help clarifying this.
Ed
There are still a couple of tracks that run through on the east (river) side of Union Station. In fact, when I met the Empire Builder a few years back, it used that track to get to the south platforms before stopping. I agree–that’s a bit of a stretch, because it goes under–not really “through”–a combination of streets, walkways and maybe a few buildings.
The Canadian Pacific mainline in downtown Calgary, Alberta runs under the Palliser Hotel annex with a 30 flr apt bldg, two major parking garages, the ConocoPhillips Canada headquarters, and over 4 city street underpasses in about 6 blocks. You can see the whole thing from the Calgary Tower at the Palliser Hotel, or see parts of it from the insides of the two parking garages, and the pedestrian walkways for each of the 4 street underpasses.
The UP mainline through downtown Reno, Nevada now runs about 20 feet underground between all the downtown casinos. All the street crossings are now level overpasses.
North of Grand Central Terminal there are several building that are over part of the throat trackage to both levels of the Terminal, including the former PanAm buidling (what is its name today?) the former New York Central (office tower) building, now called the New York Genral Buidling, and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, All have “tracks in the basement.” Another example in Seattle’s concert hall, Benaroya Hall, which has a freight railroad line running through its basement. The acoustical consultant, Dr. Cyril Harris, a Professor in the EE Department at Columbia U and an author of many books and papers on acoustics and noise and vibration contorl, worked with the architects to assure measures that make railroad operations completely inaudible inside the concert hall. The Seattle Times’ Jeff Newman did an excellent drawing that shows what was done to assure excellent acoustics in this fine “shoebox-shape” concert hall; and I have a legal scan that I can attach to a message for anyone asking at daveklepper@yahoo.com.
This may be a huge stretch but how about the trains at the various Disney theme parks? They run through various buildings the main ones being the hotels.
Charles Sanchez
PRR-Perfect RailRoad
In downtown St. Louis, main line used by NYC used to run under the roadway deck of Eads Bridge and right under the downtown buildings and come out of a tunnel east of Union Station. I can remember being in stores or restaurants and hearing the rumble and feel the ground tremor when a train was going through the tunnel. My parents and I came through it one time on our return from New York state via NYC. Our light rail-Metrolink-now uses this tunnel and Eads Bridge setup. Eads Bridge used to be owned by the TRRA-Terminal RR Association who also owned and controlled Union Station.
http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e390/MikeMacDonald/PennPostOffice.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e390/MikeMacDonald/NYPO-PRR.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e390/MikeMacDonald/Penn10.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e390/MikeMacDonald/PennPO.jpg
http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/8/8/0/1880.1185278400.jpg
http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/9/5/4/2954.1223356173.jpg
http://photoswest.org/photos/00004626/00004732.jpg
Most of the buildings, north of 42d Street (“The Deuce”) on Park Avenue from Vanderbilt Ave., east to Lexington Ave., are over the ‘train rooms’ of Grand Central Terminal, as far north as 52d Street. The Waldorf-Astoria in its entire footprint, among others. The railroad came first, so I wouldn’t consider them as ‘passing through’. It might be of interest if I noted that all the levels, and the ‘air-rights’ buildings, including the Park Avenue viaduct (roadway) are isolated from each other. The upper-level structure, the viaduct, and overhead buildings all are footed on the wonderful Manhattan schist. None of them touch each other and are sometimes insulated by 2" cork boards, where clearances are close. The modern buildings were footed on a lead-asbestos-steel-asbestos-lead ‘sandwich’ to prevent transmittal of vibrations, but don’t tell the ‘Enviro-Loons’ that, please!!! They are all encased in concrete, so even the rats can’t chew on them. If you are ever on a platform in the Lower Level of GCT, you can see how the columns from anything above don’t touch the Upper Level. Same with the viaduct and building columns. Engineering marvels, methinks, and I built some of them.
Hays