One of my fondest memories is going to pick up my dad at Indianapolis Union Station every Friday night. He was a traveling salesman and I remember that when a train arrived, it arrived overhead and the whole station would rumble. I understand that station is still in use. However, most stations I’ve been to have either the tracks below or on the same level with the waiting rooms. I’m sure there are other “tracks overhead” stations and, if so, where are they? I’m thinking of a national tour of these stations.
While the tracks aren’t overhead in the manner you describe, the station in Rome, NY was/is well below track level.
In Philadelphia, the beautifully preserved Reading Terminal hosted trains that came in a second-story level, over a viaduct to keep them off city streets. Escalators took passengers up to the train level, which is where most people waited.
Under the train shed was, and is, the Reading Terminal Market, where most of us who live downtown get our fresh food. Originally, the trains would bring the seafood, the produce and the farmers, especially the Amish in and the could sell the stuff without leaving the building. The market is still very much with us. The last SEPTA trains used the station in 1984 - and yes, the whole market shook and rumbled. SEPTA uses an underground station, Market East. The headhouse of the terminal is part of the Marriott Hotel; the huge trainshed has been incorporated into the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Larry
Hartford, CT comes to mind… Schenectady, I think… (may just be an embankment…), Bridgeport, CT. Springfield, MA (may just be an embankment)
Also, White Plains downtown, Elizabeth, Trenton, New Brunzwick, Richmond Main Stret\et, Wilmington, DL, old Albany downtown, Sante Fe at Wichita, Aurora, 125th St., Manhattan, Jamaica LIRR (huge), 30th Street Phily for SEPTA suburban trains, Newark, NJ, Evanston Main Street, Pittsburgh (PRR), North Philadelphia, Rahway, NJ,
Trains come in to the old North Western Station (now Ogilvie Transportation Center) in Chicago at a level above the streets, though there is little public area immediately below them. The old LaSalle Street Station in Chicago is/was similar.
Union Station in Toronto is like that. Often times when I was there, non stop rumbling from the VIAs switching platforms, arriving or leaving the station. Alot of the times it was the GO trains though. The only way to tell was sometimes they sounded the bell-GO trains don’t have the electric bells.
Actually the Reading Terminal Market is there because the Market was on the site first. The P&R bought the land the market was on with the stipulation that they would keep space for the market when the new train station was built. So they built the train shed and put the market on the ground level, under the tracks.
Ironically the situation is reversed now. The Center City Commuter tunnel was built directly under the Reading Terminal so now the trains go under the market.
Dave H.
I’ll mention one: We visited the ex Connelsville, Pa. passenger station a few years ago as it was advertised to be housing a business of colored class in various forms, lamps, etc…So we worked our way over into Connelsville on our way from Indiana to Pa…The station still is intact and looks like a railroad station but houses the business now…Upon looking it over I noticed a tower like structure that housed a stair case arrangement about 3 stories high. One entered it from inside the station. At the moment I can’t recall if it was B&0 or WM…But upon inquiring further we were told the tracks passed the station up about 3 stories off the ground and we took closer note and saw some of the concrete bases where the steel structure held up the elevated tracks but have been removed some time in the past…That was quite a climb from the staion floor level up to the elevation of the boarding area for the trains…It is a beautiful brick station and I enjoyed our visit to see it.
…Another one I have had experience with back many years…The former Pennsylvania RR station in Johnstown, Pa…From the main waiting area at street level one must move through a tunnel {that used to span under 4 tracks and two double sided platforms up at track level…which was next level above…One could hear the rumble of trains crossing the tunnel and bringing sound into waiting room…It still exists and now serving Amtak but the one double platform has been removed but one still goes through the tunnel and up to track level by stairs or elevator to the remaining double sided platform to board Amtrak east / west…
This is in the nature of historical rather than contemporary but…All of the RRs heading south out of Chicago had stations at 63d St and, since the tracks were on elevated embankments, all had the ticket offices, baggage check-in, etc on street level. If memory serves they ran, from E-W, Woodlawn (IC Big4, MC, South Shore), Engelwood (PRR, NYC, NKP, RI), CWI Engelwood (CWI, C&EI, Erie, Monon) and farthest west Wabash, B&O, PM (later C&O) and GTW
The Connellsvile, Pa. station was on the Western Maryland.
Newark NJ has a 6 track overhead passenger station for A/trak & NJT! It is the former PRR passenger station[:o)][:)][:p]
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Originally posted by Tharmeni
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New Haven at Reaville. NE Corridor at ground level, but a branch line above.
mvlandsw…Thanks for the info…What a rugged territory to get a railroad through…No wonder it had to be elevated at that point. Had to drive up a very steep {maybe main St.}, to continue our trip north east out of there…But we enjoyed our visit.
Modelcar: Is the Indianapolis station (the small part that is now Amtrak) still set up with the tracks overhead? My brother -in-law said he heard that a lot of freight trains use the tracks and the place sure rumbles - but being built more than 100 years back, it still holds up OK.
…I personally haven’t been in that facility for some time but Amtrak is still served there with the Hoosier State…{I believe it is}, and doubt if there has been any structual changes so I imagine what lines were over it before still are…I haven’t seen any info on their train schedule for some time now…and I’m trying to remember if the Cardinal comes in from the east and then becomes the Hoosier State to Chicago and then reverse the operation…I’m not sure…Perhaps someone from down in the immediate area can set me straight on that…
Western Europe is full of overhead-track stations, including Brussells-East, Berlin-Zoo Garden and numerous other way stations in medium-sized cities. Frequently, though, it seems that the track is still at ground level and the passengers transfer by way of underground passages. Frankfurt-Main, for example.
Overhead track seems to make the most sense when the station is pretty large, and passengers can benefit from the convenience of not having to walk down to the bumper, move to the next track’s bumper, and then go to their coach. Much more convenient to take the stairs down, midtrain to midtrain, along parallel through lines.
Certainly the Indy PRR station in the 1940s and 50s was HUGE and probably benefited from what, for us Americans, is an unusual arrangement.
[8D]
…All that structure is still there…Was it Pennsy in Indy…? Pennsy came through Richmond and Anderson…I’m just not sure about Indy…Wasn’t the bulk of that NYC…?
Erie, PA-NYC and PRR
Pittsburgh, PA-PRR
Richmond,VA-Main Street Station-SAL and C&O
Jacksonville, FL-half of tracks capable of through running-SAL, ACL, Southern, FEC-had to go down tunnel then up to tracks
Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal-AT&SF, UP, SP
Savannah, GA-SAL, ACL-same as JAX for far tracks