Looking to tap into this forums vast amount of knowledge. Can anyone give me some examples of passenger stations that were built in such a way that passengers had to use a tunnel to go under yard or mainline tracks and come up in the middle of the platform. Now I’m not talking Grand Central Station or Chicago Union Station, where tunnels are all over the place, but a smaller size city where maybe there wasn’t enough space to build the station next to the tracks and it had to be built a short distance away and a pedestrian tunnel built to allow passengers to come up in the middle of the platform. I have a modeling situation where I could put the prototype to good use if I could find a good example.
Thanks
John
Oklahoma City on the Santa Fe. The railroad was elevated through downtown (still is), and you entered the station at street level and walked under the tracks to stairways up to the platforms. Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal is similar, though on a larger scale.
On the BN racetrack, many of the newer Metra stations have a stairway going down, crossing under the track, then coming up on the other side. They look a lot like subway entrances on the CTA. In the downtown area of Chicago, many of these “tunnels” go thru the basement area of a department store. On your layout, you can have a Sears store with a lower level that connects with the trains.
Glenn
Well, I don’t know if this fits your “small city” criteria, But Detroit, Mi. and Memphis, Tn. come to mind. I’m not sure, but I think that the stations along the Illinois Central in the south suburbs of Chicago also used this arrangment. I DO know that the I.C. station in Flossmoor, had a tunnel under the tracks to allow the “station” located on the west side of the tracks to access the platforms on the east side.
Todd C.
There is a small rural town in Australia called Mitchell that has the station beside the yard on the city side and platform on the oposite side of the yard, so there is a tunnel under the yard from the station to the platform.
Thanks for all the replies. The description of the town in Australia is pretty close to my situation. I have a 24" wide area that holds my yard but also has the mainline running along the front and back edges. I have room to put a passing track on the front and a platform next to the passing track. But not enough room for a station as well. So the station “sits” on the other side of the yard and there will be a tunnel that comes up through the platform from the station. The station of course isn’t seen. I think what I might do is have a backdrop with a station painted on it. Always look for a prototype solution to a modeling problem!
Some stations are little more than a loading platform with a tiny shelter for the passengers. Of course, it may have some kind of lighting and posts for the station sign and any advertising poster you can add to the scene. Then a short walk with some people can lead to a parking area or small street. The tunnel serves to board passengers on the side away from the busy mainline & be able to serve the other side of the track. Have fun with your new station! Glenn
My layout is a shunting yard with a small townish area with a road leading to the station. Mine is like the station at Mitchell, Aus. the platform is near the intermodel yard which is near the mainline.
One thing I never have liked about forums like this is many times the person asking the question never bothers to come back and say THANK YOU to those who took the time to respond. Not always. But many times. So a BIG THANK YOU to all that contributed an answer. I am now also considering a long over the track walkway for the scale railfans. We have one of those here in Jacksonville at the throat of CSX Moncrief Yard. It doesn’t lead to a passenger platform but was built so pedestrians could walk above the tracks when yard switchers had the nearby street blocked for long periods. Visually that would be a lot more dramatic. But building such a structure would be a project and a half! Anyway thats my problem. Thanks again.
John
John:
I think Peco makes a subway/underpass type entrance for platforms. I don’t know if anyone in the US carries it.
GO Transit has a number of stations with tunnels. In some the tracks are elevated (Oakville, Malton); some the station is at track level(Georgetown); in Bramalea the station is a bit above track level
–David
When I was in Germany, I bought the Faller Bonn station and a seperate Vollmer platfrom. This platform had the stairs coming up from an obvious underground passage. I took an in side cardboard roll from paper towels, cut it to size, painted the inside {as much as I could reach}, put in a light and voila, an underground passage so you see, you don’t really have to model on any existing station. I Walthers carry the Vollmer platform. Hope this helps.
Pop.
Johnstown, PA, has such a station. The ex-Pennsylvania 4 track mainline is elevated through the main part of the town, and the bording platform is in the middle. The station sits down at street level, so you have to use a tunnel to get under half the mainline, and up to the platfoms. It is still in use today. You can see the inside of the station in the movie “Slap Shot” that was filmed in Johnstown.
Metro-Park, Iselin, NJ. Railroad road bed is elevated with station at grade. Inside the station is a tunnel and stairs for west bound traffic, and stairs for east bound traffic.
Just like Penngg1 said the Islin station is like that. There are also other small stations on the nj transport lines that use tunnels under tracks to get to platforms. Some have tunnels, and some have elevated walkways. Bernt T.
The PRR station in Greensburg, Pa., also has tunnels, to BOTH platforms. The station itself is located to the South of the tracks (city-side), at a lower level, ‘below’ where Track #1 ‘was’ in 4-track days. You’d pass under ‘old’ Track #1, then up the steps to the East-bound platform, between Tracks #1 & #2, or continue in the tunnel, under Tracks #2 & #3, then up THOSE stairs to the West-bound platform, between Tracks #3 & #4. The tunnel continued under Track #4 to the North side of the tracks/station. This last portion of the tunnel (under Track #4) was bricked-over in the late 1990s. Station also (still) has elevators to BOTH platforms…
John,
Don’t know what your budget is, but you might want to look at the “city details” from Model Memories: http://www.info-4u.com/modelmemories/hocity.htm#citydet
If you’re still contemplating an over the tracks pedestrian walkway, using some of their fencing for the sides might save you considerable effort.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543