Lackawanna Station in Binghamton, NY.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
i'm sure it looks much better with the clock tower restored and put back in place. it impressed me as a grand structure about 25 years ago. when i went to New York on business, i always stayed at the Holiday Inn just west of the Holland Tunnel. I would catch the PATH train at the Hoboken station to get over to Manhattan. wonder if you can even go there safely now.
grizlump
pajrrAs part of restoration work being done by NJ Transit at the former DL&W Hoboken Terminal, the terminal's clock tower was actually recreated and put back on. The original tower, plainly visible from Manhattan became unstable in the 1950's and was taken down. The tower was replaced by an UGLY radio tower as the railroad installed radio communications. Now the ugly radio tower is gone and a beautiful recreated clock tower shines the LACKAWANNA name once again. Was the tower necessary? No. Does the terminal look 1,000% better? YES
A comment on the tower... As you mentioned abovem "as part of restoration work being done..." The clock tower was "required" to be rebuilt, as part of the "historical landmark" tag that has been put on the station...
Sam
May He bless you, guide you, and keep you safe on your journey through life!
I Model the New Hope & Ivyland RR (Bucks County, PA)
Thanks, Dave. Once again you have the answer I needed. I can picture the location of a structure like this on my layout. - the ficticious town of Dunwana, WV.
Thanks also for your reply, Ed.
Chuck
Grand River & Monongah Railroad and subsidiary Monongah Railway
As part of restoration work being done by NJ Transit at the former DL&W Hoboken Terminal, the terminal's clock tower was actually recreated and put back on. The original tower, plainly visible from Manhattan became unstable in the 1950's and was taken down. The tower was replaced by an UGLY radio tower as the railroad installed radio communications. Now the ugly radio tower is gone and a beautiful recreated clock tower shines the LACKAWANNA name once again. Was the tower necessary? No. Does the terminal look 1,000% better? YES
GRAMRRI have a question regarding what appear to be operator's towers built over the mid-front of the main station structure. The C&O apparently had a number of such structures. The attached pictures are - Irongate, VA; Sewell, WV; and Whitcomb Jct., WV. Although all three main buildings appear to be the railroad "standard" design, the towers on Sewell and Whitcomb Jct. are octagonal while Irongate is square.
The towers are for interlocking operators for the switches in front of the depots. If you have an interlocking then the tower would be appropriate. If its a train order operator then you wouldn't have a tower.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
I have a question regarding what appear to be operator's towers built over the mid-front of the main station structure. The C&O apparently had a number of such structures. The attached pictures are - Irongate, VA; Sewell, WV; and Whitcomb Jct., WV. Although all three main buildings appear to be the railroad "standard" design, the towers on Sewell and Whitcomb Jct. are octagonal while Irongate is square.
Am I correct in assuming that a tower operator was on duty who was responsible for controlling that portion of the railroad? I have thoughts of building a tower/station of this type for my coal hauler.
Here is Union Station in Portland, OR. Opened Feb 14, 1896 and still in use as a TRAIN STATION, today.
Doug
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
Here's NYC(T&OC) station here in Bucyrus,Oh..The station is being refurbish.
IMHO it looks top heavy.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
back when i worked for the IC back in the 60's, the clock tower in the St Louis Union station was a hangout for winos until the TRRA police rousted them out. then they went across 18th st. and hung out in the post office lobby.
Even small town stations had towers, and usually for the same reason as the bigger ones: to impress the public.
Here's the CNR station in Grimsby, Ontario (now gone)
The CNR station in Goderich, Ont.:
The CPR station, again in Goderich:
And the VIA (ex-CN) station in Brantford, Ont.:
The Grimsby station burned several years back, and was replaced by a steel and glass shelter and is still served by both VIA and Amtrak, while Brantford is still used by VIA. The two Goderich stations still exist, but are privately owned.
Wayne
Primarily, they were a clock tower. Back in the days when most of them were constructed, the clock served as the city's official time and needed to be up high so it was visible from a distance.
Yes towers on buildings were architecturally a standard item in the pre-WW1 era.
Minneapolis Milwaukee Road Depot:
Minneapolis City Hall:
Interestingly, the City Hall looks more like the Walthers Milwaukee WI station kit than the Mpls Milwaukee Road depot does.
That all being said...I do recall something about how Chicago's first railroad built a station that was I guess the tallest building in town - not sure if it had a tower or not though. Since they didn't have telegraph yet, the railroad would send a guy up to the top level with a telescope to see when trains were approaching across the prairies.
http://www.citilink.com/~dwalter/images/minn-4.jpg
http://wwwu.edu.uni-klu.ac.at/gschiffe/Iowa/Travel/Minneapolis/20M_City%20Hall.JPG
To make the passenger feel inconsequential and awestruck by the power and grandeur of the railroad.
Seriously. It's an architectural device. It has no other function than the visual impression it leaves.
RWM
I have a picture of St. Louis' Union Station of when I visited there about 5 years ago.
What was the point of the towers on larger train stations. I know some of them had a clock, but what was the main purpose?
Thanks for the replies in advance.
Will