Buffalo Central Terminal
Distance from downtown and shabby neighborhood are major hurdles
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
It took awhile, but Buffalo finally seems to be getting some steam up and moving toward a new and better future. The Buffalo Central Terminal is really quite an amazing complex and while gutted it was built to last and the volunteers who have been working for years have been able to stabilize it and prevent further deterioration. This developer fellow seems to have a big vision and maybe he is not well enough backed but at least he is laying out a well thought out grand plan. With some coordination regarding light rail & buses, the distance factor is not that bad and if the ancillary developments can provide some juice to the critical mass needed to make supporting commercial operations viable, the adjoining neighborhoods will become great opportunities for upgrading.
Certainly a beautiful building and I wish it well, whatever becomes of this proposal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWOVmZO9HgU&t=2m46s
The five-story building along the tracks is seriously damaged and unsightly, but the restoration group had a sump pump installed and they sort of gave up on it since it's so far gone. The baggage house has a similar problem but it's a little better off.
The main concourse is permanently damaged, in particular, the floor is beyond repair and needs to be replaced. The office tower is cleaned out but derelict. The elevators are a ruin. On both the tower and station, to save costs, over half of the windows are blocked by grey-colored panels. This is good because it seals out the weather that has ravaged the complex for decades. The bridge to the passenger platforms was demolished many years ago.
On the bright side, everyone loves the structure and the clocks on the tower were replaced some years ago and are operating and protected by burglar alarms.
But there's a serious problem. It's very far from the city and without light rail or other high-capacity transit mode to actually get to the station, it's going to be a hard sell. The station was criticised for this serious weakness when it opened in 1929.
Everyone wishes Buffalo well in every respect.
From what I read here the old NYC station can't be restored for anything less than a fortune...and for what? Is the best use of precious tax money in Buffalo the re-creation of a 1929 monument to the Golden Age of Rail Travel? Seriously? Wouldn't that money be better spent on train service itself?
Let's say that the station did get restored. Fine. What will be the future costs to taxpayers in payouts, grants and tax abatements just to operate and maintain the place? How will future repairs and improvements be paid for?
As to it's inconvenient location, Depew is not exactly downtown Buffalo, either. Poor Buffalo.
My suggested long-term solution for Buffalo:
1. Fuggedabout the old station.
2. Build a nice new station like the ones at Albany-Rensselaer or Niagara Falls, with all the 21st century bells and whistles.
3. Find a way to put passenger trains back into downtown Buffalo and the new station there (see #2) which will be the centerpiece of a revived, 21st century city.
4. Organize horseback tours out of town to visit the ruins of the old abandonned railroad station as it is slowly overgrown by trees, flowers and weeds native to western New York.
NKP guy 4. Organize horseback tours out of town to visit the ruins of the old abandonned railroad station as it is slowly overgrown by trees, flowers and weeds native to western New York.
Wildlife, too. There appears to be a healthy breeding population of American woodcock in the grassy area just east of Depew station. My son and have listened to their distinctive calls on more than one occasion while waiting to board the Lake Shore Limited.
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