Wow, that Flagstaff station is classic! Pure "railroad," and you could put it anywhere in the country and it would fit right in.
My favorite station is Flagstaff, Arizona.
http://www.greatamericanstations.com/Stations/FLG
[quote user="blue streak 1"]
IMHO there actually be 4 items that need consideration.
1. Outside design of the building
2. Inside layout of terminal and beauty of design.
3. Ease of access to board train and platforms.
4. Platforms themselves.
Here are my picks
for #1 Hard to beat Washington Union station or Cincinnati.
for #2 LAX waiting room although it does need more lighting. Tunnel to platforms lacking.
for #3 San Diego Ease of access from both station and light rail. Dallas comes in a close second.
for #4 Sacremento. Nice wide platforms great for railfans and the service stop passengers. Access to platform from station is terrible.
Did not include train waatching possibilities as #5 as not enough experience.
Utica is indeed a beautiful station, but access throuh the tunnels was been changed some time ago to bridges over the tracks.
I didn't realize this was an older forum that restarted, see my previous comments and did reply to New Jersey. For Canada, I did like Montreal, we stayed at Queen Elizabeth owned by CN and right above the station, easy access and for their rubber tired subway system and shops too. It was 25th anniversary of station opening and they had a huge cake that they cut up and gave out pieces to all as we were waiting for train to Quebec City. The pic of VIA station does not look like the same one I remember CN using, but it might have been renovated over the years. I do remember seeing an old station right across from Chateau Laurier in Ottawa where we stayed, but we arrived and left from a newer station on the outskirts of the city. Toronto was huge.
To New Jersey, thanks for the info. Looks like a beautiful station, I only know Penn in NYC, we came through there on Pennsy years ago and don't remember much about it, except it was huge. I liked GCT better. If I ever get back that way, I'll have to check it out.
Amtrak would be Portland station, still a classic.And I always loved Los Angeles Union but have not been there since Amtrak took over, went there on SP and UP. Still remember the stuffed comfy chairs and I see them on TV when they show the station. Kansas City US is another classic one. Chicago is a good one too, huge, but never seem to have time to really look around, making connections.
Pre-Amtrak of course would be my home town St. Louis Union Station, still a beauty today without trains. But renovations are being made and the new owner is very train friendly, and hopes to get an excursion train back. Buffalo was a massive station, we spent hours there between Niagara Falls and waiting for our train to St. L. With a pass, it wasn't always a quick connection, but we didn't care. We'd watch people milling around and a few running for their trains that they did miss. Another classic is Grand Central in NYC, will never forget that round info center with the clock.
matthewsaggie H.L. Mencken was a Baltimore man through and through, so he would have been a B&O man. Mount Royal would have been his style; in fact it's not far from his home. Someone posted recently the story of how the B&O provided sepcial trains for several months, operating from Philadelphia to Baltimore, to keep the newspaper going after the Great Baltimore fire of 1904. Can't find it now, but if you check out his book Newspaper Days it's there.
H.L. Mencken was a Baltimore man through and through, so he would have been a B&O man. Mount Royal would have been his style; in fact it's not far from his home. Someone posted recently the story of how the B&O provided sepcial trains for several months, operating from Philadelphia to Baltimore, to keep the newspaper going after the Great Baltimore fire of 1904. Can't find it now, but if you check out his book Newspaper Days it's there.
https://books.google.com/books?id=F60762CfNPQC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=Mencken%27s+views+on+B%26O+RR&source=bl&ots=tQHbvYKBiQ&sig=BvoCRcYDMPBR6pHKtgeVH80eC98&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1yfappLbKAhUN12MKHeA8CtIQ6AEIOjAE#v=onepage&q=Mencken's%20views%20on%20B%26O%20RR&f=false
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
My favorite Amtrak station -- RHINECLIFF, New York -- its an historic building but is not in very good condition. Its my favorite, however, for convenience and for very polite staff. I also like it as its right on the Hudson River and so there is both water traffic to watch as well as rail on both shores plus views ofteh Catskill Mountains. As business increases (which it is, including scheduled stops for the Lakeshore Ltd.) I hope the station is brought back to its earlier standards.
I do enjoy the many restored Amtrak stations around the country, as well as some of the smaller ones past and present (e.g. Saint Petersburg, Florida when the trains actually went there and today's Ticonderoga, New York station.
Least favorite: Penn Station New York !
A tip of the hat to schlimm and wanswheel for their pictures of Union Station at New Haven. A picture certainly is worth a thousand words..
I have never seen the drawing of the proposed station before, but I note the proportions of the building are substantially the same as the station I have come to know. Fascinating to study.
It's a great station and I like seeing it get the respect it deserves. Thanks, gentlemen.
New Haven Union Station 1909-18
http://www.cassgilbertsociety.org/works/new-haven-ct-rr/new-haven-rr-exterior/
One of my favorite stations is the century-old NY NH & H RR station in New Haven, Conn., now busy as anything handling trains from Amtrak, Shore Line East, and MetroNorth. Trains come and go from 3 different directions.
Designed by Cass Gilbert (Woolworth Bldg in Manhattan, 3 state capitols, US Supreme Court Bldg, among others) about 1916, this wonderful station has everything the passenger could want. Its large waiting room is a sun-filled joy to sit in, especially on the original wooden benches which have on top of them glass-encased large (Lionel?) model New Haven RR trains. Lots of marble, wonderful light fixtures, clerks behind cage windows, a stunningly modern tunnel to the platforms, a locomotive ready track just outside the station, all make NH a fascinating and comfortable place to watch trains, while giving passengers a warm, safe, inspiring station in which to spend one's wait time.
Favorite station of days past? Cleveland Union Terminal. (to paraphrase Satchmo, "If you gotta ask, you'll never know.")
Washington D.C., probably has the best food court. Don't stand outside the front and admire the Capitol. You will be confronted by neer-do-wells who panhandle and/ or mooch cigarettes.
East Glacier, MT
Quebec City:
Another vote for Toledo. Every Xmas the wife and I board the Capitol Limited to DC from Toledo. MY wife hands out rubber duckies everywhere she goes, and that station has a line of them inside their ticket window now, not sure 10-15 of them at this point. The window staff remembers us year to year. And last summer our 30 year old son trained to NYC from Toledo, so he announced himself as son of duck lady, and presented them yet another duck my wife sent along. The station itself has an eye challenging colorful tile floor in the waiting room, a work of art itself, and an arc of rail embedded in the sidewalk out front, with a hostorical marker sign. Comvortable up[holstered bench seats, and the train is maybe 20 feet outside the waiting room door. Though the sleepers are a bit of a hike down the platform.
I stayed at the Royal York. When I checked out, a bellman offered to take my luggage to the train station. It was a nice day, and he chose to push the hotel luggage cart across the busy city street, rather than use the tunnel. I suppose it saved a couple of elavator rides.
I also stayed at the Nova Scotian a couple of times. The first time was in the early 90s before VIA eliminated the Atlantic (Unfortunatly I didn't have time to also ride the Yarmoth RDC.) The second time was in 2001 when we drove to Halifax, and stayed at the Hotel so it would be easy to catch the VIA tour train to Cape Bretton. When we checked in, we were concerned that the passageway to the station was gated off (the hotel was now a Westin.) However, next morning the gate was open.
The station in Toronto is another station with an Amtrak train (operated by VIA between Toronto and Niagara Falls, Ontario) that is close to a hotel--the Royal York (formerly CP) is directly across the street, and there is a passage under the street.
The Chateau Laurier (formerly CN) in Ottawa used to be located similarly, but the station is now quite some distance from the hotel.
The Scotian (formerly CN) in Halifax is still right by the railroad station; a few years ago, after we came into the waiting room, my wife asked me how we would get to the hotel; I took a quick look, and told her to walk into the lobby.
Johnny
Toronto union station is another goodie, how bout Boston south station, built in 1897 another american classic
Montreal. Yes I know it is not in the U.S., nevertheless, it is served by Amtrak. Large open concourse/waiting room, stairwells down to the platforms. I don't remember what the outside looked like, probably because you could go right to the hotel without having to leave the building. A number of the larger city Canadian stations have that feature, many were former CP hotels.
Jackson, Mi is a gem.
Is there any update on the Utica NY trains station that was damaged this summer by the run-away hopper car? Did the NYC 0-6-0 switch engine that was on display survive the impact?
Doc
Have to agree with you about Ashland Mr. McIntosh, it's the best place in the Richmond area for railfanning. Great small-town charm, plus several blocks south of the station is Tiny Tim's Toys, a great little model railroad shop I highly recommend.
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