What is that old depot in your town used for today?

[Paul3]

The Palmer, MA station restaurant is called "The Steaming Tender", and it's a very nice place. They've done a heckuva job getting it restored. They have an old 0-6-0 Porter steam engine in the parking lot that unfortunately used to be a roadside attraction somewhere (it's got a balloon stack...sort of).

In my old home town, we've had three stations: East Foxboro, Foxboro, and Foxboro Raceway/Stadium/Gillete. The old East Foxboro and downtown Foxboro stations are l-o-o-o-ng gone...not even for a parking lot. East Foxboro is on the NEC, and all that remains is the built in underpass on a nearby road underpass. In Foxboro center, all that remains is the concrete platform. However, at the Stadium, we do have service for all New England Patriots games and some concerts and such.

Paul A. Cutler III
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Weather Or No Go New Haven
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[trainfan1221]

I already answered on the Trains board, but I like seeing my name up there so I'll answer again. The local depot by me is still a train station for NJTransit,though only part time.

[Anonymous]

The Amtrack station in Dearborn is not old, still used as a train station and is nothing to talk about.
However in the old days you would catch a street car or bus that ran on overhead wire, to the Michigan Central Station (once owned by NYC). Today the MCS is just a shell of its former self. Years on neglect and vandles have ruined the building. Every once in a while, there's a big anouncement with great fanfare, that the building will be restored. Then nothing will come of it. The latest plan was to renovate it for a new police station. But the City of Detroit can't even afford to pay for police and fire fighters, so that plan went down the tubes.

(click on highlighted words for link)

[n2mopac]

I nearly forgot about beautiful old Union Station in Kansas City. When I was a kid in the area it was about ready to fall down. They finally got someone to fund a restoration and turned it into a science museum. It is a beautiful place. Here's a link.

http://www.unionstation.org/index.cfm

Ron

[waltersrails]

well the B&O depot got moved and now is someones house. I miss the B&O days.

[Anonymous]

heres mine its now a restaurant but ist in the historic district of asheville, nc so it fits in nicely

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/asheville/sou.htm

[jkeaton]

The old CN\CP Union station is now the Government Conference Centre - though many other uses have been proposed for it, including a museum of comedy! The former NYC station was razed and it's site, along with it's old yard, is now a highway interchange...

The good news is the old Union station was replaced by a new station a couple of miles from the city centre that still has frequent passenger train service...and they've built a brand new passenger station in a fast-growing southwest suburb of Ottawa, in an area that never had a station in the 'good old days'.

The suburb I live in, which was a small town 100 years ago, sits on the former CP mainline, but I have no idea if it ever had a station....

Jim
Ottawa

[MisterBeasley]

Not my hometown, but the old Depot building in South Paris, Maine is now an ice-cream stand, much to my daughter's delight. The tracks are still active, and when we drive by on the way to Sunday River for skiing, there is frequently a locomotive parked there for the night. One of these days I'll stop for a photo. I think it's an old geep.

[Jetrock]

Ours is still a train station, serving Amtrak's California Corridor trains as well as
interstate trips like the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight. Uncle Pete wants to reorient the track, and a plan is in place to physically roll the old depot a block north to meet the new track and maintain its historic use. The local light rail line is being extended to drop off passengers directly at the depot--until 1947, the local streetcar line dropped people off right in front of the depot.

[whitman500]

I live in New Rochelle, NY. There is a relatively new passenger station here used mainly for commuter trains. But along the tracks there is what appears to be an old depot that has been converted to condos. There is also what looks like an old roundhouse next to it that is used today as a warehouse.

[Anonymous]

Here in West Michigan we have a few.

The ex GTW one on Grand Rapids Eastern RR in Ada is long gone. Only a patch of weeds shows where it was.

The Grand Rapids C&O station that was on a spur off the CSX Lansing sub is gone the land now houses the Van Andel Arena. Amtrak has since built an Amshack to use instead.

Old C&O Station on the CSX/Marquette Rail Ludington sub is still there, is now a restaraunt I believe.

Depot in Grand Haven along Mid Michigan RR is still there, used for a museum and storage.

Not sure where the PRR station in Grand Rapids was, but if I had to guess I'd say it's gone.

[bpickering]

The one on the old NP/BN line in my hometown of White Bear Lake, MN, turned into what looks like a relatively nice museum:

http://www.wblareahistoricalsociety.org/Museum.html

Brian Pickering

[Anonymous]

Part of The Dauphin Canadian Northern Railway Station has been converted to a model RR display. I think the rest is office space. This beautiful building was built in 1912, it has been undergoing restoration for the last couple of years. Here's a link.
http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/prov/p100.html

[n2mopac]

This isn't a very good pic, but here is the old Santa Fe station in Carrollton, MO. Today it is used for MOW storage, etc by BNSF.



Ron

[n2mopac]

Here is one more. This "Mercantile Station" was from another small town in Texas and was moved to Saginaw (North Fort Worth) to house the Chamber of Commerce. I think a church even meets in part of it on Sunday mornings.



Ron

[n2mopac]

Ok, I've been looking fot this pic since I started this thread, and I finally found it. This is the old Missouri Pacific Depot in my hometown, Warrensburg, MO along the old (now UP) Sedalia sub in west-central Missouri. The station was added on to twice over the years with the original part being farthest from the camera. The station is built from locally-quarried lime sandstone, matching the Johnson count court house a few blocks to the north and the older buildings on campus at Central Missouri State University a few blocks to the south. It is completely rennovated inside and houses the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce as well as the Amtrack station.



Ron

[tatans]

The C.P.R. station (terminal??) in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan came very close to demolition, it is now a Government liquor store, this station is (was) a massive building, clock tower, underground approaches, gardens, restaurant, etc.

[tomikawaTT]

In my current home town, a parking lot for (Waaaaa!!!) 18-wheelers.

In my original home town, the depot I best remember has been nicely refurbished and handles more train movements and more people than ever! (Grand Central Terminal, New York City)

[Anonymous]

My hometown is New Haven,Mo.in east central Mo. along the bank of the Missouri river.The train station in New haven was torn down in the 70's.but in Washington,12 miles down the road,their station and the freight station are still standing.The freight station is a store.The passenger station has been restored and is used by Amtrak and also has a small museum.For a while there was a local model RR club that had a layout upstairs,but not anymore.Theres also a nicely restored caboose next to the station.

[Anonymous]

The NYC station in Jamestown, Pa. is now owned and used by a local woodcarver to display and sell his crafts. The tracks through town have be gone a long time. A stone arch over a road is still standing and the local historians campaigned vigorously to keep that memento.

[Anonymous]

The Felicity terminal of the Bethel-Felicity Railroad (9 miles of track, went out of business in 1933) was still being used by a fuel oil distributer he last time I was in town just like when I was a kid.

The station 4 blocks from my grandparents house, Cincinnati Union Station, is now a museum center, Natural History, Historical Society and Children's Museums. Amtrak stops there 6 times a week (3 east bound trains, 3 west bound trains, now that is service!) You can also now go up to Tower A and watch the yard operations in the large yard that I think belongs to NS.

[Walter Clot]

Loathar, Congrats on the job. The storm knocked us out of the TCRR meeting. I was going to comment on the old Columbia RR station, when I read your message. . It would make a great place for a model RR club. Several of us had discussed it about 2 years ago. $ and time put it on the back burner whick never got lit.
Everytime I need to go across town, I make sure I drive by it.
Walter in Columbia

[Anonymous]

We have 3 depots in my hometown of Wausau Wisconsin. The C&NW depot is now a chinese restaurant. The second depot -Milwaukee Road- is the prototype for Walthers Small Town Station and currently serves as offices for the Boy Scouts. It was the depot you would see in the ads for Wausau Insurance Companies that were in print and on 60 Minutes. The third depot is a replica of the Milwaukee depot built by the insurance company on their property. They added a small section of track and a caboose in front just to add a bit of authenticity. Our depots are alive and well.
Mark B.

[waltersrails]

also if my layout staion is a museum and still running a few passengers via amtrak and a special csx train.
http://s3.phpbbforfree.com/forums/midwestrailroad.html great site.

[moparman48]

I've stayed at the hotel in Pensacola when it was a Hilton (I believe) the lobby was a refurbished as the original station. It was great, I could see the trais from the window. I always wonder why the Sunset does not stop there.

[wairoa]

Vandals burnt my hometown station down.[:(!]

[DigitalGriffin]

I recently discovered that a section of the Ma & Pa (Maryland & Pa) railroad was reopened in Walkersville Maryland (where I grew up). They now have scenic excursions using all kinds of critters. Any way, the depot was in disrepair for a number of years besides an old grain mill. It's nice to see it in use again painting in typical C&O ocre color scheme.

http://www.wsrr.org/ (Warning, site it slow as sap)

[Jetrock]

Actually, now that I think of it, there are some other depots around here...the Southern Pacific depot, as I mentioned, is still a train station. The Western Pacific depot in Sacramento no longer serves trains, but it does serve spaghetti.

[Anonymous]

We have a model railroad in our old freight station here. Oh wait, thats the club i belong to also. LOL Winchester Model Railroad Club, located in Winchester Virginia. Our show and sale is this saturday March 11th. Come on by and check us out. The layout is open for open house and the sale is just a mile or so away in a local firehouse.

[emdgp92]

At one time Pittsburgh had a few stations.

B&O: This was used for the PATrain (Pittsburgh-McKeesport commuter service) for a few years until it was discontinued. The small yard was used for car storage. This facility was torn down a few years back when the new Allegheny County jail was built.

PRR: After many years of neglect by PRR, PC, and even Amtrak itself, this station now houses a nice Amtrak facility. The upper floors of the building were converted to high-end apartments. Part of the station's trainshed was torn down, along with part of the concourse. The busway, and a little-used above-surface subway line is there now. At least the station's original dome was saved, along with most of the building's ornamentation...including the huge PRR keystones on the trainshed wall.

P&LE: P&LE ran many of their commuter trains out of here in the 1970s and early '80s. Later, the station itself was made into office space and restaurants. The former freight house has many stores and office space. CSX recently shifted their main tracks away from the complex. There are a few pieces of P&LE rolling stock still down there.

A few former PRR commuter stops still survive as well. However, they are usually in very poor shape. Most of the other stations that were once here have been torn down.