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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[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

[waltersrails]

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

[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

[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)

[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.

[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
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[oleirish]

Medford,Oregon station is now an restaurant.We hav'nt had passenger service for over 60 years here,the fright trains still rumble by all day through!!
JIM

[nbrodar]

I have many depots in my town:
Royersford - Reading depot: a real estate office and pretzel stand.
Phoenixville - Reading depot: a catering hall.

Downingtown, Malvern, & Paoli - PRR depots: SEPTA/Amtrak
Whitford - PRR depot: SEPTA stop

Nick

[jrbernier]

Rochester, MN

C&NW - Station was converted to the 'Depot House', then became the Salvation Army, then was razed to make room for the extension of 'Civic Center Drive'.

CGW - Station was converted to the Jefferson Lines bus deport, then it was moved and is now a nice 'high end' resturaunt.

Jim

[n2mopac]

Having lived in DFW for 6 years, I also love the old Texas & Pacific (later MoPac) station in Fort Worth. It is a massive old building, but the first floor is still used by Amtrack today. I'm not sure what is housed in the rest of the building. Here is a look at it today and in the past.

http://www.texaspacificrailway.org/?p=9&loc=38&cat=13

Ron

[grayfox1119]

In Palmer, Ma, which is in the south central part of the state, the old stone Depot is now the Steamer Resturant. It is located directly along side the Diamond where the Vt central crosses the old Boston & Albany Main line, now CSX. It is also a Hot Spot for camera action.

[n2mopac]

Sedalia, MO--just 10 miles from me--is home to the beautiful old brick Katy Depot (MKT). This one has been restored and houses the Sedalia Chamber of Commerce, a museum, and a model railroad club with a permanent display layout. Here is a link with pics of the original depot and restored condition.

http://sedaliakatydepot.com

The tracks of this long abandoned line are now covered over an are the 200+ mile Katy State Park walking/cycling trail.

Sedalia's old MoPac station, now beside the UP main (Sedalia sub) is still in use by Amtrack. It is a simple brick box and not much to look at.

Ron

[ouengr]

In Tulsa, OK the old Santa Fe Frieght House is now an office for a local civil engineering firm. I was really neat to go to work their and see the history of the building in my office.

[Anonymous]

it was being used as a boy /girl scout administration building.

[jecorbett]

I have had several hometowns. I was born in Chicago where there were numerous major stations, most of which have come down. The two in Omaha where I grew up have been salvaged. The Union Station has been home to the Western Heritage Museum for several decades. The station recently had its 75th anniversary. The Burlington Station is currently being rennovated and converted to luxury condos. See www.burlingtonstation.com.
The station in Columbus, Ohio was torn down about 30 years ago and other than excursions, no passenger train has passed through since Amtrak abandoned the route. A convention center has been built over the old site and the tracks run underneath it. I believe they have plans to install a platform, if and when passenger service returns. Not much chance of Amtrak returning but there has been a little noise about a high speed 3C route connecting Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. I'm not holding my breath waiting for that one. I currently live near Mt. Vernon, Ohio and there are two small depots. One I believe is a book store and the other sits vacant but seems to be in good shape.

[tstage]

Here in Cleveland, Terminal Tower still stands in the heart of downtown at Public Square and is used as office buildings. An upscale hotel and restaurant (Stouffers on the Square) is situated beside it.

Tower City, located inside the large atrium of the Terminal Tower, opened up in the 90's to help revitalize the downtown area with upscale shopping. The RTA still uses some of the tracks underneath the Terminal Tower and is the central hub for trains running either east or westbound to various Cleveland suburbs.

Tom

[Anonymous]

In my home town of Harrington Park, NJ (NYC West Shore line) the original staion became the police station when commuter trains stopped in 1959. 30 years later it burned down, so the police rebuilt it. Where my parents currently live (Whitehouse Station, NJ, CNJ main line) the station is still an active stop on the NJT Raritan Valley line and serves as a branch of the county library. My current home (Creve Couer, MO) has no rail service.

[mikebonellisr]

The NH station in Danbury CT. is nowhome to the Danbury Rail Museum.They seem to be getting more equipment every month.

[Anonymous]

The closest station to me is currently a restaraunt called Baldwins (oooo,pricy) and will probably survive for a long , long time. Life-like made a model of it (Sykesville MD station)

[GAPPLEG]

In Erie, PA. Amtrak does stop there still for service east and west. Also a resturant and a BREW pub ( BEER)!!!. Second floor of the old station was leased by a new trucking firm around town.

[TomDiehl]

The old DL&W station in East Stroudsburg PA has been converted into a restaurant called the Dansbury Depot. Still a heavy railroad theme, even a G-Scale train running around on a overhead track.

[MisterBeasley]

In Bedford, MA, the old depot is in the middle of what is called "Depot Park." There is a slow-moving project to create a small train museum there, based around an old B&M RDC car which is parked on the last of the old rails. The rail line itself has been converted to the Minuteman Bikeway, which (I've heard) is the most used Bikeway in the country. The Park stands at the end of the paved Bikeway. Right now, there is a small shop (a former bakery) with light refreshments for the bikers, plus a small display of railroad things. The original Depot building has fallen into disrepair, but there is some interest in restoring it as part of the project.

You can check the project out at http://www.bedforddepot.org/ if you'd like.

This is a shot of the area in 1949, from the above web site:

 

[cwclark]

the one in Houston is still being used as an Amtrak station but most of the ones in this area and the small outlining areas are making railroad museums out of them...in some of the small towns, it's the only attraction for miles...chuck

[dave9999]

They actually made good use of our old L&N depot. It's now the lobby of the
Crown Plaza Hotel here in Pensacola. It has a nice lounge and is just across
the street from the Civic Center. We always go there for a couple of drinks
before concerts at the Civic Center.

They restored the depot beautifully and I am glad to see it still standing. I have
seen many depots falling down... Dave

Here's a pic:

(From the Crown Plaza website):
The depot was built in 1912 by L&N construction engineers; it replaced the original L&N depot (circa 1882), which had been, located at Guillemard and Wright Streets just two blocks from the Crowne Plaza.

" After serving the Pensacola rail industry for 58 years, the last train rolled out of the station in April 1971. The structure soon fell in disrepair. However, in 1978 the structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an important architectural landmark. Six years later developers purchased the depot from the L&N railroad with the intent of restoring it as part of a hotel project. That project ultimately evolved into today’s Crowne Plaza – Pensacola Grand Hotel."

[Anonymous]

East Rochester, NY; Old Terminal there has been a Model Train Store for years. Has a great Picture window in the back to veiw the old Main Line that is still in use. Being that the place has been in business for quite awhile the inside is a little dark and the isles are a little tight. OK Pricing, but not great. Does make for a nice stop if you are out of town.

Coldwater Station, Gates NY. This station is now once again a Bar/Restraunt. Been used for this by a few companies. Not been to the lates incarnation.

Chris

[Canondale61]

In my little town (LOL) the old connection and depot for Maine Central and Sandy River Narrow Gauge has all been refurbished. Some of the old buildings are used for storage, and the old passenger statopn has been turned to offices and the railroad approach has been turned into a theater (called the Narrow Gauge) and parking area.