What Is Your Favorite Train Station?

Durango, Colorado.  (Steam passenger trains actually still leave and arrive!)

Mine is the point of rock station in Maryland also the MT Royal station is also one I like and hope to model both on my layout in the future

hands down the old - and sacrificed Pennsylvania Station. Can't beat that roman architecture!

But from a modeling standpoint, I have to give mentions to these as well:

PRR Jersey City ferry terminal with the Train shed:

and the Altoona, PA old Train station with shed:

Railfan Brody posted:

My favorite is the Lackawanna's Hoboken Terminal. Mainly because of the DL&W electric cars. I know some are preserved as passenger cars like at the Everett Railroad.

Have you ever been there? Good choice, however anyway. I grew up in New Jersey, first on the Central RR of New Jersey in Cranford, which had a big, elevated train station on the CNJ four track main line. In about 1955, we moved to Chatham, NJ, on the DL&W electrified Morris & Essex passenger & commuter main line. I spent LOTS of time riding into the Hoboken Terminal, which also include a ferry trip across the Hudson River to Manhattan. Not to mention, upstairs in one of the big baggage rooms of the terminal, was the New York Society of Model Engineers' HUGE model railroad. 

The Jersey Central Jersey City passenger terminal was also a spectacular place, which is now where Liberty Park is, that looks directly at the Statue of Liberty.

Sheffield Massachusetts Old Boston & Maine

My Mother and Fathers old home moved from the center of Sheffield to this Property 

My interest in passenger operations and stations changes often, but right now I am digging the Illinois Central, Murphysboro, IL station as a possible project to build.

At one time this was street running territory. Can you picture a section of the Panama Limited or City of New Orleans pulling into or away from this location?

Looking for a better copy of the blue prints, but this is pretty good for now.

This is how it looks today. The young lady in the image would be walking close to or on the tracks when this station was active.

The building has been reconditioned, but there are several original elements still being used.

Charlie

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

hands down the old - and sacrificed Pennsylvania Station. Can't beat that roman architecture!

I agree with you about Pennsylvania Station. My dad took me there as a boy. It was so vast I was overwhelmed by it all. I was 6 years old when the demolition began in October 1963.

Grand Central Terminal is my favorite "living" station. Washington Union Terminal would be, but they desecrated the inside with their yuppie food courts and boutiques.

I found this one on one of my journeys.

fl9turbo2 posted:

Mine is the point of rock station in Maryland also the MT Royal station is also one I like and hope to model both on my layout in the future

I like the station at Point of Rocks, MD as well.  The one in Oakland, MD is also very nice.

My favorite is the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad in Hew Hope, PA.

I enjoyed many wonderful visits to the station to watch trains with my grandchildren before moving to California.

Definitely not as majestic as most larger city railroad stations, but I spent many a college day departing and arriving at Jacksonville, Florida's Union Station riding SCL's Silver Star to and from Raleigh, NC.

The station was at the end of a "Y", where the train backed into the station. It could handle quite a few passenger trains

Durand Union Station • Durand, Michigan

About 165 trains pass through the main lines at Durand Union Station, per day.   Great place just to hang out and watch trains.  Short walk or drive to restaurants.  I also like Union Pacific Overland Depot in Abilene, Kansas.

                                                                        and

Union Station, Washington, D.C.

From grandeur, to dereliction/ruin, to renaissance.....it befits the grounds, city, and nation of which it is a fundamental part.

Just MHO, of course.

KD

C.U.T.  Cincinnati Union Termial

I have many that I like, quite a few of which have been mentioned earlier in this thread but; I have to reserve the number one slot for the former PRR station in my hometown, Lewistown, PA.  

I visit the station each summer when we go back north to visit family and still feel a rush of anticipation when I cross the Juniata River bridge right before reaching the turnoff for the station.

The PRRT&HS restored the station years ago and houses their archives there.  Amtrak still stops twice a day and NS adds another 60 or so trains to the mix.  It's a great train watching spot and the local rail fans are always friendly to visitors.

i credit this station and my father for developing my life long interest in railroading.  Dad would load me in the car after Sunday dinner in the 1950's and we'd go to the station to watch trains and talk.  If a railroad station can hold a treasured spot in your heart, Lewistown station holds one in mine.

Curt

I have to go with the hometown station, the 1891 depot that was originally built for the shortline Cumberland and Pennsylvania RR  (C&P), in Frostburg,MD.
Now serving the Western Maryland Scenic, this station was abandoned in 1972 by the WM/Chessie, but 15 years later had trackage reinstalled and the depot refurbished  for the planned tourist trains.

Photos:

1. William Price
2. Unknown
3. Unknown
4. Warren Jenkins, 5/2015

The Oakland mole

Not all that pretty but all that land is fill as the original was built a half mile out into San Francisco bay as the original terminal for the Central Pacific transcontinental railroad when it looked more like this

And modeled in HO like this

It's been gone since the late 1950s and nowadays the location is in the middle of the Oakland container terminal.

As a youngster I spent many summers going to Western Pennsylvania. I always was impressed with Pennsy's 30th Street Station. 

Tom

My love for Moorish Spanish architecture causes me to cast the first vote for San Diego.  I have had the good fortune of arriving and departing there, too.

photo by El Roco photography

I'd have to agree with the two posters who said, Penn Station in NYC.  Then 30th Street Station in Philly.  

Borden Tunnel posted:

I have to go with the hometown station, the 1891 depot that was originally built for the shortline Cumberland and Pennsylvania RR  (C&P), in Frostburg,MD.
Now serving the Western Maryland Scenic, this station was abandoned in 1972 by the WM/Chessie, but 15 years later had trackage reinstalled and the depot refurbished  for the planned tourist trains.

Photos:

1. William Price
2. Unknown
3. Unknown
4. Warren Jenkins, 5/2015

Borden Tunnel,

That third photo is simply awesome!  Thanks for posting.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

On my list are (of course) Grand Central & Penn Stations; also Penn Station's inspiration, the Gare d'Orsay in Paris. The Art Deco Cincinnati Union Terminal is right up there too.

If sentimentality is a category, then the long-lost and slightly more utilitarian St. Enoch Station in Glasgow, Scotland is also on the list. Check out the sheer number of chimneys and the elaborate subway station in the plaza out front. Add the old trolley buses and double-decker streetcars, and St. Enoch is a lifetime layout by itself. Here's a museum model.

Cleveland Union Terminal: http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=CUT

But I also love Penn Station!  It's destruction was pure politics plain and simple! 

The train station in Milan,Italy.

Mikey

Where I grew up in the Bronx......Buhre Avenue.....

Peter

Grand Central Terminal, a big favorite....

Peter

Where I went to college.......Broadway and 242nd St

Peter

Putnam Division posted:

Where I went to college.......Broadway and 242nd St

Peter

The IRT always had good el stations. Any pictures of the 180 Street station(former NY,W&B)?

Hot Water posted:

Railfan Brody posted:

My favorite is the Lackawanna's Hoboken Terminal. Mainly because of the DL&W electric cars. I know some are preserved as passenger cars like at the Everett Railroad.

Have you ever been there? Good choice, however anyway. I grew up in New Jersey, first on the Central RR of New Jersey in Cranford, which had a big, elevated train station on the CNJ four track main line. In about 1955, we moved to Chatham, NJ, on the DL&W electrified Morris & Essex passenger & commuter main line. I spent LOTS of time riding into the Hoboken Terminal, which also include a ferry trip across the Hudson River to Manhattan. Not to mention, upstairs in one of the big baggage rooms of the terminal, was the New York Society of Model Engineers' HUGE model railroad. 

The Jersey Central Jersey City passenger terminal was also a spectacular place, which is now where Liberty Park is, that looks directly at the Statue of Liberty.

I haven't been to the terminal yet, but it's on my bucket list. I've seen several Mark1Videos about the terminal, including "The U34ch," "Lackawanna Legacy: The DL&W Electrics," and "C&O 614: Return of a Thoroughbred." Also, the terminal is great for excursions, because it's the closest a steam locomotive can get to Manhattan, and the Bergen Tunnels are well ventilated. But my biggest dream is to be at the throttle of 765 pulling out of the terminal and into the tunnels.

By the way, why did they tear down Jersey City Terminal?

Train_Geek posted:

fl9turbo2 posted:

Mine is the point of rock station in Maryland also the MT Royal station is also one I like and hope to model both on my layout in the future

I like the station at Point of Rocks, MD as well.  The one in Oakland, MD is also very nice.

Steve Lerro recreated the first Chessie Safety Express on Trainz. He used the station in the promo video for the J3A Greenbrier addon for Trainz. It's at 4:55, but I suggest watching the whole video, it is really well put together.

A couple of my favorites.

The P&R Ry. Weston station in Manville, NJ.

The CNJ Jersey City terminal.

Red Bank NJ Station and Lackawanna station in Scranton Pa are 2 of my favorites.

quite a number of favorites:

Old NY Penn Station

Washington Union Station

North Conway, NH

my hometown: Metuchen, NJ (seen below)

Rome, Italy Termini (college summer study project abroad)

Grand Central Station:

This Romanesque Revival structure featured what was described as a "Norman Tower" at its northeastern corner.  Though massive in appearance, when viewed from a distance, many of the details were mystical, architect Solon S. Beman even incorporated stylized oriental "moon doors" at the entrances.  Slightly broader at the base and tapering upward, the building conveyed an organic sense of having grown there, like a mighty oak.  Demolished in 1971, the property is still vacant.

645 posted:

Railfan Brody posted:

By the way, why did they tear down Jersey City Terminal?

Many people will be surprised to learn this considering the CNJ's Jersey City Terminal still exists to this day! Where did you get this information from?

I just looked it up on Google:  http://www.state.nj.us/dep/par...s/parks/liberty.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..._New_Jersey_Terminal

It is true the terminal suffered some damage during Superstorm Sandy but it was NOT torn down! And yes, no trains have served the terminal since 1967 when the Aldene Plan went into effect.

I apologize.  I am kind of surprised that NJ Transit didn't use the terminal ever, as it seems much larger than Hoboken. Probably because of the junction just out of the Bergen Tunnels.

My home town now in Fanwood.

Railfan Brody posted:

I apologize.  I am kind of surprised that NJ Transit didn't use the terminal ever, as it seems much larger than Hoboken.

Well yes but, the Jersey Central Terminal did NOT have the electrification, nor the underground connect with the PATH system into NYC, as the DL&W Hoboken Terminal did/does. Not to mention that the Erie departed their own terminal in Jersey City, in the late 1950s, and began using the DL&W Hoboken Terminal for the same reasons.

Probably because of the junction just out of the Bergen Tunnels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsNKD_9rwOY

I vote for Point of Rocks Station, it even has its own song. Thanks to Harry Hieke.