June 2008 - the 4th Division • PNR • NMRA

Page 10 Issue 501 • June 2008
Union Station. Today, it is a non-profit 501c3 organization. Today, Union Station is home to Science City, a family-friendly interactive
science center, the H&R Block City Stage Theater, the largest IWERKS 3-D movie screen in the region, and two restaurants,
one of which is the Harvey House Diner, a 50s-style tribute to the restaurants once owned and operated by Fred Harvey
for the Santa Fe Railroad.
7. Atlanta. Atlanta had two union stations: Union Station and Terminal Station, with Union Station the smaller. Opening in 1930,
Union Station served the Georgia Railroad, Atlantic Coast Line, and Louisville and Nashville. It replaced earlier stations on the
same site. Terminal Station opened in 1905 and served the Southern Railway, Seaboard Air Line, Central of Georgia, and the
Atlanta and West Point Railroads. After Amtrak was created in 1971, both stations closed as passenger train service shifted to
Peachtree Station. Both stations were razed in 1972, although Southern retained one platform for its use at Terminal Station.
Remnants of the platform from Union Terminal can still be seen behind the Atlanta Journal Constitution building.
8. Cleveland. The Van Sweringen brothers built the Cleveland Union Terminal for all trains coming into Cleveland. Initially, it was
to serve “The Rapid,” their commuter rail line from the Shaker Heights area of Cleveland. Its concept was similar to Grand Central
Station in New York City, with a mix of retail businesses and offices above a railroad station. The “Vans,” as they were
known, once controlled more than 30,000 miles of track in their railroad empire. Railroads did not like using the station for two
reasons: they had to deviate from the quicker route along Lake Erie and because steam power was prohibited in downtown
Cleveland. Thus, railroads using the terminal had to change locomotives at a yard outside to bring trains into the station, then
reverse the procedure as they continued their journey. For these reasons, the Pennsylvania Railroad never used the terminal, even
though they had considerable traffic through Cleveland.
9. Texarkana. Union Station in Texarkana, Arkansas was built as a joint effort between the Missouri-Pacific, Texas & Pacific, Cotton
Belt and Kansas City Southern railroads. In 1876, the US Congress passed a bill requiring the station to straddle the state line,
with entrances and exits in both states. The Missouri Pacific and the Texas and Pacific had through traffic at the station. The
Kansas City Southern and Cotton Belt passenger trains both had to make back-up moves to access the station since they didn't
have through traffic serving the station. When Amtrak trains stop at the station, each end of the train sits in a different state.
10. Chicago. Chicago’s Union Station was owned and built by a partnership named The Chicago Union Station Company (made up
of the Pennsylvania Railroad; the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad; the Michigan Central Railroad; and the Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul Railway). The prior station was owned by these railroads, plus the Chicago and Alton, but the C&A opted
out of station ownership when the current station opened its doors in 1925. It is the only major inter-city rail hub in the US that
doesn’t provide direct connections to rapid transit service. The Chicago Union Station Company still owns the station and the
company is now a subsidiary of Amtrak.