Split (1)

train · 25k rows

text stringlengths 13 991
The terminal was built with eight platforms and sixteen platform tracks, with room for expansion to 22 tracks. The platforms and tracks ran north to south, partially beneath the train concourse. The platforms were wide, unusual in train station design, and long, and able to be extended to 2,400 feet. They had concrete bases, covered with canopies. The support columns were 80 feet apart, also noted as unusual. The canopies were of painted steel; roofing was by the Philip Carey Company.
Parking tracks were installed between the platform tracks, as there was sufficient room between the platforms. These tracks allowed for sleeping cars and express cars to be exchanged.
The baggage level occupied space directly beneath the checking lobby and train concourse. The space also utilized a drive-through loading platform, where cars would enter the north side of the baggage level, drop off luggage on the loading platform, and exit the south side. Trucking ramps were located directly beneath the train concourse's northern passenger ramps, and a passageway connected the facility to the mail handling building.
A small 118-seat theater is at the entrance of the terminal. It reopened around 1991 as the Scripps Howard Newsreel Theater, showing free features, newsreels, and a video history of the terminal. It uses white and black marble walls, with linoleum carvings on either side of the main screen. It originally had a mulberry-color carpet. In the 2016-2018 renovation, the original seats were cleaned and repaired, and a new projector and sound system was installed.
The north side of the main level included terminal company offices, also present in spaces above the checking lobby.
The men's and women's waiting rooms both used distinctive marbles, and featured wainscoting, with the walls above made of plywood or flexwood showing the natural grain, or in designs. The men's room walls feature a railroad motif, using zebrawood, walnut, and holly; the women's lounge had panels of zebra and madrone wood. The rooms featured aluminum and leather-backed seats. Both waiting rooms had connecting bathrooms with marble walls and several showers.
The checking lobby is a space behind the rotunda. It was originally an intermediate lobby between the rotunda and the train concourse, and served passengers with baggage checking on the north side and parcel checking on the south side. The space also included or led to restrooms, telephone booths, a shoeshine room, barber shop, newsstand, train bulletins, and a soda fountain. The upper portion of the walls are decorated with two Reiss murals depicting the terminal's construction and opening.
The president's office is circular, with flexwood walls and cork floors. A design above the doorway has a depiction of Union Terminal created from inlaid wood, including a working electric clock. The room also has a Kasota stone fireplace, above which lies a map of the United States using inlaid wood; each wood panel is indigenous to the state it depicts.
The terminal also opened with a drug store, beauty parlor, barber shop, men's clothing store, gift shop, and a small hospital.
Cincinnati Union Terminal features works of art throughout its interior spaces. The works of art originally included 23 mosaic murals, totaling , making it the largest collection of secular mosaics in the United States in 1933.
The terminal's interior features numerous works by German-American artist Winold Reiss. Reiss was commissioned to design and create two large mosaic murals depicting the history of Cincinnati and history of the United States for the rotunda, two murals for the baggage checking lobby, two murals for the departing and arriving train boards, 16 smaller murals for the train concourse representing local industries, and a large world map mural. Reiss spent roughly two years in the design and creation of the murals.
The murals are often compared to works of the Federal Art Project, sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, however the Reiss murals predate the Federal Art Project by several years.
The world map mural was , weighing 22.4 tons. It included five decorative clocks made of tile, together representing five of the United States's time zones: Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern, and Atlantic. The United States was depicted in the center, divided into the time zones. Major cities were spelled out in the terminal's Art Deco typeface; Cincinnati was spelled largest. The mural also included two Nicolosi globular projections of the world, with the Americas on the left side and Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia on the right. The mural was demolished along with the train concourse in 1974; due to its size, the cost of saving it was estimated at $100,000 ($ in ). All of the clocks remain, except the Eastern time clock.
Reiss also created a set of sixteen murals depicting Cincinnati industries, created for the train concourse. Since the concourse's demolition in 1974, fourteen of the works have been moved numerous times. Currently five of these murals are at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and nine are at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Two of the murals were initially installed in a still-existing section of Union Terminal; these murals still remain in the building.
Reiss made two murals to decorate space above the arrivals and departures chalkboards at the head of the train concourse. After the concourse's demolition, they were moved to each side of the entrance of the Cincinnati History Library, on the mezzanine level (the space is now occupied by the Holocaust & Humanity Center). The arrivals board featured an oncoming New York Central Hudson locomotive, and the departure board featured a departing observation car typical of the time. These murals were spared from demolition. From 1989 to 1991, to make room for the Omnimax theater under construction, the train murals were relocated to the mezzanine.
The terminal is widely considered the United States' finest example of railway architecture, and one of the last grand train stations in the country. The terminal was designed with a large amount of interior and exterior art, unusual for train stations at the time, intended to set Union Terminal apart and make it a model of modern Cincinnati. The commission was one of the largest of the time period. As well, the dome was the largest unsupported half-dome at the time of opening.
The terminal is popularly recognized by the American public; it was the 45th most popular work of architecture in the United States in the American Institute of Architects' 2006-2007 survey America's Favorite Architecture. It was also recognized in the survey as the most popular work of architecture in the state of Ohio.
Union Terminal inspired the design of the Hall of Justice, a fictional Justice League headquarters appearing in comic books, television, and other media published by DC Comics. The Hall of Justice first appeared in the 1970s animated series "Super Friends". The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera, a division of Cincinnati-based Taft Broadcasting. One of the animators, Al Gmuer, likely visited the terminal while attending meetings, and confirmed he was inspired by the terminal in designing the superhero headquarters.
Union Terminal was also featured in the 1996 DC comic book series "Terminal City".
The architectural firm Fellheimer & Wagner was commissioned to design the terminal in June 1928. The firm first released conservative plans with Gothic attributes in June 1929. The design evolved toward its final Art Deco design between 1931 and 1932. Art Deco was chosen with its proposed cost savings in mind, as well as its liveliness, color, and modern decoration.
The museum opened on November 10, 1990. The original members of the museum center were the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, Cincinnati History Museum, Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, and the Robert D. Lindner Family Omnimax Theater. The center became the fourth-largest attraction in the area, behind the Cincinnati Reds, Kings Island, and the Cincinnati Zoo. The museum center renovations also allowed Amtrak to restore service to Union Terminal via the tri-weekly "Cardinal" train in 1991. In 1995, the entities officially merged to create the Cincinnati Museum Center, also joined by the Cinergy Children's Museum in October 1998.
In 2004, county residents approved a levy for the building's operating costs and capital repairs. In 2009, they extended the levy to fund further repairs, and the museum center began to restore the terminal's southwest wing of the terminal.
In July 2016, the museum shut down for the first renovation of the entire building, a $228 million effort that would last until November 2018. In July 2018, Amtrak stopped staffing 15 of its stations, including Cincinnati. Since the completion of the renovation project, Amtrak allows customers to check bags trainside. The building and museum center had their reopening ceremony on November 17, 2018.
In January 2019, the terminal gained another museum as a tenant, the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust and Humanity Center, in the former space of the History Library.
The Harrisburg Transportation Center (HTC, formerly Pennsylvania Station, Harrisburg or Harrisburg Central Railroad Station) is a large railway station and transportation hub in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located on the eastern edge of Downtown Harrisburg between the intersections of Aberdeen and Market Streets and 4th and Chestnut Streets. The well-situated station is the primary hub for passenger rail and intercity bus services in the Harrisburg metropolitan area and South Central Pennsylvania.
The current station was built by PRR in 1887 and significantly rebuilt with its distinctive barn roof in 1905 following a serious fire in 1904. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and is also designated as a National Historic Landmark. The station is one of the few railway stations in the United States that still has a train shed above the tracks. It also has a red brick exterior, unlike many of the still-used U.S. railway stations built slightly later in the early 1900s that have white stone facing, such as 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and Union Station in Washington, D.C.
There are two intercity bus operators (Greyhound Lines and Fullington Trailways) that provide service to the station. Some of the key cities and large towns served with one-seat rides by each bus operator are as follows:
With both Greyhound and Fullington Trailways, many in-state and out-of-state cities and towns beyond those listed can be reached via transfers.
The local public transit operator in the Harrisburg area, Capital Area Transit (CAT), has many local and express bus routes that stop either along Aberdeen Street almost immediately outside the Transportation Center or 1/2 block away on Market Street between 4th Street and Aberdeen Street. These nearby CAT stops that are within easy walking distance of the Harrisburg Transportation Center enable convenient transfers between local public transit and intercity rail and bus services.
The public transit provider in York County, Rabbit Transit, operates its commuter-oriented RabbitEXPRESS bus service on weekdays between the city of York and downtown Harrisburg. Like the Capital Area Transit buses, the RabbitEXPRESS does not stop at the HTC itself but does have stops within one block of the facility.
Finally, R & J Transportation, a charter/tour bus company, has scheduled weekday, line route commuter service between Schuylkill County and downtown Harrisburg. R & J has stops within one block of the HTC, though no tickets for R & J's service are available at the Transportation Center.
Once the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad arrived in Chama, other railroad companies were formed to take advantage of the forests around the area. This created a flourishing logging economy to for the small town. There were lumber mills located to the west and south of Chama. These mills provided a steady stream of revenue for the railroad lasting until abandonment in the late 1960s.
After World War II, there was an oil boom in Farmington, New Mexico. This boom provided a surge of revenue for the railroad. This revenue consisted of 60 car pipe trains going west from Antonito. The Gramps Oil Fields of southern Colorado also provided oil for the trains to carry from Chama to Antonito. The lumber mills also provided a steady stream of revenue, although this was not as important as the oil. This increase in revenue is what saved the line from abandonment.
In September 1968, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad filed for abandonment of the narrow gauge line. In April 1969, legislation was signed in New Mexico that provided a way for the state of New Mexico to buy the track between Chama and Antonito. In 1970, Colorado passed similar legislation. The two states took joint ownership of the line and by 1971 the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad was formed.
In 2002, the C&TSRR was shut down twice, first in the spring to resolve track bed issues. In the summer, operations were suspended again because of wildfire dangers.
On June 23, 2010, an unknown fire severely damaged Lobato Trestle, a deck girder bridge located approximately east of Chama. While the bridge was out of service, the C&TSRR operated limited services from the Chama end while trains from Antonito only traveled to Osier and back. After undergoing extensive refurbishment, the bridge was reopened on June 20, 2011.
In 1973, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the boundaries were increased in 2007. The railroad was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1976. In 2012, the railroad was designated a National Historic Landmark, for its engineering, its well-preserved infrastructure and equipment and the role of the railroad in the development of the region it served.
In addition to the through service, the C&TSRR operates various special excursions during the season such as dinner trains. On certain days during the holiday season, the railroad offers special "Santa Trains" from both Chama and Antonito and guests are encouraged to bring gifts and/or food for the less fortunate.
After the C&TSRR was formed in 1971, a bi-state agency, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission was created. Railroad operations were then contracted to third party rail operators. In 2012, after long discussions with other third parties bidding to take over, the Commission formed its own operating company, Cumbres and Toltec Operating LLC This is when they hired John Bush, a veteran of the railroad, to become president on December 13, 2012.
In 1988, a nonprofit organization called the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad was established to preserve the history of the railroad and help maintain infrastructure and rolling stock. The Friends of the C&TSRR also participates in various education programs and provides the railroad guides, known as docents, who inform passengers about historical aspects of the railroad as well as locations of interest.
The track continues a gentle descent on the average 1.45% grade to the north until it reaches Los Piños tank. This tank is always full and is used for small engines and rotary trains. The track takes a gentle loop off to the west and comes back to the east at the station of Los Piños (MP: 324.8). There is nothing here except a siding and the station sign. The track then turns back north towards Osier Colorado. Just before Osier at Milepost 320, the track crosses Cascade Trestle. This is the highest trestle on the entire line sitting at above the river below. The train then stops at Osier Colorado (MP: 318.40).
This section covers the eastern portion of the line from the small cattle and junction town of Antonito to Osier, the midpoint of the line.
Antonito (MP 280.70) is a small company town of the former railroad main line. It is home to the C&TSRR car shop, a water tank and other relics. Most of the facilities were built by the C&TSRR, since the original rail yard, wye, and station were not sold to the states of Colorado and New Mexico.
Heading west, the track rounds Whiplash Curve, a double horseshoe curve. About from Whiplash Curve lie the sidings and wye at Big Horn. Past Big Horn the train loops around the sides of mountains going through horseshoe curves before reaching the first water stop at Sublette.
Sublette is an abandoned railroad section camp, consisting of a log bunk house, a section house, a siding and other buildings. There was a water tank at the western end of the siding. Today, in its place is a standpipe. After filling the tender with water, the train slowly creeps into lush aspen groves.
After departing Sublette is Toltec Siding, which in the 1950s was the meeting place for oil well pipe trains moving between Chama and Farmington to Alamosa. Shortly afterwards, trains pass through Mud Tunnel, which is unique, because it is lined with wooden pillars, since it is bored through soft volcanic ash. When the beams in the tunnel collapsed, the D&RGW made a "shoo fly" (a temporary by-pass) to allow passengers and small cars to be moved around the tunnel to an awaiting train. After passing through this, trains pass around Phantom Curve and through Calico Cut, then slow when entering the longer Rock Tunnel. Trains exit the tunnel entering Toltec Gorge where the track is above the river. The line then follows the river to Osier.
The T-12 No. 168 is a "Ten Wheeler" type inside frame engine also built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. This is the oldest steam locomotive owned by the railroad. Restoration work on No. 168 was completed in October 2019 and it now continues to operate on occasional special excursions on the C&TSRR. Another engine that operates on the railroad is D&RGW No. 315. No. 315 is a C-18 class inside frame "Consolidation" type locomotive. It is owned by the Durango Railroad Historical Society, but it is on indefinite loan to the C&TSRR. Restoration work on No. 315 was completed in August 2007 and it continues to operate on occasional special excursions on both the D&SNG and the C&TSRR.
The C&TSRR owns 2 class DE General Electric 44-ton center-cab diesel locomotives built in 1943, Nos. 15 and 19, for emergency use when the steam locomotives are inoperative. They are also used for operations outside the normal operating season. Both came from the Oahu Railway and Land Company; No. 19 was purchased by the C&TSRR in 1972 and No. 15 was purchased in 2013.
The C&TSRR owns two rotary snowplows, Rotary OY and Rotary OM. Rotary OM was purchased in the late 1800s by the D&RGW and has served the line ever since. It was last run in the 1970s and has not been run since then because of mechanical issues. Rotary OY was built in the 1920s and has served in several places on the line. It was last run in late winter of 2020 to begin the 50th anniversary of the formation of the C&TSRR. There are no current plans to run the rotary again anytime soon, but it is in good condition and fully functional.
In 2016, D&RGW No. 168 arrived in Antonito from Colorado Springs, Colorado for restoration to working order. The engine had been on display for a long time in a public park, but was in good condition. Restoration began in March 2017 and was completed in October 2019. The restoration project was headed up by Cumbres and Toltec Special Projects department and lead by Assistant General Manager Efstathios Papas. The project cost $508,000 and took 27 months to complete. The railroad intends to use this engine frequently in normal excursion service as much as possible. As of 2021, No. 168 continues to operate in occasional special excursions on the C&TSRR.
For passenger services, the C&TSRR operates a mixture of flat roofed and clerestory cars with interiors corresponding with the railroad's three classes of service: Coach, Deluxe (formerly Tourist class) and Parlor. In 2019, the car shop in Antonito, Colorado finished the first in a line of new clerestory cars that will serve as standard passenger cars and new Parlor cars. This is part of an effort to retire the older flat roofed cars due to their age. The C&TSRR also operates observation gondolas as well as special coaches configured to accommodate wheelchairs and house concession areas.
The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad also owns a varied collection of former D&RGW narrow-gauge freight cars for display and use in nostalgic railtours.
Over the years, the railroad was featured in several documentaries and films. Among these are:
Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, to the north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch, to the south. The bridge is named for its designer and builder, James Buchanan Eads. It was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie. Work on the bridge began in 1867, and it was completed in 1874. Eads Bridge was the first bridge across the Mississippi south of the Missouri River. Earlier bridges were located north of the Missouri, where the Mississippi is smaller. None of the earlier bridges survive, which means that Eads Bridge is also the oldest bridge on the river.
Eads Bridge became a famous image of the city of St. Louis, from the time of its erection until 1965 when the Gateway Arch was completed. The highway deck was closed to automobiles from 1991 to 2003, but has been restored and now carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. It connects Washington Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri with Riverpark Drive and, eventually, East Broadway, both in East St. Louis, Illinois. The former railroad deck now carries the St. Louis MetroLink light rail system, providing commuter train service between St Louis and communities on the Illinois side of the river.
The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark. As of April 2014, it carries about 8,100 vehicles daily, down 3,000 since the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge opened in February 2014.
Eads Bridge was built by the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Company, with the Keystone Bridge Company serving as subcontractor for superstructure erection.
Because of the increased reach of newly constructed railroads, river shipping trade had declined in importance compared to the antebellum years. Chicago was fast gaining as the center of commerce in the West. The bridge was conceived as a solution for St. Louis to regain eminence by connecting railroad and vehicle transportation across the river. Although he had no prior experience in bridge building, James Eads was chosen as chief engineer for the bridge.
In an attempt to secure their future, steamboat interests successfully lobbied to place restrictions on bridge construction, requiring spans and heights previously unheard of. This was ostensibly to maintain sufficient operating room for steamboats beneath the bridge's base for the then foreseeable future. The unproclaimed purpose was to require a bridge so grand and lofty that it was impossible to erect according to conventional building techniques. The steamboat parties planned to prevent any structure from being built, in order to ensure continued dependence on river traffic to sustain commerce in the region.
Such a bridge required a radical design solution. The Mississippi River's strong current was almost and the builders had to battle ice floes in the winter. The ribbed arch had been a known construction technique for centuries. The triple span, tubular metallic arch construction was supported by two shore abutments and two mid-river piers. Four pairs of arches per span (upper and lower) were set apart, supporting an upper deck for vehicular traffic and a lower deck for rail traffic.
Construction involved varied and confusing design elements and pressures. State and federal charters precluded suspension or draw bridges, or wood construction. There were constraints on span size and the height above the water line. The location required reconciling differences in heights - from the low Illinois floodplain of the east bank of the river to the high Missouri cliff on the west bank. The bedrock could only be reached by deep drilling, as it was 38 m below water level on the Illinois side and 26 m below on the Missouri side.
These pressures resulted in a bridge noted as innovative for precision and accuracy of construction and quality control. This was the first use of structural alloy steel in a major building construction, through use of cast chromium steel components. The completed bridge also relied on significant—and unknown—amounts of wrought iron. Eads argued that the great compressive strength of steel was ideal for use in the upright arch design. His decision resulted from a curious combination of chance and necessity, due to the insufficient strength of alternative material choices.
The particular physical difficulties of the site stimulated interesting solutions to construction problems. The deep caissons used for pier and abutment construction signaled a new chapter in civil engineering. Piers were sunk almost below the river's surface. Unable to construct falsework to erect the arches, because they would obstruct river traffic, Eads's engineers devised a cantilevered rigging system to close the arches.
Eads Bridge was recognized as an innovative and exciting achievement. Eads secured 47 patents during his lifetime, many of which were taken out for parts of the bridge's structure and devices for its construction. President Ulysses S. Grant dedicated the bridge on July 4, 1874, and General William T. Sherman drove the gold spike completing construction. After completion, 14 locomotives crossed the bridge to prove its stability.
On June 14, 1874, John Robinson led a "test elephant" on a stroll across the new Eads Bridge to prove that it was safe. A big crowd cheered as the elephant from a traveling circus lumbered toward Illinois. Popular belief held that elephants had instincts that would make them avoid setting foot on unsafe structures. Two weeks later, Eads sent 14 locomotives back and forth across the bridge at one time. The opening day celebration on July 4, 1874, featured a parade that stretched for through the streets of St. Louis.
The cost of building the bridge was nearly $10 million ($ million with inflation).
The Eads Bridge was undercapitalized during construction and burdened with debt. Because of its historic focus on the Mississippi and river trade, St. Louis lacked adequate rail terminal facilities, and the bridge was poorly planned to coordinate rail access. Although an engineering and aesthetic success, the bridge operations became bankrupt within a year of opening. The railroads boycotted the bridge, resulting in a loss of tolls. The bridge was later sold at auction for 20 cents on the dollar. This sale caused the National Bank of the State of Missouri to fold, which was the largest bank failure in the United States at that time. Eads did not suffer financial consequences. Many involved with financing the bridge were indicted, but Eads was not.
Granite for the bridge came from the Iron County, Missouri, quarry of B. Gratz Brown, Missouri Governor and U.S. Senator, who had helped secure federal financing for the bridge.
In April 1875, after the failure of the Illinois and St Louis Bridge Company, the bridge was sold at public auction, for $2 million, to a newly incorporated St. Louis Bridge Company controlled by the old company's creditors. This group was bought-out two years later by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA). The TRRA owned the bridge until 1989, when the Terminal Railroad transferred the bridge to the Bi-State Regional Transportation Authority and the City of St. Louis, for incorporation into St Louis' MetroLink light rail system. In exchange for Eads Bridge, the TRRA acquired the MacArthur Bridge, previously owned by the City of St Louis.
In 1949, the bridge's strength was tested with electromagnetic strain gauges. It was determined that Eads' original estimation of an allowable load of could be raised to . The Eads Bridge is still considered one of the greatest bridges ever built.
Eads Bridge had long hosted only passenger trains on its rail deck. In the late 20th century, however, passenger traffic had declined because of individual automobile use, and the railroad industry was restructuring. By the 1970s, the Terminal Railroad Association had abandoned its Eads trackage. The bridge had lost all remaining passenger rail traffic to the MacArthur Bridge during the early years of Amtrak; the dimensions of modern passenger diesels were incompatible with both the bridge and the adjoining tunnel linking the Union Station trackage with Eads.
MetroLink service over the bridge began in 1993. The bridge was closed to automobile traffic between 1991 and 2003, when the city of St. Louis, Missouri, completed a project to restore the highway deck.
In 1998, the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center investigated the effects of the ramming of the bridge by the towboat "Anne Holly" on April 4 of that year. The ramming resulted in the near breakaway of the SS "Admiral", a riverboat casino. Implementing several recommended changes reduced the odds of this happening in the future.
In 2012, the Bi-State Development Agency/Metro (BSDA/Metro) started the Eads Bridge Rehabilitation project to extend the life of the bridge to at least the year 2091. The restorations included replacing 1.2 million pounds of struts, bracing, and other support steel dating to the 1880s; removing all paint and corrosion from the superstructure; re-painting the superstructure with a rust-inhibiting coating; repairing damaged structure; rebuilding concrete supports; restoring the brick archways; and upgrading the MetroLink's rails. The total cost was $48 million, with $27 million coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. While expected to start in 2009, work didn't begin until 2012 due to labor disputes and higher-than-expected cost estimates. Workers completed the project in 2016.
City fathers wanted a wagon bridge to the heart of town to highlight the best features of St. Louis. Economics required that it be a railroad bridge, but there was no space for railroads in the heart of downtown. Hence, a tunnel was authorized to connect the bridge to the Missouri Pacific Railroad to the south (and later to the new Union Station).
Eads worked out the specifications for the tunnel. It was to be a “cut and cover” tunnel 4000 ft long, 30 ft below street level. They advertised for bids in the Missouri Republican on August 31, 1872. The contract was awarded to William Skrainka and Company. Construction began in October. A series of problems arose including quicksand and springs on the planned route. Also several workers were injured; at least one was killed.
On November 29, the city council passed an ordinance changing the tunnel route to Eight Street and transferring the right to build to the newly formed St. Louis Tunnel Railroad Company.
In April, Skrainka and Co. decided the project was too difficult. They agreed to complete construction south of Market St. The work north of Market was assigned to James Andrews, the company building the bridge piers.
Eads Bridge was ready to be opened after seven years of construction on July 4, 1874. The celebration included a fifteen car train filled with 500 dignitaries pulled by three locomotives that departed from the St. Louis, Vandalia, and Terre Haute Railroad station in East St. Louis. Locomotives were provided by the Illinois Central Railroad and the Vandalia line (a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary). The route crossed Eads Bridge and traveled through the tunnel to Mill Creek Valley and then returned.
Locomotive smoke is a concern in tunnels, especially passenger tunnels. Specially designed coke burning “smoke consuming engines” from the Baldwin Locomotive Works had yet to be ordered. News reports tell of passengers coughing and gasping for breath. Construction of the tunnel was not yet complete. Only one of the two tracks was available and ventilation was not yet arranged.
A photograph of the St. Louis Bridge Company’s coke burning engine appears on page 38 of Brown’s Baldwin Locomotive Works.
In 1875, the bridge and tunnel companies declared bankruptcy. In 1881, Jay Gould got control of the bridge and tunnel companies by threatening to build a competing bridge four miles north of St. Louis. In 1889, Gould was instrumental in the creation of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. He died in 1892, but this led to the construction of Union Station in 1894.
Eads Bridge and its tunnel are now used by Metrolink, the St. Louis light rail system.
In 1898 the bridge was featured on the $2 Trans-Mississippi Issue of postage stamps. One hundred years later the design was reprinted in a commemorative souvenir sheet.
The bridge was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, in recognition of its innovations in design, materials, construction methods, and importance in the history of large-scale engineering projects.
During the bridge's construction, "The New York Times" called it "The World's Eighth Wonder". On its 100th anniversary, the Times' architectural critic, Ada Louise Huxtable, described it as "among the most beautiful works of man."
The Ellicott City Station in Ellicott City, Maryland, is the oldest remaining passenger train station in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. It was built in 1830 as the terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line from Baltimore to the town then called Ellicott's Mills, and a facility to service steam locomotives at the end of the 13-mile (21 km) run. The station, a National Historic Landmark, is now used as a museum.
The station was built in 1830 at the end of the Oliver Viaduct, of local stone (Ellicott City Granodiorite) provided by one of the quarries owned by the Ellicott family, which had founded the town and local flour mill in 1772. The two-story stone building is built against the viaduct. A gabled roof is topped by a wood ventilating cupola. The upper level of the station is at the level of the tracks on the viaduct.
The Oliver Viaduct was the second major stone bridge built by the railroad (after the Carrollton Viaduct). It was long and comprised three arches. The viaduct was damaged by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and has since been reconstructed.
The station building was designed to allow engines to be pulled in on the upper level so that they could be worked on from below. A turntable with a diameter of was fitted in 1863 to permit locomotives to be turned around. The turntable was filled in after the rail line was extended, but the granite foundations remain.
The railroad built an adjacent freight house, designed by E. Francis Baldwin, in 1885. The station is now used as a museum.
The railroad's inaugural trip from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills has held on May 22, 1830, with horse-drawn rail cars. Regular passenger service began on May 24.
The B&O demonstrated its first locomotive, the "Tom Thumb," at Ellicott's Mills in a famous race against a horse later in 1830. The railroad began using locomotives for passenger trains in 1832.
The station is the terminus of the original B&O railroad, which was intended to re-establish Baltimore as a major terminus of inland commerce after the opening of the Erie Canal. It was also meant to help the city compete against regional rival Washington, D.C., where construction was starting on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
From Ellicott's Mills the tracks reached Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in 1834, Cumberland, Maryland (the eventual terminus of the C&O Canal) by 1842, and Wheeling, West Virginia, on the Ohio River in 1852.
B&O passenger service from Baltimore to its Ellicott City station was discontinued in 1949, although freight service continued until 1972.
Today, the Ellicott City Station is part of the Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum. The museum was operated by the B&O Railroad Museum with Howard County from 2006 to 2017. Since September 2017, the museum has been managed by Howard County's Department of Recreation & Parks. Admission is free, with fees for some special events and tours.
The B&O Ellicott City Station Museum includes:
An HO-gauge model train layout is housed in the 1885 freight house; the layout depicts "the original 13 miles of commercial rail track stretching from Baltimore to Ellicott Mills", and train videos are projected onto the wall behind. Other static displays include memorabilia explaining the role of the B&O Railroad and the station in the American Civil War. The car house also hosts a holiday train layout in December.
The Museum also offers living history interpretation, reenactments, guided group tours, visiting exhibits, educational programs and special events for school groups, families, and adults.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.