Gare_NY wrote:South Bend is just so very depressing. I took the LSL for 8 months straight, every weekend, from CHI to Depew (BUF) and I always felt a little melancholy when we'd pull up next to that shack, especially in the middle of winter. It's literally just an open-faced shack, not even a seat.
Gare
With all due respect, you may be mistaking the track-level shack for the actual station which was built across the adjacent South Shore tracks. The station itself is still in operation with heat, lights, attendant, bathrooms, and checked baggage (I think). Having been in South Bend many times (grew up there) and Detroit recently, the SOB station is far nice than Detroit. It's about twice the size, has a matching set of benches/chairs, fresh paint, bigger parking lot, and functioning vending machines. It will never be mistaken for anything other than a malaise-era depot that replaced a grand union station, but it worked fine at one time for 2x/day Amtrak and 4x/day South Shore trains.
Shack (auxiliary building at track level)
Station
Another good pic from 1971
All pics from trainweb
http://trainweb.org/usarail/southbend.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The new Acela: It's not Aveliable.