The 10 Most Beautiful Train Stations In The US

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/see-the-mo ... in-the-us/

I put this here in Amtrak although some stations may no longer serve as passenger stations. What are your thoughts? I have to go with my local GCT.

I first set foot in many of those stations in the 80's, and I have to say they are in a far far more beautiful state today. So sometimes there is progress.

I agree with Grand Central Terminal, and Washington Union Station is a beauty too.

That's a lot like trying to name the best restaurant in a major city -- different qualities have to be rated against each other. I think there's a lot to be said for The Station Formerly Known As LAUPT, Los Angeles Union Station; it also has a history of impending decrepitude from around the 1980's, but look at it now. (There's a thread somewhere about passenger tracks removed and since restored, or needing to be; I think LAUPT was down to a single lead from Mission Tower to the platforms; LAUS is now back to five leads.)

I'm not rating it above those already mentioned, but I'd certainly put it in the top five.

I would agree as well. I hear that Washington Union Station has gone downhill with more vacancies in the retail space and more vagrancy, which is most unfortunate. I hope that trend can be turned around. Moynihan Train Hall is great but doesn't quite recapture the grandeur of the original Penn Station.

I recently visited Grand Central to check out the new East Side Access addition. Quite nice, glad I visited while it was still new, clean, and not too busy yet.

Santiago Calatrava's Oculus at the redeveloped WTC site is one of the more impressive recent build stations, assuming that counts as a train station.

I should add that I only read the link after submitting my post above; I see nothing to object to among the ten mentioned. Considering what's happened to intercity rail service in the U. S., it's remarkable that any remain.

St. Louis Union Station didn't appear, but technically still active with charters, private car excursions and the Polar Express, though no longer serving intercity service.

HOB and NWK are also runners up: both renovated in recent years with heavy investment by NJT and the former
having its original ferry terminal restored and back in service.

I would say NWK is more utilitarian than beautiful, although passenger flows and the intricate grade-separated track arrangements of trains (now Amtrak and NJT) and H&M (now PATH) are exemplary, but HOB certainly rates Honorable Mention for its overall design. Especially good that ferry access is now at the terminal itself (I haven't seen it since that was placed in service). The only thing missing now is the ferries with two passenger decks and two-level boarding access to the ferries at both HOB and Manhattan, a characteristic of Hudson River railroad ferries for many years.

ExCon90 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:00 pm The only thing missing now is the ferries with two passenger decks and two-level boarding access to the ferries at both HOB and Manhattan, a characteristic of Hudson River railroad ferries for many years.

Ahhh, memories. I was a passenger on the very last ferryboat to cross the Hudson River of both the Jersey Central and EL ferries on those sad occasions, in the Spring and Fall respectively, in 1967.

Cincinnati and Richmond are the only two of the ten in which I've never set foot, though I have been on trains that stopped at those two while enroute.

I've been in 6 of these, I need to get to the others, especially Cincinnati Union Terminal, home of the Justice League of America

The article didn't indicate who came up with the winning list and the criteria under which these stations rose to the top 10, but excluding the grand and beautiful Chicago Union Station is weird - to say the least. Additionally, I hate websites that are more advertisement than content.