Elmira, NY train station

What is the current status of this station? Any group looking to restore it? Many, many others are getting a second lease on life..this one in a populated area seems forgotten. Any thoughts?

northjerseybuff wrote:What is the current status of this station?

Still standing? [Edit: Had to google "Elmira Train Station" myself to answer this question. As of 2007, answer seems to be yes: http://elmiradowntown.blogspot.com/2007 ... -soon.html ]

northjerseybuff wrote:Any group looking to restore it?

If there is one, they are keeping it secret from all of us.

northjerseybuff wrote:Many, many others are getting a second lease on life..this one in a populated area seems forgotten.

Most likely forgotten for a reason.

northjerseybuff wrote:Any thoughts?

No, but you clearly have some. Why don't you get us started, since you clearly seem to have an opinion on this one.

-otto-

Thanks for the info Otto,
Next time I'm in Binghamton I plan to do a trip to Elmira and check it out. I think there were 2 stations at one time. An Erie and a Lackawanna. This is the Erie station still remaining I presume since the Erie infrastructure was used west of BD

Yes, it is the Erie station. The DL&W and LV stations in the City of Elmira are long gone.

The 1867 Erie station is still extant. The building is owned by Hilliard Corporation.

Also if you want to see the magnificent DL&W Elmira station in color 16mm film. You tube jlebaron1. It is amazing, plus other great finds.

I got to see the station at Elmira today...and as a fan of the Erie, I'm depressed seeing the condition its in.



Looking at this, the station will not be restored in all likelihood, the collapsing bricks make me fear its collapsing in other places. Will it be a loss after 144+ years? Yes, but the condition should've been handled a while ago.

I'm that if someone made them an offer they couldn't refuse Hilliard would sell. As you most likely noticed there's not too much going for downtown Elmira. There are plenty of vacant store fronts, other buildings are collapsing, and the city is trying to seize the hockey arena for back taxes. That being said the restoration of the area below the viaduct looks fantastic.

joshuahouse wrote:I'm that if someone made them an offer they couldn't refuse Hilliard would sell. As you most likely noticed there's not too much going for downtown Elmira. There are plenty of vacant store fronts, other buildings are collapsing, and the city is trying to seize the hockey arena for back taxes. That being said the restoration of the area below the viaduct looks fantastic.

Elmira was looking terrible (remember this is the first time I've been in downtown Elmira since I was 2) going through. But the viaduct isn't enough and I think time has run out on the depot, because the damage on the rightmost arch worries me heavily on its structural status. Not that Hillard shouldn't be responsible for maintaining that place.

I'm not sure, and I do know that K4 could tell us more, but it might have gotten nicked by a car that fell off the viaduct a few weeks back.

joshuahouse wrote:I'm not sure, and I do know that K4 could tell us more, but it might have gotten nicked by a car that fell off the viaduct a few weeks back.

I mean Elmira looks somewhat better than Corning station did in 1990 just before demolition, but I'm not a fan of years of abandonment, and living 4 hours away doesn't make it easy for me to do anything about it

Roadgeek Adam wrote:

joshuahouse wrote:I'm not sure, and I do know that K4 could tell us more, but it might have gotten nicked by a car that fell off the viaduct a few weeks back.

I mean Elmira looks somewhat better than Corning station did in 1990 just before demolition, but I'm not a fan of years of abandonment, and living 4 hours away doesn't make it easy for me to do anything about it

What Corning station are you referring to?
The Erie's Corning station has been gone for 50 years..and the DL&W station still stands..
Did the Erie have a second Corning station that was built after the tracks were removed from downtown?
If so, it must have built in the 50's and would have been quite young if it was demolished in the 90's..

Scot

Yes, there was a second station. Remember there was a decade between the departure from what was the Erie Avenue (now Dennison Parkway) and the merger. It was where Sly and Bridge Streets hit the embankment. The parking lot is still there on the south side of the tracks, and I think there are still some murals that were painted there of Erie Lackawanna engines. Here's a link to what it looked like up at track level. http://www.thebluecomet.com/elcorning.jpg I've never actually seen any other photo of the station, but I'm sure they're around.

The 1952 station on Sycamore Street when the downtown was bypass yes. For the record, it looked like this just before demolition: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/orig ... 624267.jpg

It was demolished in 1990. It now looks like:



That.

I pass the old Train Station at least 10 to 12 times a week. I can't help to think what it may look like inside. I am a local contractor in the area, and for years I have wanted to see the inside of the Elmira Train Station. I see it sitting there with tons of potential, yet no one ever seems to step foot near it or in it. My thoughts are of the inside of holding marble pillors with a marble floor. Old hard wood hand carved benches for sitting. Over the past few years, my eagerness for wanting to take a peak inside has grown. I am thinking very hard about asking the local code guy's if I can get a sneak peak. If so, I will be sure to take some photos. I will also ask if plans for doing anything with it may be in place, or have ever. Seems as now, with the gas comp. that have re-opened the rail system in this area, that they would think hard about doing something with this old Station. Amtrack should bring a line into it so we wouldn't have to travel so far away to catch a Train. I'm am positive that a large number of folks around this area would love to have a Train Station put in operation, and that it would be used to 100% capacity. So, I will take my dreams of wanting a peak into this Station to whoever I can in the city of Elmira and see what I can find out.