70s Terminal Deficits: Just How Bad Was It?

[eolesen]

Unfortunately Amtrak could not afford to keep the AT&SF car yard. That ended up in some kind of housing. Now Amtrak will be short of storage facilities if their many operations around CHI were to increase.

There's no shortage of car storage or servicing in CHI... Western Avenue (both on the UP and MILW) seems to have availability, and has shore power along with sanitary servicing available. I'm also pretty certain UP would be willing to make a deal on the Canal Street yard (directly south of Union and slightly southwest of Chinatown).

[Tadman]

Not to mention that Amtrak is running out of the PRR passenger yard that once housed an enormous frequency of trains to the east, which now sees something like 10 LD trains and 20 corridor trains. They also have the GM&O service facility a few miles out in Brighton Park as well.

The UP Canal street yard (off the BNSF a mile west) is an interesting idea, the current yard is on the river and might be ripe for development.

[D Alex]

Here's my first experience on early Amtrak, arriving in Rochester, NY, autumn 1972: The station was just the remnants of what had not already been torn down from the previous station. There was plastic barrier tape keeping us from wandering into the ares which were slowly being demolished. It was entering the city through the sewers....

At the same time they were building the next Amtrak station, which looked like a double-sized Greyhound station and had all the charm of an East German government office building. But at least it had a roof that didn't leak.....

[D Alex]

Here's my first experience on early Amtrak, arriving in Rochester, NY, autumn 1972: The station was just the remnants of what had not already been torn down from the previous station. There was plastic barrier tape keeping us from wandering into the ares which were slowly being demolished. It was entering the city through the sewers....

At the same time they were building the next Amtrak station, which looked like a double-sized Greyhound station and had all the charm of an East German government office building. But at least it had a roof that didn't leak.....

[GWoodle]

Not to mention that Amtrak is running out of the PRR passenger yard that once housed an enormous frequency of trains to the east, which now sees something like 10 LD trains and 20 corridor trains. They also have the GM&O service facility a few miles out in Brighton Park as well.

The UP Canal street yard (off the BNSF a mile west) is an interesting idea, the current yard is on the river and might be ripe for development.

AFAIK the Brighton Park facility was used for the Turboliners when they were bought for Chicago to St Louis and Detroit services. That was closed by the time CTA put in their Orange Line trains. The facility now is the Archer/35th street station. The old ATSF yard is part of Chinatown now.

[WashingtonPark]

Remember getting off at Pittsburgh and them using an old trailer on the platform with the Pittsburgh station completely boarded up. The rest rooms had the old gold plated faucets in them, though.

[gokeefe]

As Mr. Norman observed earlier it's curious that terminals such as Los Angeles and New Orleans survived relatively unscathed through the initial period of operation in spite of low daily volume.

At the moment it appears that Cincinnati and Chicago Central Station were the earliest closures Central likely for operational efficiency and Cinncinnati almost certainly due to extraordinary terminal costs for so few trains.

[John_Perkowski]

LA survived because all three coach yards were close by, even if Amtrak chose to use Redondo Junction, and Mission Road and Wast LA got closed by UP and SP.

[gokeefe]

So one working theory could be that "terminals" which on A-Day suddenly became "enroute" stations were rendered redundant overnight by the unification of the passenger rail system.

Cincinnati and Richmond Broad Street would seem to be strong examples of this idea.

I'm surprised that Buffalo and Detroit lasted as long as they did under Amtrak.

[JimBoylan]

Another excuse for leaving Cincinnati Union Terminal was that enlargement of a C&O/B&O yard cut the connection between the terminal and the old PennCentral line up Chevoit Hill. The riverfront Amshack was on the detour route.

[Tadman]

Not to mention that Amtrak is running out of the PRR passenger yard that once housed an enormous frequency of trains to the east, which now sees something like 10 LD trains and 20 corridor trains. They also have the GM&O service facility a few miles out in Brighton Park as well.

The UP Canal street yard (off the BNSF a mile west) is an interesting idea, the current yard is on the river and might be ripe for development.

AFAIK the Brighton Park facility was used for the Turboliners when they were bought for Chicago to St Louis and Detroit services. That was closed by the time CTA put in their Orange Line trains. The facility now is the Archer/35th street station. The old ATSF yard is part of Chinatown now.

A few weeks ago I went past this blue building and it had a number of superliners in for repair, I always thought that was the Brighton Park facility. It appeared to be an active facility. Thoughts?

https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/ ... house.html

[WhartonAndNorthern]

A few weeks ago I went past this blue building and it had a number of superliners in for repair, I always thought that was the Brighton Park facility. It appeared to be an active facility. Thoughts?

Per the Amtrak Equipment Asset Line 5 Year Plan, Brighton Park services Superliners, Amfleets and Horizon cars. It's is capable of performing Turn-around Layover Servicing, Periodic Maintenance, and "LPCM/Fragmented Overhaul Work." It is not capable of performing services in the remaining categories: Overhauls and Wreck rebuilds.

[MACTRAXX]

Remember getting off at Pittsburgh and them using an old trailer on the platform with the Pittsburgh station completely boarded up. The rest rooms had the old gold plated faucets in them, though.

WP: The interim Pittsburgh station facility back in the early 1980s was not a trailer - it was an "Ambox" that
was located adjacent to the west end of the platforms containing a ticket office and waiting room.

Back then the PGH station was in a form of "limbo" after the former PRR office building was closed to be
converted into a upscale hotel. What ended up happening is that the building would become apartments
and condominiums along with a new station facility added.

During the time period the building was closed the only access to the platforms was the two driveways on
either side of the building and even more significant was the classic rotunda out front fenced off because
of its condition (there may have been stone falling out of the interior) back then.

The rotunda was extensively renovated and the stonework cleaned up with the PGH PRR building project.
In the case of PGH the current station facility was the right way to go for Amtrak...MACTRAXX