Worcester's Union Station

Well I figured since I've made two posts I might as well post some of my photos I've taken (even though I am not a hardcore railfan I LOVE the architecture).


http://www.flickr.com/photos/buggs_moran/409905050


http://www.flickr.com/photos/buggs_moran/409905122


http://www.flickr.com/photos/buggs_moran/2579768383/

Nice photos!

Too bad such a magnificent station is mostly unused, with only the Lake Shore connection and a few MBTA commuter trains using it. Bring back the RDC's to New London!

Jon

Here is a series of pictures of that station:

http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/worcester.htm

Before and after:

http://www.vistadome.com/wus/index.html

It's a magnificently restored building, and it does have some commercial office space that is in use, but what it really needs to keep it busy outside of rush hours is more retail or restaurant/cafe development. Unfortunately, downtown Worcester, while not a commercial wasteland, is also not the sort of place where lots of stores are looking to open up these days. I do wonder what the economics of that big building are like.

BTW, for those who haven't been there, Amtrak's Lake Shore used a small 1970s building a block away until WUS was reopened a few years ago.

MODERATOR'S NOTE:

Moved to the General Discussion: Railroad Operations and Facilities forum.

jonnhrr wrote:Nice photos!

Too bad such a magnificent station is mostly unused, with only the Lake Shore connection and a few MBTA commuter trains using it. Bring back the RDC's to New London!

Jon

Isn't there some talk of that with CDOT? Not on the par of Springfield - New Haven, but I know CDOT had done a study that deliberately omitted Worcester. In any case, a long shot and far away.

They need to put something in the grand hall. There is absolutely nothing in it. A bench or two would be nice to make this magnificient station look like it still is a major station. Two AMTRAK a day and MBTA with a bus terminal.

Here's what the station looked like before the restoration effort, many years ago.

http://www.renaissancerestorations.com/ ... ter002.jpg

frrc wrote:Here's what the station looked like before the restoration effort, many years ago.

http://www.renaissancerestorations.com/ ... ter002.jpg

*jaw drop* Oh my gosh! Thank goodness it was restored and not torn down...

Boston-and-Maine wrote:

frrc wrote:Here's what the station looked like before the restoration effort, many years ago.

http://www.renaissancerestorations.com/ ... ter002.jpg

*jaw drop* Oh my gosh! Thank goodness it was restored and not torn down...

Probably the only reason that it wasn't torn down during its demise was that its marble construction would have been very expensive to demolish.

The refurbished station, in may instances looks better than the original. That facade outside the main entrance, new when they did the refurbishing, looks much better especially !

Truly the most amazing "return from the dead" in New England Railroad history.

CVRA7 wrote:Truly the most amazing "return from the dead" in New England Railroad history.

Still waiting on Springfield's Union Station restoration project to get off the ground...

have not been out there for a while now, many years ago there was a barber shop next to the terminal but I think it was part of the structure as well as out back was a postal office? What has become of the postal office, is that now some part of the new station? Also is the old tower still standing just past the station.