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denmarks

denmarks

Train Travel Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 21, 2003
Messages
676
Location
Chico, CA
If a station has trains passing through it and a terminal is the end of the line why are most terminals named stations? Are there any terminals other than Grand Central and New Orleans?

Grand Central Terminal

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal
Pennsylvania Station
Chicago Union Station
Los Angeles Union Station

Emeryville Station (I guess this can be both)

King Street Station
 
While your definition is technically correct, in practice a very large railroad station is often referred to as a 'terminal', perhaps because some trains may terminate there...

Places like Cleveland or Cincinnati Union Terminal, for example....

and then you have stub end terminals that are named station...such as Boston's South Station, Los Angeles or St. Louis Union Station...it just comes down to semantics....
 
Last edited by a moderator:
denmarks said:
If a station has trains passing through it and a terminal is the end of the line why are most terminals named stations? Are there any terminals other than Grand Central and New Orleans?

Grand Central Terminal

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal

Pennsylvania Station

Chicago Union Station

Los Angeles Union Station

Emeryville Station (I guess this can be both)

King Street Station
Click to expand...
Which Pennsylvania Station? There are at least two (NYC and Baltimore). And both have trains that pass through.

Emeryville has many trains pass through. The CZ terminates there, but could easily continue on to Oakland and beyond.
 
denmarks said:
If a station has trains passing through it and a terminal is the end of the line why are most terminals named stations? Are there any terminals other than Grand Central and New Orleans?

Grand Central Terminal

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal

Pennsylvania Station

Chicago Union Station

Los Angeles Union Station

Emeryville Station (I guess this can be both)

King Street Station
Click to expand...
LA Union Station can be both under your criteria. LD trains tend to terminate/originate there while the Pacific Surfliner can both pass through AND originate/terminate there.
 
Maybe because other than folks like us, no one seems to care. It's common usage. If I go to the airport, flights may originate or terminate, or they may be stop-overs in a continuing flight. They still call it the terminal.
 
Go back pre Amtrak and Atlanta had both a Union station ( thru tracks ) and a Terminal station ( thru tracks ). Union station did had only terminating trains ( L&N, NC&SL, ACL, Ga RRs ) Terminal station had terminating trains A&WP, Cof GA, and thru trains SOU, SAL [ although later just terminating from Florence] )

Of course Grand Central Terminal is the RR and Grand Central station is the Lexington Avenue station. Now what is the LIRR going to call it when they finally start service ? ( Grand central Island , ________ ? )
 
To me these days, Terminal sounds like a building at the airport. Station just makes me think Rail. True some are called Terminal, but in the end, more are called station. If I told my neighbor I needed a ride to the terminal, he would take me to the airport, and if station, to the nearest rail stop.
 
Technically, a Terminal has stub end tracks (no possible run thru trains). That's why in NYC it's Grand Central TERMINAL and Pennsylvania STATION. Chigago could almost be a Terminal, but track 28 runs thru from the south gates to the north gates - thus it is a Station.

Actually, LA could be called a Terminal - until the run thru track is built.
 
FrensicPic said:
the_traveler said:
Actually, LA could be called a Terminal - until the run thru track is built.
Click to expand...
True but, some trains that "push" in may "pull" back out and continue...Pacific Surfliners from the north that continue south to San Diego or vice-versa. Not the same as when run-thru tracks are built.
Click to expand...
That would always have been the case though. Southerns Birmingham Special would have stopped at Chattanoogas Terminal Station, which was indeed a terminal (no through tracks) before continuing to Birmingham.
 
Traditionally terminals almost exclusively originated and terminated trains.

Stations are designated points on the railroad.

Los Angeles was Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal. Until the Pacific Surfliners started running north of Los Angeles, the only train that served LAUPT that didn't originate and terminate there was the Sunset Limited which originated in San Francisco from the time the station opened in May 1939 until February 1942 when the Sunset Limited was cut back to Los Angeles-New Orleans.
 
All Terminals are Stations. Not all Stations are Terminals.

A Terminal is really defined by stub-end tracks with buffer stops.

That said, some terminals have been converted into through stations later and retained the "terminal" name.
 
the_traveler said:
Technically, a Terminal has stub end tracks (no possible run thru trains). That's why in NYC it's Grand Central TERMINAL and Pennsylvania STATION. Chigago could almost be a Terminal, but track 28 runs thru from the south gates to the north gates - thus it is a Station.

Actually, LA could be called a Terminal - until the run thru track is built.
Click to expand...
Grand Central Terminal does have a couple of "loop" tracks that allow a train to turn around without having to back out...so does that make it not a totally stub end Terminal? :)

Probably not, since the trains may leave from a different track then they arrive at, but ultimately must travel over the same route they arrived from....
 

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