The 23 Grandest Amtrak Stations in America

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Glad to see Kansas City as #7, it's truly breath-taking upon walking in. Portland, OR has a quaint feeling to it, small and cozy. I love DC and love the story of the statues and the reason for the shields being added even more (I'm surprised at the number of people that don't know it and I enjoy retelling the tale). King St. Station is dead last but as you can see from the pic they FINALLY go the ceiling restored and it's beautiful, I look forward to seeing it when I arrive two weeks from today.
 
When I was at Union Station in D.C. I had read that the statues were uncovered during the first days the station was open and the shields were not added until a few months or even years later, can somebody confirm? Because I looked it up just now and the article stated the shields were added before the station opened and I don't believe that to be true.

Edit to add: while u.s. stations are grand, the many stations I used in France were truly spectacular.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree with LAX as #1 and it's Great to see Utica (I spent a Whole Year there one Cold Feb. Night waiting on a Late #49) and Marshall, Texas included! I personally think the Martinez, California Station should Rate Above the Intermodel Station in Ft. Worth!

My Candidates not Listed are the Old SP Station in Davis , California, the Old SP El Paso Station (similar to Portlands Union Station) and the Restored Santa Fe Depot in Temple,Texas. (Now a Museum and Special Events Center with Amtrak Located in a Room that was Part of the Old Express/Baggage Area)!

* Honorable Mention: Martinsburg, WV.

**Special Mention to Old Gems that are No Longer Stations but whose Memory Lingers: Union Station in Seattle, Union Station in St. Louis, The SP Sunset Station in San Antonio, the NY Central Station in Buffalo and Michigan Central in Detroit! :(
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nice to see Denver, but it's totally going to be different on the inside and outside as of next year. Big changes are being made to it as we speak (for those who didn't know).

Here's an example:

Denver-Union-Station.png
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Glad to see my favorite LA Union at the top.....even though there is no order to the list.
One I'd like to add, and it's an Amtrak station from day one.......Prince WV.
Prince WV population is under 20 today....it really serves Beckley now, but it was the example for the small town Chessie turbine train station....and the only example we have today. Needs restoration badly but is 100% intact....not 'grand' today but historically significant.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jimhudson said:
I agree with LAX as #1 and it's Great to see Utica (I spent a Whole Year there one Cold Feb. Night waiting on a Late #49) and Marshall, Texas included! I personally think the Martinez, California Station should Rate Above the Intermodel Station in Ft. Worth!

My Candidates not Listed are the Old SP Station in Davis , California, the Old SP El Paso Station (similar to Portlands Union Station) and the Restored Santa Fe Depot in Temple,Texas. (Now a Museum and Special Events Center with Amtrak Located in a Room that was Part of the Old Express/Baggage Area)!

**Special Mention to Old Gems that are No Longer Stations but whose Memory Lingers: Union Station in Seattle, Union Station in St. Louis, The SP Sunset Station in San Antonio, the NY Central Station in Buffalo and Michigan Central in Detroit! :(
Click to expand...
I agree that the Marshall station is nice. I really like the porch, walking through the tunnel to get to the station and the museum.
 
Been to LA, CHI and KC. Live near LA so see it the most but really enjoyed KC when I stopped there on the SWC. CHI is nice but I liked the little bit of KC that I saw a lot.
 
Albuquerque? Get real. The station interior is bland and boring, very. They left out Lamy (Santa Fe) and Flagstaff. Both are 100% charming and vintage examples of small stations that link rural America. At Lamy (my "home" station) even the ladies room is great, with decades-old Talavera tile on the walls - and a warning sign that the plumbing is old and delicate "so be careful."
 
I was pleasantly surprised to see Hamlet, NC on the list.

The Hamlet Depot has been remarkably restored by the NCDOT and is historically significant.

I agree that Prince, WV is also deserving of restoration and TLC......... so long as the station isn't altered. It is the perfect example of C&O Art Deco and it's in a package small enough that a renovation isn't going to be excessively costly.
 
FunNut said:
Albuquerque? Get real. The station interior is bland and boring, very. They left out Lamy (Santa Fe) and Flagstaff. Both are 100% charming and vintage examples of small stations that link rural America. At Lamy (my "home" station) even the ladies room is great, with decades-old Talavera tile on the walls - and a warning sign that the plumbing is old and delicate "so be careful."
Click to expand...
agree
 
Memphis deserves honorable mention. It went from being one of the worst Amtrak stations in the entire system to being one of the best. The massive restoration project and the Main Street Trolley, completed in 1998, transformed South Main Street.
 
SPUD belongs on the list when it starts receiving Amtrak passengers. Dallas is even more grand than Marshall. Marshall is historic, quaint and beautiful. But it's hardly "grand". And I'd say the same for San Juan Capistrano and Lamy (mentioned in this thread, but not on The List). As for ABQ, The GREYHOUND terminal is pretty grand. LOL. Just kidding - I know it houses Amtrak, too, but it's hardly the grandiose station that once stood there. I also don't understand how Hamlet could be considered without a mention of Selma, NC.

Salisbury, NC is a grand station - but Amtrak doesn't use the Grand in that location - just a little office on the corner.

Orlando, and several others along the SCL/ACL are historic but dilapidated. Savannah is in pristine condition, but its 1960's architecture is too modernist, lacking the Art Deco, Romanesque or Southwestern influences that have had the greatest aesthetic qualities - in my personal taste and preference.

Sadly, there are other GRAND stations like Grand Central Terminal, St. Louis Union Station and the Fort Worth T&P Station that don't serve Amtrak and even more discourging, GRAND stations that serve no train any more like Detroit's Michigan Central Station.
 
Notelvis said:
I agree that Prince, WV is also deserving of restoration and TLC......... so long as the station isn't altered. It is the perfect example of C&O Art Deco and it's in a package small enough that a renovation isn't going to be excessively costly.
Click to expand...
According to an article in the latest NRHS News (October 2013), planning is underway for a renovation of Prince. There's a great sidebar about its history as well.
 
I like ABQ's interior. I feel it complements the architectural design of the exterior, and it has the wood ceiling and tile floor common to that region. It reminds me of a casita (other than the fact that it's much bigger):

albuquerque-train-station-inside-dsc05457-useme.jpg


If they put a Kiva fireplace in a corner, it would be perfect.
 
:cool: Great Pic David, Thanks for Posting! I've only Passed through on the Cardinal, I did like the Signage on the Station , who would'a thought that a Small Mountain Town would have a Name like Prince and a Station like this?? :huh:
 
It looks very nice indeed. The only thing I don't like are those darn uncomfortable seats, which are identical to some of the new seats King Street has now. Luckily, we still have the old wooden ones, as well as the padded ones from (probably) the 80s. Both are more comfortable than the new ones.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top