Empire Service stations

In 2015 family members will be catching the train at an upstate NY station. I need advice on the best station for them to wait for a train for several hours. The options are:

Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Amsterdam or Schenectady.

Which location is safe, has a good station and waiting room, and shops or restaurants within walking distance that might have some interest for a 10 year old. Thanks.

I have been in all of them and I found the Uttica Station to be a great place to do a layover! Its a Staffed remodeled Gem of a Station ( ex NYC), it serves as a the Bus Station, Government Offices are located there, and cafes are located in the area and there is a nice one in the Station. The friendly Agent there will hold your luggage while you sightsee and the Adirondack Scenic Rail Road also has their offices there and runs Excursion Trains into the Adirondacks. ( Google it up)

There is also a Rail Museum of a sorts next door with old cars, I believe its part of a children's museum!( thanks Neroden)

Palmland said:

In 2015 family members will be catching the train at an upstate NY station. I need advice on the best station for them to wait for a train for several hours. The options are:

Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Amsterdam or Schenectady.

Click to expand...

Syracuse is safe. The station is boring. You can walk -- if you have adult assistance... I wouldn't cross those streets and parking lots alone -- to Carousel Mall, I mean "DestinyUSA".
Rome is safe. The station is somewhat more traditional. It's downtown, but there's not much of a downtown.

Utica is safe. It's also a beautifully restored station, and there's a bunch of classic locomotives and railroad cars there because the Adirondack Scenic Railroad runs out of there. Again it's downtown, and again there isn't much of a downtown, unfortunately. There's a "children's museum" nearby but it has very restricted hours.

Amsterdam has a pretty minimalistic waiting room, more of a shack by an open platform. I know nothing else about it.

Schenectady is downtown and there actually is a downtown, with lots of shops and restaurants. The station is not very nice, but again, safe. (The station is sufficiently unpleasant that there is a funded replacement station which will be under construction during 2015, so it'll probably be a construction zone.)

Summary: if you want a downtown with shops and restaurants, go with Schenectady; if you want a really pretty station with a practically museum-like atmosphere, go with Utica; if you want to go to the mall, go to Syracuse; if Rome is closest, it's fine too; but I wouldn't go to Amsterdam.

Rome...Amsterdam...this is starting to sound like a European odessy! :giggle:

fairviewroad said:

Rome...Amsterdam...this is starting to sound like a European odessy! :giggle:

Click to expand...

Not to mention Syracuse too Definitely not American

An the original Utica was in North Africa and part of the Roman Empire.

That's upstate NY for you. If you really want an Odyssey, go to Troy, then come home to Ithaca.