 |
| Street View |
 |
| 3D Satellite |
 |
| Adirondack Railroad A Short History of Utica's Union Station * They had to move the Mohawk River to its present location before construction started in 1912 to prevent flooding. The river ran where the tracks are today. Construction finished in 1914. * The station was designed by the same architects who designed New York City's Grand Central Terminal. * Union Station was most heavily used from the 1920s through the 1950s. Throughout the 60s rail transportation declined and the station fell into disrepair. * Demolition was considered in 1974, but in 1975 the station was saved. Restoration began in 1978, including putting the heating system in the benches. * In the mid 1990s, the tower "walkover" was added. Before that, passengers accessed further tracks by going through damp, smelly tunnels to the trains. * Today, Union station is owned by Oneida County and serves Amtrak, the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, and bus lines. The Department of Motor Vehicles and Oneida County Offices are now all located in the station. * Union Station Barber Shop is in the east side of the station. It is one of only 2 or 3 remaining train station barber shops left in the US. In the 1920s and 1930s, most large train stations had barber shops in the station. * Find more details at https://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/utica-ny-uca/ Thank you Vince Sperrazza for the write up on this! |
 |
| Marsha D. Hoefler commented on Adirondack Railroad's post Sooooo beautiful! A true wonder of our past come to life. |
The historic Utica station was opened for the New York Central (NYC) Railroad on May 24, 1914, and became a union station in late 1915 when the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad and the New York, Ontario & Western Railroad moved their services to the riverside facility....The 1914 NYC station was the third to be built on the same site to serve New York’s “Water Level Route.” The Utica & Schenectady Railroad built the first station in 1836, and it quickly became a way station on the route west as other railroads came through. These railroads were combined in 1853 to form the New York Central. In 1855, when the Utica and Black River began running north-south trains, Utica was the transfer point for tourists bound for Trenton Falls. This line is now the Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern and carries the Adirondack Scenic Railroad out of Utica as far as Remsen, N.Y.
 |
| Tim McCormack posted Union Station, Utica, NY. Built in 1914. Hugh R Heinsohn shared John Kelsey posted Utica's Union Station. John writes in response to comments about the benches being heated: It was a practical application. The hall is too large to heat. It has a 47-foot vaulted ceiling section! There are vents in the benches near the floor that keep your feet warm. Steam heat was common, and they made the most of it. |
 |
| Michael Colangelo posted View of Union Station, Utica, NY, October 13, 1940. At right is the westbound Empire State Express on track #7 Bruce B. Becker: This appears to have been taken from the rear of an eastbound departing Utica on track #2. Interesting highlights...you can readily see the sand on the ground where most locomotives would have stopped and then restarted. And to the far left are likely DL&W cars for the trains to Binghamton. The two middle tracks were for expresses that didn't stop at Utica (i.e. 20th Century Limited...); platform tracks #1 & #2 are still this separated to this day. Michael Colangelo shared Randy Becker: Great picture - yes, in this view the four main tracks, from left to right, are 2, 6, 5, 1 and the train is on 7. Tracks 3 & 4 are to the far right (off the picture) and are the freight tracks, serving the large Freight Yard. To the left are tracks 8, 10, 12. 12 was mainly O&W, 10 for DL&W. |
 |
| Ken Patterson commented on John's post Last year. [2023] |
 |
| Peter King commented on John's post |
 |
| Thom Ruzga commented on John's post a pic I took last year. [2023] |
The Adirondack Railroad operates on a former NYC branch that is now owned by the State of New York. The intent was to restore the track all the way from Utica to Lake Placid. "The State has only partially restored the track which has, in turn, created a contentious rail vs. trail debate." [adirondackrr-history] I was not able to find any maps showing what the various tourist train rides cover.
NY has since chosen to rehabilitate the track from Utica to Lake Tupper, and remove the track from Lake Tupper, through Saranac Lake to Lake Placid, converting that portion to a trail.
ReplyDelete