14 Pretty Stations

[The Davy Crockett]

Mental_floss has an article on "14 Beautiful Train Stations From Around the World."

The only one to make it onto their list from the US is Grand Central Terminal, which I think most of us know is not served by Amtrak any longer. Plus, there are some notable stations missing IMHO, like WAS for example, but I enjoyed looking through the list, so I thought I'd post it.

One thing that I noticed is that all of the stations listed were built before 1920, with the exception of two: Milano Centale (which was actually designed before 1913), and Liege-Guillemins, Belgium, which opened in 2009, so in many ways the list is a tribute to the golden age of railroading.

 

[Gemuser]

5.Dunedin Station, New Zealand

Truly a beautiful station, but despite what the article says it does not have any normal passenger traffic! It is home to the Taieri Gorge Railway, a fantastic tourist railway, [well worth a visit] but TransRail [or whatever the latest body is, I get behind on some of these things!] does not operate any passenger trains south of Christchurch.

 

[cirdan]

Tastes can differ. Whereas I would agree that these stations are all remarkable feats of engineering, the term "beautiful" is maybe inferring something else. The term "beautiful station" conjured up an image of a sleepy country station where the station manager still has time to chat with passengers, the waiting room has a real coal fire, the cat sleeps on the ticket counter and the canopy over the single platform is of intricate Queen Anne woodwork and is hung with flower baskets.

What a disappointment I had on opening the link.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

What a disappointment I had on opening the link.

Was it really that much effort to open the link, compared to complaining about it?

The snarkiness I see here at AU amazes me sometimes.

 

[lo2e]

Tastes can differ. Whereas I would agree that these stations are all remarkable feats of engineering, the term "beautiful" is maybe inferring something else. The term "beautiful station" conjured up an image of a sleepy country station where the station manager still has time to chat with passengers, the waiting room has a real coal fire, the cat sleeps on the ticket counter and the canopy over the single platform is of intricate Queen Anne woodwork and is hung with flower baskets.

What a disappointment I had on opening the link.

You are welcome to post your own list of your most beautiful stations here, as I'd love to know if there are any stations (Amtrak or not) that currently fit the description you put.

 

[cirdan]

You are welcome to post your own list of your most beautiful stations here, as I'd love to know if there are any stations (Amtrak or not) that currently fit the description you put.

Maybe something like this ...

or this

or this

 

[jis]

Wow! I have been to 9 of those stations! And yes all of them are beautiful, and many of them have been completely rebuilt inside keeping the external facade intact e.g. Antwerp Central, St. Pancras International, Atocha, and for all practical purposes even CST (formerly Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai.

 

[cirdan]

Wow! I have been to 9 of those stations! And yes all of them are beautiful, and many of them have been completely rebuilt inside keeping the external facade intact e.g. Antwerp Central, St. Pancras International, Atocha, and for all practical purposes even CST (formerly Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai.

I suppose its normal that any building in regular use will get modified over the years as the use case also develops, and the needs of passengers and change as do the means of operastion. Sometimes the changes also reflect a radical change in function, as in Antwerp which went from being a terminus to a thru station. Atocha is of course nice with the turtle basin and trees in what was once the old train shed, but I find the modern bits less satisfying. It's almost as if the architects were trying to emulate an airport with all the long walks and forcing people to go the long way around. To me a building is beautiful when it both looks good but is also pleasant to use. In St Pancras they really did try hard to preserve as much of the old structure as possible and this was fairly succesful. I used to say that it was a pity they destroyed the old booking hall with its oak panelling but I recently discovered I was wrong about this. It is still there but has become part of the hotel bar. And all the things that are genuinely wrong with St Pancras are really superficial things such as the childish artwork and poorly designed waiting room that they can easily put right at the next refurbishment (I hope).

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Wow! I have been to 9 of those stations! And yes all of them are beautiful, and many of them have been completely rebuilt inside keeping the external facade intact e.g. Antwerp Central, St. Pancras International, Atocha, and for all practical purposes even CST (formerly Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai.

Why am I not surprised?

 

[tp49]

I've only been in 4 of them and 3 of them were last year. Me thinks I need to travel around Europe a bit more and pick up a few more of these.

 

[the_traveler]

I need to travel around Europe a bit more

By train, of course! Me too!

 

[SarahZ]

Tastes can differ.

That's why it's just an opinion piece. Everyone has a different definition of "beautiful", as you said. You should hear my friend and I going round and round about Chicago architecture.

 

[the_traveler]

Any time that I'm on a train it's beautiful!

 

[FriskyFL]

NYP didn't make the list? I'm shocked. Shocked. :'(

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[CHamilton]

Another list. Some match the above, others don't.

All Aboard! 12 Beautiful Railway Stations From Around the World

 

[Bob Dylan]

Really a surprise to see Metro Center in WAS included! I'd pick LAX or Kansas City Union over it, but it does bring back memories of many a transfer while riding the Metro!

 

[jis]

One unique subway station which has a built in archeological museum in its main lobby that I have not seen any mention of anywhere. The station is Syntagma in Athens. The lobby has a very nice display of archeological artifacts that were discovered while digging out the tunnels for the station.

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