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glensfallsse

Service Attendant
Joined
Apr 22, 2017
Messages
127
I’ve been in Indianapolis for a conference this week, so I dropped by the nearby train station for a look. It is butt ugly. It feels like a highway overpass with walls and benches. No character whatsoever. Is there an uglier train station in the country?641E665B-9899-4A08-9AE7-BEC8987B9FB9.jpeg
The older (original, I think) station is across the way. It looks old but stately. I don’t think it’s a part of the train station any more. Sad.
 
I’ve been to many Amtrak stations across the country and Indianapolis is the absolute worst. I’m pretty sure there are prisons that are more charming. I’ll take an old Amshack any day vs. Indianapolis.

The former union station on the other side of the underpass is now a hotel and convention center so it still stands in all its glory.
 
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glensfallsse said:
I’ve been in Indianapolis for a conference this week, so I dropped by the nearby train station for a look. It is butt ugly. It feels like a highway overpass with walls and benches. No character whatsoever. Is there an uglier train station in the country?View attachment 28652
The older (original, I think) station is across the way. It looks old but stately. I don’t think it’s a part of the train station any more. Sad.
Click to expand...
This honestly doesn't look that bad to me, it's indoors and well lit - you could be outside in the weather lots of places.
 
danasgoodstuff said:
This honestly doesn't look that bad to me, it's indoors and well lit - you could be outside in the weather lots of places.
Click to expand...
Well, I consider Indy to be the bottom of the barrel of  staffed stations. I've been there several times, unfortunately.

Can't speak to Pittsburgh, only ever been on the platform there when passing through on the Capitol.

Beats grade crossing boarding at Lordsburg, but that's about it. In my mind, even Beaumont, TX beats it now, since they replaced the infamous Beaumont Slab with an attractive shelter.
 
zephyr17 said:
Well, I consider Indy to be the bottom of the barrel of  staffed stations. I've been there several times, unfortunately.

Can't speak to Pittsburgh, only ever been on the platform there when passing through on the Capitol.

Beats grade crossing boarding at Lordsburg, but that's about it. In my mind, even Beaumont, TX beats it now, since they replaced the infamous Beaumont Slab with an attractive shelter.
Click to expand...
My nominee for an unstaffed Station is still Sanderson,Texas although they did build a quasi Platform there, after tearing down the Old SP Station to replace the Gravel Road that was the Platform.

For staffed Stations I'll agree that Indy and Pittsburgh are my nominees with San Antonio getting an unhonorable mention.
 
tricia said:
It's Pittsburgh (with an H). And those two stations are both pretty close to the bottom of the barrel.
Click to expand...

Pittsburgh got a bit touch up in the past year so it is a LITTLE better now. It has to be better than Indianapolis. But, as one of my late favorite people was fond of saying, you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.
 
Pittsburgh is my home station so I can confirm; it is functional, but that is about the best I can say for it. It’s even more disappointing because it’s in the basement of the old Pennsylvania Station, which is a magnificent looking brick building with a beautiful rotunda. This building though is now converted to an apartment building, leaving the dump in the basement for Amtrak travelers.
 
Bob Dylan said:
My nominee for an unstaffed Station is still Sanderson,Texas although they did build a quasi Platform there, after tearing down the Old SP Station to replace the Gravel Road that was the Platform.

For staffed Stations I'll agree that Indy and Pittsburgh are my nominees with San Antonio getting an unhonorable mention.
Click to expand...

If we're going with unstaffed stations my nomination would be Elko, NV. Yes, the platform is okay (has a bus-style shelter and standard platform) but there's no way (that I'm aware of, and I visited the station in 2012 and have tried to parse something out with Google Maps) to get between the two platforms for the two different train directions! They're separate side platforms with a fence between the two tracks that appears to be pretty well-maintained (not that anyone should be crossing, or expected to cross, an active rail line outside of a designated crossing anyways.)

If you're taking the train to Reno and park at the westbound shelter, when you come back to the eastbound side you'll have a fun 15 minute walk ahead of you on roads with no accessible sidewalks for your journey (unless you want to jump a concrete barrier!) Same in the other direction as well. At minimum there should be a way to safely cross the tracks at grade level while the train is in the station.
 
Tlcooper93 said:
Well aware… It was a typo; to me that seems obvious. I edit my posts a lot as I make many mistakes but I suppose that one slipped through.
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tricia said:
It's Pittsburgh (with an H). And those two stations are both pretty close to the bottom of the barrel.
Click to expand...

Fun fact: You're both (arguably) right. Pittsburgh lost its "h" between 1891 and 1911, a period that happens to coincide with the building of Daniel Burnham's magnificent Union Station. You can even see it spelled "Pittsburg" inside the famous rotunda. As to why Pittsburgh has an "h" while most burgs don't, leading theory is that it's the city's Scottish legacy. Think Edinburgh.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_...otes-,Etymology,son William Pitt the Younger.
 
glensfallsse said:
I’ve been in Indianapolis for a conference this week, so I dropped by the nearby train station for a look. It is butt ugly. It feels like a highway overpass with walls and benches. No character whatsoever. Is there an uglier train station in the country?View attachment 28652
The older (original, I think) station is across the way. It looks old but stately. I don’t think it’s a part of the train station any more. Sad.
Click to expand...
The worst thing about the place is the seating for waiting passengers. I suspect the seats are so uncomfortable in order to discourage homeless people from congregating there. Unfortunately passengers who have to wait for a late train have to pay the price.

The situation is similar to that of Dallas, which has a nice station, but the waiting room is in the lower level and has similarly uncomfortable chairs, as we found out after the Gathering in 2019 when the northbound Texas Eagle was about 8-9 hours late.
 
When I rode of out Indy in 2017 it was TERRIBLE. In addition the staff was extremely rude and unprofessional. Toledo for me from now on.
 
Stremba said:
Pittsburgh is my home station so I can confirm; it is functional, but that is about the best I can say for it. It’s even more disappointing because it’s in the basement of the old Pennsylvania Station, which is a magnificent looking brick building with a beautiful rotunda. This building though is now converted to an apartment building, leaving the dump in the basement for Amtrak travelers.
Click to expand...
Didn’t at one time the Pittsburgh station have a fairly decent lower level, beneath the Rotunda main level, accessed by escalators, etc?
Not sure, but I believe it was used by “Panhandle” division trains. I suppose that section was torn out when no longer needed?
Hard to find good historical info on that…
 
glensfallsse said:
I’ve been in Indianapolis for a conference this week, so I dropped by the nearby train station for a look. It is butt ugly. It feels like a highway overpass with walls and benches. No character whatsoever. Is there an uglier train station in the country?View attachment 28652
The older (original, I think) station is across the way. It looks old but stately. I don’t think it’s a part of the train station any more. Sad.
Click to expand...
I grew up in Indianapolis and at age 72 took a lot trains out of the real Indianapolis Union Station until 1971. It was, and is, a great building, but access to the former track level is gone which is a shame. The Red Caps took luggage up a separate elevator and met you at your car. The N.P. North Coast Limited's Dome Sleepers in the winter in the 1960's were just great. I concur that the present setup is not a station, but a slum.
 
I’ve only passed through the Indy station after departing the Cardinal At 5 am. The only issue I had was convincing a relative to venture into that part of town. I basically saw nothing wrong with the station inside or outside other than it wasn’t fancy. How about the Sacramento station before it’s recent overhaul. Maybe charming but pretty wore out.
 

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