Thursday, May 17, 2012

Grand Central Station!

 I love visiting the historic train stations when I travel.  This is the outside of view of the Kansas City, MO station.  Not so pretty but HUGE!
Clocks are a frequent site at the train depots, here were no delays, you were either on time or you missed your ride. 
Time spent inside this depot in Washington, DC now includes shopping in addition to trains.  This station includes gorgeous sculptures and is the most beautiful Grand Central I've seen so far.
Here in Washington again, the outside is as photogenic as the inside!  No wonder people loved to 'ride the rails'.
The St. Louis, MO Grand Central is my favorite.  Once doomed to be destroyed, it was renovated and has a wonderful museum of memories in one of the corridors.  Huge display boards of photographs, letters from sweethearts to loved ones, and drawings tell the story of the trains and who boarded.  As a mom to an Airman, I am always touched by stories of the young men and women who left the station heading to WWII deployments.  How many families said goodbye and never saw their child again? 
Clock watching again and here's a verse from Chattanooga Choo Choo:

"You leave the Pennsylvania station at a quarter to four,
Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore.
Dinner in the diner, nothin' could be finer,
Than to have your ham and eggs in Caroliner."

Oh, what fun to step aboard and ride that Iron Horse!

13 comments:

  1. I have always loved trains. I love the sound of a train whistle in the dark. I haven't been to too many train stations...Victoria Station in London is probably the biggest. My daughter Amber worked at Golden Spike State Park at the site of the joining of the railroads. May 10 1869 was when the country was finally spanned by rail. No more wagon trains! Thank you for the very interesting post!

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  2. Very neat blog post. The St. Louis station is something else! I had no idea.

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  3. Haven't been to St. Louis in years ... it is a beauty tho. Wash DC's is grand, as NY's ... so love when they resurrect the use of grand buildings such as these.
    TTFN ~
    Have a beautiful day ~
    Hugs,
    Marydon

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  4. Oh Tammy I am so sorry I have been swamped. I apologize for not getting back to you. I do love Union Station. The best part are the bathrooms in the great long hallway. They have the original numbers in them and everything...I think they were the loading zones. I will look up the sales and let you know asap...Enjoy the weather. Smiles...Renee

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  5. Hi Tammy,
    I loved the train station in Washington DC! Being from a small
    town in NC, I had never been inside a train station before. It was
    so amazing. The trip to DC in spring of 2005 was my hubby and mine favortie trip of all time. We walked and walked and took so many pictures that I used to create a beautiful scrapbook to remember
    our trip. We want to go back and see the things we didn't get to last
    time.
    Have a wonderful weekend,
    Hugs,
    Lynn

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  6. Such a fun post!! Historic train stations are great to visit! We have the Union Station in LA. Have a great night!! xo Heather

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  7. The train station in San Jose California is nothing and I mean nothing compared to these! And it's been years since I was at Grand Central in New York.
    What a fun post!

    chris

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  8. Gorgeous pics. We're hoping to take the railroad to Chicago this summer with the girls to visit our best friends. It's been a few years since traveled via the rails and we're thinking it's time to give the minivan a break this summer.

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  9. Hello dear friend!
    What wonderful pictures, I still want to know this place looks magnificent!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Have a blessed weekend!
    Hugs
    Luciana

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  10. Hi, I'm over from Old Glory Cottage and just started scrolling through your wonderful blog. The post you did on the Patriotic shadow box was wonderful. The vintage images are perfect. So glad I found your blog. Can't wait to go through more of it.
    Leslie

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  11. Have been to the one in Kansas City and it's gorgeous. My all time favorite is the one in Cincinnati. If you ever get a chance to visit there DO IT!!!

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  12. I've been to Grand Central Station just once and it was lovely. I am thankful to those who fought to save it.

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  13. Hello, I'm a producer for KSHB-TV in Kansas City. I was wondering if we could use your picture of the clock outside of Union Station in KC for our newscasts. The clock feel down and we are looking for a picture of it beforehand. Please e-mail me at derek.kenyon@kshb.com. Thanks!

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