Railway station

HISTORY

Early train stations were usually built to handle passengers and goods. The world's first recorded railway station was The Mount on the Swansea and Mumbles Railway in Swansea, Wales, which began passenger service in 1807, although the trains were horse drawn rather than by locomotives.

The Mount Clare station in Baltimore, Maryland was a two-storey building that served as the starting point for the B&O's historic inaugural journey to Ellicott's Mills (now Ellicott City), Maryland on May 22, 1830.  It was named after the nearby Mount Clare Mansion, the home of Charles Carroll, a prominent figure in the American Revolution and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The Mount Clare station featured a unique architectural style, combining classical elements with Federal-style detailing. It had a distinct two-story central pavilion with a cupola, flanked by one-story wings. The upper floor served as the station master's residence, while the ground floor housed passenger facilities, including waiting areas, ticket offices, and baggage handling areas.

The oldest terminal station in the world was Crown Street railway station in Liverpool, built in 1830, on the locomotive hauled Liverpool to Manchester line. The station was demolished six years later as the Liverpool terminal station moved to Lime Street railway station. Crown Street station was converted to a goods station terminal.

Broad Green station, Liverpool, which opened on September 17, 1830, is the oldest station site in the world still in use as a passenger station. When the Liverpool and Manchester passenger railway trains set out on the first day from the Crown Street terminus, the second station on the line was the original Edge Hill railway station (decommissioned in 1836), the third was Broad Green station.

A broad view of the two platforms. By Rept0n1x - Wikipedia

Elaborated by Augustus Pugin and endorsed by John Ruskin, the 600 year-old Gothic architectural style dominated Britain in the mid-19th century. Railway stations were often disguised as cathedrals or monasteries.

London Waterloo station, Britain's busiest railway station by passenger usage, was opened by the London and South Western Railway on July 11, 1848. It was named after. the nearby Waterloo Bridge over the Thames.

William Henry Smith saw the opportunity to take advantage of the railway boom by opening news-stands on railway stations. His first chosen site was Euston, the London terminus for the London North-Western Railway. The vendor in situ, an ex-LWNR messenger called Gibbs, was moved aside and the first WH Smith railway bookstall opened on November 1, 1848.

The London Necropolis Company opened a vast cemetery at Brookwood, near Woking, Surrey in 1852. It had a private railway station, adjoining Waterloo, its own trains, and two stations in the cemetery itself, with the name Necropolis.

The Czech composer Antonin Dvorak had a life-long love of trains. He never lost an opportunity to visit a railway station when he was on tour to indulge in a bit of transporting and chat with the drivers and engineers. During his final years he visited Prague's railway stations on an almost daily basis.

The French banned kissing at railway stations in 1910 as they claimed it delayed train departures.

Russian author Leo Tolstoy died of pneumonia in 1910 at a Astapovo train station waiting room siding, after a day's rail journey south.

New York's Pennsylvania Station opened to traffic on November 27, 1910. More fondly known as Penn Station, it was one of the first grand buildings of the 20th century. The station was a major transportation hub in Midtown Manhattan and served as the main intercity railroad station in New York City. Designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, the original Penn Station was a grand and monumental structure, known for its impressive Beaux-Arts architecture.

In 1963, at a time of declining train ridership, the PRR and New York City officials decided to demolish the original station and replace it with a smaller, more modern underground station. The demolition of the station was met with widespread public outcry, and it is still considered one of the most significant losses of architectural heritage in American history.

New York City's Grand Central train station officially opened at 12.01am on February 2, 1913 with the departure of a Boston Express train; the first arrival occurred a minute later. Even though construction was not entirely complete an estimated 150,000 people visited the new terminal on its opening day.

Postcard of Grand Central Terminal circa 1915

One of the first bombing missions took place early October 1914 when British planes, taking off from Dunkirk, bombed Cologne railway station.

Deputy station superintendent Ghulam Dastagir refused to leave his post during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy on the night of December 3, 1984. He prevented any trains from stopping at the station and may have saved thousands of lives. Ghulam spent two decades in and out of hospital due to long exposure to the gas.

Tama (April 29, 1999 – June 22, 2015) was a female calico cat who gained fame for being a station master and operating officer at Kishi Station on the Kishigawa Line in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. As station master, Tama wore a special cap and collar, and she even had her own office in the station building. She would greet passengers and pose for photos, and her friendly demeanor and cute appearance made her a popular attraction for visitors from all over the world.

RECORDS

The world’s busiest railway station is Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan, with a reported 3.64 million passengers passing through its 200-odd exits every day.

The world's largest station by floor area is Nagoya Station in Nagoya, Japan (410,000 m²). It houses the headquarters of the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central).

JR Central Towers. By JKT- Wikipedia

The busiest station in Europe is Clapham Junction in south London, UK. Each day about 2,000 trains, over half of them stopping, pass through the station.

New York City's Grand Central terminal has 44 platforms, the most in any railway station in the world.

The $4 billion World Trade Center Transportation Hub, built in New York City after the September 11 attacks, has been described as the world's most expensive train station.

The MAX Light Rail system in Portland, Oregon, includes North America's deepest transit station, at 260 ft (79 m) below ground.

FUN RAILWAY STATION FACTS

English-language Wikipedia reached its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station in 2006.

London's Kennington tube station, opened in 1890, is a listed building and the only one from the world's first underground electric railway to retain its original appearance.

The Wondabyne railway station is located on the Main Northern line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the southern Central Coast area known as Wondabyne and opened on May 1, 1889, The only railway station in Australia that has no road access, it is a request stop primarily used by bushwalkers on the Great North Walk and people who access their homes by boat.

Grand Central Station emits more radiation than a nuclear power plant.