Comments on: Toledo – the busy, half-abandoned station

By: Will

Will — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 06:48:20 +0000

Your pictures remind me of decaying platforms at Pennsylvania Station in Pittsburgh, where the Amtrak hovel was burrowed under the remaining tracks when the beautiful terminal was apparently carved up into corporate condominiums. Breaks my heart.

By: David Patch

David Patch — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 18:52:35 +0000

Just discovered this entry, Emily, while looking for an estimate of how many trains used C.U.T. when it opened. They’re planning an event next week to mark its 65th anniversary, and Greyhound today confirmed that it plans to move its Toledo bus station here by next spring. So while the train count remains just four per day, at least the facility will at last have intercity buses, too, and will once again become the city’s busiest intercity terminal of any kind (train + bus > Toledo flights).

When in use, BTW, the third-floor concourse had both stairs and ramps down to track level, but those ramps were too steep for rational wheelchair use, so yes, the building was definitely lacking in that regard. Surely one of the reasons that, when it was renovated, the Amtrak facility was relocated to the first floor, even though that effectively ended the ability for more than one train to be in the station at the same time. During the 19 years that have followed, that has rarely been a problem.

David Patch
Toledo, OH

By: guy ludwig

guy ludwig — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:34:12 +0000

from 1975 to 1980, central union terminal was my “home” station. in those days i traveled
regularly (maybe six times a year) between ohio and manhattan and once or twice a year
to chicago. during most of that time, toledo’s only train was the lake shore limited – but
also during that time, the old, original waiting room and concourse was used. one
came over the covered bridge, bought a ticket at the original counter and entered either
stairs or a ramp to get down to the tracks. i loved it!! things i remember were large,
functional bathrooms, “modern” elevators (circa 1950) to get down to the tracks if needed,
and a very good heating system — steam — which seemed to work perfectly. i also recall
that, though the building was not air conditioned, the station personel – or the penn central
and later conrail employees who worked there – could rig up the windows so that hot air
passed out toward the roof. it was always comfortable in that building. but what i liked
most about it was that it hadn’t really been touched … it was much as it was the day it
opened — which was only 25 years before i first went there. you got a real sense of place — and it was “kept up” pretty good: everything was freshly painted, all the lights
worked and the platforms were in reasonably good repair. of course, there were no
services in the station, other than ticketing and baggage – and pay telephones. the
building originally had a restaurant, a snack bar, a barber and a news stand. all these
were gone by 1975, but their footprints were still easily recognizable. and lo and behold,
a lady eventually did reopen the snack bar! the station also had very good ticket agents;
they were fast and friendly, knew what they were doing and handled the ever increasing
patronage very, very well. fond memories, indeed!

By: STrRedWolf

STrRedWolf — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 19:00:49 +0000

Hmmm…. there seems to be some room (as in track space) to create a hotel there. Sleeper cars can be put in the empty tracks, quite possibly the vintage sleepers (making it a tourist destination).

However, there will need to be some reconstruction needed — rails need to be laid back down, a dedicated hotel-track crossover (depending on how all the trains interact at the station, it could take four tracks, leaving five for the hotel), and maybe an elevated platform for handicapped patrons to get in their cars.

Still, there’s opportunity.

By: John Meola

John Meola — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 01:36:18 +0000

I went to college near Toledo and used to take the train there. To get from the train to the station you walked through one of the doors and went up stairs. From there you walked through a concourse to the main station. Outside was a turnaround where you would meet your ride or grab a taxi. They’ve significantly downsized it since Amtrak took out the Toledo-Detroit service years ago. Now it’s only served by the Lake Shore Limited and the Capitol Limited, and those come at ungodly hours of the night.

By: Nathanael

Nathanael — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 19:14:04 +0000

The problems with 1950s-era architecture:
– it’s new enough that it’s full of plastic, mass-produced, and lacks all the hand-carved etc. stuff from older architecture;
– but it’s old enough that it isn’t wheelchair accessible (at all!), is grossly energy-inefficient, and is often made from inferior materials which wore out much quicker than the people of the 1950s thought they would.

In short, all of the downsides of old & new buildings, none of the upsides of either.

By: Steve Dunham

Steve Dunham — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 17:17:25 +0000

I was in Toledo station last year. My wife and I traveled by train to Ohio for a son’s graduation from Bowling Green State U. The station is luxurious compared to where we get on and off trains: Fredericksburg, Virginia, which has no waiting room but several “No Trespassing” signs.

By: Al Cyone

Al Cyone — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 23:30:43 +0000

That “Amtrak: Toledo, Ohio” sign reminds us of how much “character” was lost by the near-ubiquitous adoption of Helvetica.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JkpYgjbYRg

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 14:31:56 +0000

Rail hobos? WTF.

Maybe that’s what I should call all the freaks that lurk around Waterbury and Meriden? ;)

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 00:12:03 +0000

In reply to CG Todaro. Thanks!