No caretaker for Huntington, WV on 8/22

[Seaboard92]

Cincinnati back in 1952 had at least twelve New York Central departures going to places as far as New York, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago. Add that with at least four to five trains each from the Baltimore and Ohio, Pennsylvania Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio, Southern Railway, Louisville and Nashville, and the Norfolk and Western it was a popping place.

 

[JRR]

Cincinnati back in 1952 had at least twelve New York Central departures going to places as far as New York, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago. Add that with at least four to five trains each from the Baltimore and Ohio, Pennsylvania Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio, Southern Railway, Louisville and Nashville, and the Norfolk and Western it was a popping place.

And they had a fantastic terminal too! They have taken some of The mosaic murals and are now displaying them at the airport.

 

[railiner]

And if you are a fan of "Art Deco" architecture like I am....it just doesn't get any better than Cincinnati Union Terminal....simply breathtaking!

 

[Bob Dylan]

And if you are a fan of "Art Deco" architecture like I am....it just doesn't get any better than Cincinnati Union Terminal....simply breathtaking!

This!

 

[JRR]

And if you are a fan of "Art Deco" architecture like I am....it just doesn't get any better than Cincinnati Union Terminal....simply breathtaking!

And don’t forget the fantastic “whispering gallery” that allows one at a drinking fountain stone side of the station to talk to a person at a drinking fountain at the other side of the station. That was a feature that was always pointed out and demonstrated to school kids on trips to the station.

 

[cpotisch]

And if you are a fan of "Art Deco" architecture like I am....it just doesn't get any better than Cincinnati Union Terminal....simply breathtaking!

And don’t forget the fantastic “whispering gallery” that allows one at a drinking fountain stone side of the station to talk to a person at a drinking fountain at the other side of the station. That was a feature that was always pointed out and demonstrated to school kids on trips to the station.

There's a very similar thing in Grand Central. You whisper into a corner of this intersection between two hallways and the person in the opposite corner will hear it clear as a bell.

 

[PVD]

There are actually a few you tube videos of the GCT one in action...

 

[bretton88]

Apparently by putting out a memo they acknowledge the importantance of having someone there. They just dont want to pay for said person. Talk about mixed messages.

Who ever heard of an airport not having employees at the gates and terminals?Another of a long line of lame-brained decisions by Amtrak management.

Actually, at smaller airports that have passenger numbers similar to these Amtrak stations are staffed by caretakers who work under a third party contract. The person who takes your bag is also the person who guides you at the gate. What I don't understand is why Amtrak has to stop checked bags at stations that only have caretakers. Is it Union rules?

 

[Palmland]

And if you are a fan of "Art Deco" architecture like I am....it just doesn't get any better than Cincinnati Union Terminal....simply breathtaking!

The murals that were on display at the airport were put in storage some years ago but have now found a new home: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cityofcincinnati/news/historic-union-terminal-murals-find-new-home/

These murals were in the terminal's concourse that was destroyed to make way for the now NS intermodal terminal shortly after Amtrak began. It took Graham Claytor to get Amtrak trains back into the station on the remaining track and CSX gouged out the right of way to provide clearance next to it for a tail track for Queensgate yard. Sadly, no room left for Amtrak (or the state) to store and service a train.

The $200M renovation of the main rotunda and adjoining rooms (now the Cincinnati Museum Center) and its murals should be completed in November. If you haven't seen it, be sure and put it on your bucket list. But the terminal as it was in the 50's (but reduced in scale from its massive size) lives on in my HO model railroad.

 

[PVD]

There are a few stations that don't have agents, but have trainside baggage.

If an airline only has a few flights a day, contract services are very common.