Bristol station (locally known as Union Station and Bristol Train Station) is a historic railroad station in Bristol, Virginia, USA, just north of the Tennessee state line. Built in 1902, the station was served by passenger trains until 1971. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Bristol Railroad Station in 1980.
Rail service first reached Bristol from Knoxville in 1856 via the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad,[3] a predecessor of the Southern Railway, and from Lynchburg via the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad,[4] a predecessor of the Norfolk and Western Railway. The current station was built in 1902 by the Norfolk and Western at a cost of $79,000 (equivalent to $2,870,000in 2024).[5] It is a one- to two-story brick building consisting of a tower section; a long seven-bay, one-story midsection; and a six-bay, two-story east end. The tower has a hipped roof with deep overhanging eaves supported by long sawn brackets. Stylistically, the station fits into the pattern of early 20th-century American eclecticism, combining Romanesque with various European vernacular modes. Associated with the station is a brick freight house constructed in 1883 and expanded in 1891.[6]
Named trains and end of service
Several N&W and Southern Railway trains served the station into the late 1960s:
Passenger service to Bristol station ended with the discontinuance of the Birmingham Special on April 30, 1971, when Amtrak assumed control for intercity passenger service in the United States.[5] The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as the Bristol Railroad Station.[1] Around 2017, with Amtrak extending one daily Northeast Regional round trip to Roanoke, Bristol officials began advocating for a further extension to Bristol.[7]
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