Union Station (Chattanooga)

Last updated
Union Station
Inter-city rail
General information
Location Chattanooga, Tennessee
Coordinates 35°02′43″N85°18′40″W / 35.045416°N 85.311181°W / 35.045416; -85.311181
Line(s) W&A, TA&G, NC&StL, M&C, ET&G, L&N
History
Opened1859
Closed1970 (demolished 1972)
Rebuilt1882, 1900, 1926
Former services
Preceding station Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Following station
Wauhatchie
toward Memphis
Main Line Boyce
toward Atlanta
Location
USA Tennessee location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Union Station
Location within Tennessee

Chattanooga Union Station, more commonly known as the Union Depot in Chattanooga, constructed between 1857 and 1859, served as a train car shed in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Located at Broad and Ninth Streets (the latter now Martin Luther King Blvd), the station was one of two major railroad terminals in the city, the other being the Southern Railway's Terminal Station.

Contents

Modifications were added in 1868 and 1881 to include offices and waiting rooms. The train car shed was in use during and after the Civil War. After failed efforts to preserve the structure, the Union Depot was torn down in 1972. [1]

History

The Union Depot was constructed of limestone and brick; the bricks used were made by slaves. The center line of the train car shed was the boundary line between the Western & Atlantic Railway and the Nashville & Chattanooga Railway. [2] During the Civil War, the train car shed was used as an army hospital. A head house was added in 1882, and the south end was demolished and replaced with butterfly sheds in 1926. [3] In 1900, Georgian marble floors were added to the building, which was appropriate because Georgia owned the land that the Union Depot stood on. [4]

Throughout the first four decades of the facility's operation, its ownership had been disputed between the state of Georgia (and by extension, the Western & Atlantic Railway and successors), the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad, and the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, the latter two having leased portions of the property. The case was settled in the 1890s, when the courts ultimately ruled in favor of Georgia, and determined that the Western & Atlantic Railway and the Nashville & Chattanooga Railway were the rightful owners, the other two roads only having "vested rights" to its usage. [5] The debate over ownership resulted in the organization of the Chattanooga Station Company in 1905. The company was formed by the three lines of the Southern Railway System (which had absorbed the East Tennessee & Georgia) and the Central of Georgia Railway. [2]

In 1901, the Western and Atlantic's General locomotive was placed on display in the station. It remained displayed until 1961, when Western & Atlantic's successor, the Louisville and Nashville removed the engine to be restored to operating condition. The engine then toured various parts of the eastern United States until 1967, when despite efforts by Chattanooga's then mayor Ralph Kelley to keep the engine in the city, the engine was ultimately given to the state of Georgia, who placed it on display in the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, where it currently remains. [6]

The last passenger train was the Louisville & Nashville's St. Louis and Chicago to Atlanta Georgian.

Western and Atlantic Railroad No. 3: The General, on display in Chattanooga Union Depot in 1907. General locomotive c 1907.jpg
Western and Atlantic Railroad No. 3: The General, on display in Chattanooga Union Depot in 1907.

Passenger trains

Louisville & Nashville Railroad trains running on Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway routes, making stops at Union Station included:

Chicago to Florida passenger service on the "Dixie Route":

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway route, using Florida East Coast track for final leg of the trip.

Restoration efforts and destruction

In 1971, an English class from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga taught by Dr. Tom Preston proposed a visionary plan to save the Union Depot from demolition. The plan proposed restoration and utilization as the center of a midtown mall. The class presented a paper and a video to the Chattanooga City Commission on July 19, 1971. Mayor Robert Kirk Walker recommended that the students take their presentation to the Downtown Development Committee. The Chattanooga Area Historical Association joined the fight to save the Union Depot in November 1971. However, on September 26, 1971, Georgia decided to sell some of the land it owned, including the depot site. [4] The structure was torn down the following year, and the site currently houses office buildings. A historical marker was placed at the location of the Union Depot. [8]

While the group was unsuccessful in saving the station, their efforts did manage to save Terminal Station from a similar fate.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dearborn Station</span> Former train station in Chicago, United States

Dearborn Station was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at Dearborn and Polk Streets, to the south of the Loop, adjacent to Printers Row. The station was owned by the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad, which itself was owned by the companies operating over its line. The station building headhouse now houses office, retail, and entertainment spaces, and its trackage yard, behind the headhouse, was redeveloped into part of the Dearborn Park neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western and Atlantic Railroad</span> Railway line

The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway</span> Defunct railway company in the southeastern United States (1851-1957)

The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville on December 11, 1845, built to 5 ft gauge and was the first railway to operate in the state of Tennessee. By the turn of the twentieth century, the NC&StL grew into one of the most important railway systems in the southern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville and Nashville Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railway

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.

<i>The General</i> (locomotive) Preserved American 4-4-0 locomotive

Western & Atlantic Railroad #3 General is a 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive built in 1855 by the Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor in Paterson, New Jersey for the Western & Atlantic Railroad, best known as the engine stolen by Union spies in the Great Locomotive Chase, an attempt to cripple the Confederate rail network during the American Civil War. Today, the locomotive is preserved at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Railroad and Banking Company</span> Historic American railroad and banking company

The Georgia Railroad and Banking Company also seen as "GARR", was a historic railroad and banking company that operated in the U.S. state of Georgia. In 1967 it reported 833 million revenue-ton-miles of freight and 3 million passenger-miles; at the end of the year it operated 331 miles (533 km) of road and 510 miles (820 km) of track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central of Georgia Railway</span> Railroad constructed to join Macon, Georgia, and Savannah, Georgia

The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constructed to join the Macon and Western Railroad at Macon, Georgia, in the United States, and run to Savannah. This created a rail link from Chattanooga, on the Tennessee River, to seaports on the Atlantic Ocean. It took from 1837 to 1843 to build the railroad from Savannah to the eastern bank of the Ocmulgee River at Macon; a bridge into the city was not built until 1851.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railway

The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two World Wars before finally being purchased by the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). Missouri Pacific merged with the C&EI corporate entity in 1976, and was later acquired itself by the Union Pacific Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad</span>

The Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad was organized in 1926 to replace the bankrupt Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway. The AB&C was controlled by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which owned a majority of the stock. In 1944 it reported 763 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 33 million passenger-miles; at the end of that year it operated 639 miles of road and 836 miles of track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta Union Station (1930)</span> Smaller of two principal train stations in downtown Atlanta

The Union Station built in 1930 in Atlanta was the smaller of two principal train stations in downtown, Terminal Station being the other. It was the third "union station" or "union depot", succeeding the 1853 station, burned in mid-November 1864 when Federal forces left Atlanta for the March to the Sea, and the 1871 station.

The Louisville and Nashville Depot, or Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot or Louisville and Nashville Passenger Station, Louisville and Nashville Railroad Passenger Depot or variations, may refer to the following former and active train stations previously used by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Some of these are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The South Wind was a named passenger train equipped and operated jointly by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, and the Florida East Coast Railway. The South Wind began operations in December 1940, providing streamliner service between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. This was one of three new seven-car, all-coach streamliners operating in coordination every third day along different routes between Chicago and Miami. The other two longest enduring Chicago-Florida trains were the City of Miami and the Dixie Flagler. The South Wind remained in service through the creation of Amtrak in 1971.

<i>Dixie Flagler</i>

The Dixie Flagler was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. It began in 1939 as the Henry M. Flagler, a regional service between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida; the FEC renamed it and extended it to Chicago a year later. It was one of the few Chicago to Florida trains that passed through Atlanta. As an overnight streamliner it was part of the every-third-day pool shared by the City of Miami and South Wind. It was renamed Dixieland in 1954 and discontinued altogether in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western and Atlantic Depot</span> United States historic place

The Western and Atlantic Depot is a historic Western and Atlantic Railroad train depot in Dalton, Georgia. It was built in 1852 in the Greek Revival style. The building is the oldest surviving commercial structure in Dalton and is a "fine example" of depot architecture in Georgia in the mid-1800s. It served as both a freight and passenger station.

<i>Dixie Flyer</i> (train)

The Dixie Flyer was a premier named passenger train that operated from 1892 to 1965 via the "Dixie Route" from Chicago and St. Louis via Evansville, Nashville, and Atlanta to Florida. However, the train continued until 1969 as an Atlanta to Florida operation, run solely by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line. The Flyer's route varied in early years, but by about 1920 was set as follows:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station (Evansville, Indiana)</span> United States historic place

Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station, also known as L & N Station, was a historic train station located in downtown Evansville, Indiana. It was built in 1902 for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and was a Richardsonian Romanesque style rock-faced limestone building. It consisted of a three-story central block with two-story flanking wings, and a one-story baggage wing. It had projecting gabled pavilions and a slate hipped roof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576</span>

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576 is a 4-8-4 "Dixie" (Northern) type steam locomotive built in August 1942 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) as a member of the J3 class. Designed with some of the latest locomotive technological features of the time, the J3s were used to haul heavy freight and troop trains to aid the American war effort during World War II.

The Georgian was a long-distance passenger train operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in conjunction with the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad. It operated between St. Louis Union Station and Atlanta's Union Station with a section operated by the C&EI from Evansville to Chicago's Dearborn Station. From Nashville to Atlanta it operated over the tracks of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. The introduction of this train made the C&EI's Chicago-Evansville Whippoorwill train superfluous.

The Southland was a night train between Chicago, Illinois and different points in western and eastern Florida from 1915 to 1957. In the early years it was called the New Southland. It was distinctive among Midwest to Florida trains as its western branch was the only all-season mid-20th-century long-distance train passing from Georgia to Florida bypassing the usual passenger train hub of Jacksonville Union Station. The main operator was the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and pooling partners were the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and to lesser extent, the Wabash Railroad and the Florida East Coast Railway. For southeast bound -but not northwest bound- trips to Norfolk, Virginia, some coaches in 1946 diverged at Cincinnati along a Norfolk and Western Railway route. Northwest bound, travelers could switch trains at Cincinnati for heading towards Chicago.

The Marietta depot is a former freight and passenger stop in Marietta, Georgia. It was originally built in 1864 for the Western and Atlantic Railroad, a railroad between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia. That railroad was absorbed by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. In turn, the latter railroad was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1957.

References

  1. Prince, Richard E. (1967). The Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway: History and Steam Locomotives. Indiana University Press.
  2. 1 2 Prince, Richard E. (1967). The Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway: History and Steam Locomotives. Indiana University Press. ISBN   0-253-33927-8.
  3. Storey, Steve. "Chattanooga, TN, Stations".
  4. 1 2 Jolley, Harmon. "Visionary Plan in 1971 to Save Union Station". Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  5. Govan, Gilbert E. “The Chattanooga Union Station.” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 4, 1970, pp. 372–378. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42623184
  6. "Local History Column: Chattanooga and the 'General'".
  7. Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Ry. History and Steam Locomotives by Richard E Prince (1967) p. 152 & 163 Wheelwright Lithographing Co. (L of C # 67-26269) [later rereleased-see below], plus Official Guide(s) of the Railways January 1910, February 1926, May 1945, March 1952, July 1957
  8. The Union Depot, 2B 25, Tennessee Historical Commission, Chattanooga, TN.