Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-07-19
A GREAT DEPOT.
Descritf tffion OF the New Depot Erected
by Commodore Vanderbilt ia New
York City.

Description OF the New Depot Erected
/ by Commodore Vanderbilt il, New.
/ York City.
From the New York World
The great railroad depot erected by
/ Commodore Vanderbilt on Forty-see-
ond street is at last completed and
ready for its occupants. This building
fills a want long felt by New Workers,
aside from which it is a magnificent
ornament to the city, and Will doubt
less prove a lasting monument to its
builder. New York can now boast of
the largest railroad depot in the coun-
try, and her railroad men will now no
longer be compelled to transact thei,
business in the little, low, and incom-
modious enclosures at Twenty sixth,
TwentT-seventh and ThiTtieth streets.
The new edifce is designed for the ac-
commodation of all the roads that
have terminus in the city,
and is provided with the heees-
sary waiting rooms and ticket offices
for the different passengers, as well as
the lines of tracks for the various trains.
The building proper, which extends
from Forty-second street, is 500 feet in
length and 240 in width The mate
rials used are smooth red brick and
iron painted white The front or prin-
cipal elevation is OH Forty second
street, and rears its magnificent pro-
portions high in the air, presenting a
most imposing appearance. The cen
tire of the facade is covered with tow
er 130 feet in height, and fanked at
each end by towers ITO feet high. The
west elevation, as seen from the new
street formed by the depot, exhibits
similar features, and is srlrmounted by
three towers 110 feet in height The
north end is constructed entirely of
iron, and has ten huge iron arches for
the ingress and egress of trains; while
the eastern side, which is the least i'm
posing, is for the most part built of
brick, and will be used chiefly for
the freight department. On the south
side, fronting on Forty second street,
the whole width of the building, to the
depth of forty feet, and to the height
of three stories, is devoted to the officee
and waiting rooms of the New York
and New Haven Railway. On the
ground floor, first of all, there is an
ample baggage-room; next, the gentle
mems waiting room, and that for la
dies. These rooms are handsomely fit
ted up in black walnut and oak, and
supplied with every convenience. Adj
joining the ladies waitingroom, IS the
the ladies' dreSsing-rOOm, which is fur
nished with all the modern conyenlen-
ces, and is a model of elegance and
luxury. On the second floor are the
offices of the Superintendent, the sta
e,Io hn Of
Clerk, Treasurer, Attorney, President,
and the Directors On, the third floor
are the Conductors room, store-room
for tickets, general ticket office, printing
room, and five small offices for undeter-
mined purposes. The west side of the
building, for its entire length, to the
same depth and height as on the south
side, is similarly designed for the busi-
ness aud traffic purposes of the New
York and Harlem Railway, the Hudson
River Railroad, and the New York Cen
trail Railroad. In this way the West
and South end, to the depth Of forty
feet, are occupied solely by offices, and
the central space, $50 feet by 300, forms
a monstrous car house, to which adj
mission is gained by the ten iron arches
at the North end of the building. The
height of this immense car shed is 80
feet. The roof is formed of glass and
corrugated iron, and is supported by
thirty-one semi circular trusses of iron,
each measuring four feet In length by
one foot in thickness. These trusses
are painted In rich colors, and on the
lower sections there is good
deal Of gliding, while the iron
sheeting extending between the
arches is painted blue tinge. The eff
feet of the whole is perfectly gorgeous.
At night the interior is lighted up by
twelve chandeliers, each provided with
100 lights and a large reflector High
up on the walls, in letters six feet high,
are inscribed the names, &c. Wander
bilt, President; w. II. Vanderbilt,
Treasurer There are twelve lines of
railway running the entire length of
this stupendous shed, divided into
groups Of two or three by raised plat
forms, composed of stone and cement,
for the accommodation of the four
lines which start from the Union Depot:
At the southeast corner of the building,
at the junction of Fourth Avenue and
Forty-second street, are two lines of
railroad which form the terminus of
the Fourth Avenue Railroad, by which
passengers will be enabled to step on
board the steam cars from the street
cars without exposure to the weather.