Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-11-03
SOUTHERN To BUILD
UNION DEPOT
I'm ATLANTA
PRESIDENT SPENCER ANNoUN-
cES HIS COMPANY HAS DE-
cIDED TO SPEND OVER
HALF A MILLION.

BY July, 1904, Atlanta win have a new
union passenger depot the equal Of any
in the United States; one that will con-
tain ten tracks, arranged to hold trains
of twelve ears each, a station with
commodious waiting rooms and every
convenience for the travelling public.
The new station will be constructed by
the Atlanta Union Station company,
which will be formed as soon as the pre-
liminary survey of the property is made
and which company will be composed of
the various railroads entering Atlanta
The plan for the organization of such
company has been formed mainly by
President Samuel Spencer, of the Southern
railway, but it is understood that all Of
the railroads coming into Atlanta have
agreed to become stockholders in the
company.
The new union station in Atlanta
will be located mainly on the property
of the Central of Georgia railway, be-
tween the Mitchell street viaduct and
the Western and Atlantic railroad. 1t
will be a magnificent structure. The de-
pot building will be five or more stories
high and will contain Offices for railroad
officials, waiting rooms, baggage rooms,
mail rooms and ticket offices.
The train shed will be $50 feet long by
$50 feet broad and win contain ten tracks,
each track capable of holding a train OF
twelve cars in length. The train shed
will open at both ends for trains to enter
and depart.
This morning H. M. Steele. chief en-
gineer OF the Central Of Georgia railway
will begin the preliminary survey for the
new station. He will be assisted by the
engineers of the various railroads. This
work will take a week or more, and when
the exact location of the depot building
and train sheds are determined. meet
ing the railway officials will be called in
Atlanta to form the Union Station COM
pany. When this Is done and the prop
erty IS transferred from the Central and
Southern roads to the station company
and the data necessary for the architects
to draw plans is compiled the work Of
Drawing plans viii be turned over TO the
architects.
States Chances Killed.
speeial Attefheya E8aaparl q. Brown, Of
the Western and Atlantic railroad said:
IF the Southern builds depot it kills
all chance OF the state building one on its
own property. The state could not afford
to build a union station for the Western
and Atlantic railroad alone. have been
expecting that the Southern would build
a station ever since the meeting Of the
depot commission and the railroad officials
here last February
Mayor is Pleased.
Mayor Minis is pleased with the an
nouncement that the Southern will erect
a 100000 depot, although he declares that
he would have been better pleased had IL
been possible to have the state erect a
union depot for all the railroads on the
present site.
''5uIId to the Sea-"
Hon. Ferris Cam, who is member Of
the depot commission, which was unable
to bring about any agreement between the
state and the railroads relative to a de-
pot, said this morning:
81 thought all along the railroads would
build a depot II leaves the state road in
a bad predicament. When the lease runs
out the line will be entirely bottled up and
will hardly pay running expenses. 1t
seems to be the only thing that can be
done viii be to build the road to the sea
or sell 1t. II II is bottled up by other
lines at the end of it's lease 1t will hardly
be worth anything to the state"