Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-04-24
STATION AT CAPITOL.
Finest One Ever Constructed in thi,
 Country.

Country.
 i Washington, D. C., is soon to have . new union station and one which is looked upon by veteran railroaders as the finest ever built in the United States. Over $20,0O0,000 will be used in the instruction of the depot and in addition to the building, improvements will be made in the tracks and parks which surround these avenues of com- merce until, it is Believed, the expense will total $25, 100000.
 One of the foremost benefits which. the public will derive from the new project is the elimination of all grade crossings, as the tracks will run either above or below the streets and it is declared by officials in charge of the work that the station will be completed by the fall of 1906 if no hitch occurs to delay the work. Part of the vast expense involved in the erection of the depot has been borne by the national government, as it is considered that the depot will beautify the city to 8 great extent. Another reason that the government has consented to bear some of the expense is because of the offer some time ago of two of the rail- roads to lend assistance to the effort to establish a Mail.
 The station will face toward the dome of the capitol, and will be less than half g mile from t. The archi- tectural treatment will ~e in keeping with its character as the yestibule or gateway to the capital city.
 The main building will be 620 feet long and 65 to 120 feet in height. It is being built of white granite. The three entrance arches will each be 50 feet in height and 30 feet in width, and far exceed in scale their Roman prototypes. These central doorways will lead into Q vaulted vestibule and thence into the main waiting room. At the end pavilions will be located two 40-foot arched carriage entrances. the last one leading to a suite of apart ments for, the president of the United States and his guests, and the one at the west end will lead to general carriage porch, near the ticket and baggage lobby. The central vestibule and the end pavilions are connected by an open-air pcrtico and constitute . continuous covered porch along the front of the entire building,
 The general waiting room will be one of the finest in the country. It will be 220 feet long by 130 feet wide and covered by a Roman barrel vault 90 feet high that will be decorated with sunken coffers or panels after the manner of :he bath of Diocletian. Plenty of natural light will be supplied by semi-circular windows of 30 feet diameter on each side. At the east end of this hall will be grouped the dining room, lunch room and wom- en's waiting room. At the west side and on opposite sides of a lobby 50 feet wide are to be located the ticket offices and baggage checking room, with the smoking room and package room adjacent. Telephone and teie- graph booths will be provided in the general waiting room.
 The size of the passenger concourse or lobby will by far exceed anything ever built for a similar purpose. It will be 76O feet long by 130 feet wide and be covered by an arched ceiling in a single span decorated with panels and part of which will transmit the light. The lobby will be divided by the usual fence, pro- yiding width of about 80 feet for hand ling outgoing passengers, while the re- maining 50 feet between the fence and ends of tracks will afford ample facilities for the passengers arriving on trains.
 Speaking of the project. man promi- nent in railroad circles says: The scheme to build terminal at the nation- al capital, when it becomes generally known to railroad men throughout the country. will be looked upon as the great est bit of work that has ever been at- tempted in the United States. From the diagrams and measurements which are to be used in the construction of the building, it would seem that the Wash ington promoters have every similar project badly beaten as regards elab- orateness and magnificence and if all the plans which are presented are used in the construction, the edifice will with out doubt eclipse anything of the kind ever proposed in this country. Then there Is another phase to the matter. The building being at the national cap- ital will naturally attract the attention of statesmen and others in national poli- tics. and in this way attach prestige to the profession, which heretofore. many declare. it has lacked. From what un- derstand concerning the time to be occu- pied in the construction of the station, the promoters propose to finish work late next year. believe this might be done were it not for the various setbacks which are almost certain to occur. Strikes. possible shortage of materials and adverse weather conditions will most certainly delay the work. but talk ing . reasonable view of the situation, believe that the entire construction should be finished, at the last. by June, 1S07. The project does credit to its pro- noten, ard hope to ses it asuccea."
 WILLIAM EILERY.
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