The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1905-11-02

YEW WASHINGTON STATION THE
FINEST IN THE WORLD.
Construction of Structure and Build
ing of Adjacent Largest Of Freight
Yards TO Cost $4,000, 900.

With all the talk relative to Govern
ment control of railway rates, and the
probability of Congress giving the sub
Ject at least consideration, the busy
Sol0nS of the Senate and House this
winter may not appreciate that within
a radius Of eight miles Of the Capitol
building there is work of railroad i'm
proyement going on having a value of
over 22,000,0OO.
Just across the Potomac River, be-
tween Washington and the historic
but sleepy town Of Alexandria, the
Pennsylvania railroad is well along In
constructing the largest freight yards
in the United States, at a cost of
ST,OOO0OO, while the Pennsylvania and
Baltimore and Ohio railroads are ex-
pending S15,0O0.000 In the city itself In
eliminating grade crossings and erect
Ing Il new Union station-a station
which, when completed, will be the
largest passenger station in the world,
even exceeding that at Hamburg, Ger
many.
Compares in Size with Capitol.
The new station, in itself but five
feet shorter than the Capitol building,
will face a plaza 500 feet wide by about
1000 feet long. decorated with artistic
balustrades, terraces and fountains.
Nine streets will lead into the plaza,
which itself will provide space for
massing troops and spectators for pub
lie ceremonies. To give the required
elevation to the station so as to admit
the two passenger tunnels from the
South, 1t was necessary to fill in the
site of the station, some 100000
cubic yards of earth being required to
form The new plaza. the ill for con-
siderable area being over 80 feet In
depth.
Sanitary Train Sheds.
Unlike most railroad stations, the
beauty of the Washing
ton station will not be married by the
usual gigantic semi-eircular train shed,
but each pair of tracks will be covered
over with sort of umbrella train shed,
which will protect alighting and de-
parting passengers from the elements,
but will also allow the smoke and gases
to rise into the atmosphere. The bag
gage trucks will pass to the cars
through tunnels to the end of the
tracks, where the trunks and parcels
will be brought to the surface by ele-
vators, so that at no time will the pas
Scngcrs be in danger of collision with
The baggagemen. The train concourse
will be the largest single room in the |
world, nearly 700 feet long, the entire
'iSta being unbroken by the usual
labyrinth of pillars. The ceiling is to
,e constructed in what is technically
Known as of the self-supporting type. |
There will be 33 passenger tracks, u
N the main floor level and six on the
unnel floor where trains from the
south will arrive through the double
unnel under Capitol Hill. A feature
# the station will be the absence of
tairs, so that even in a large crowd,
or which Washington is famous dur
ng inaugural or convention times,
here will be no danger of accident to
he passenger arriving or departing.
Presidential and Diplomatic
Entrance.
There will be special entrances and
lSo rooms for guests of the nation, the
diplomatic corps and for the President
f the United States, who will thus be
nabcd to quietly seek their train with
nut hindrance.
In the original bill introduced in Con-