The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-06
Pennsylvania Station Will Be
 Marvel of World
OTHER MAMMOTH PROJECTS
Station at Washington Is of White Granite and Is Among the Most Beautiful Structures of That
 Magnificent City.
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN.

nGDEniS ttEf0'NA'Ns
 For centuries the world looked upon Rome as that city where mans genius and munifcence had reached the limit of magnificence, in buildings for the pleasure and convenience of the people. Yet all of the gold in the kingdom of Italy today would net pay for the two new railway stations in the city of New York with their approaches and yards. The architect has decreed that the ex- terior of the new Manhattan station of the Pennsylvania railroad shall initiate the splendors of an ancient Roman pile, but the achievement marked by that building is as far beyond the dreams of the architect or engineer of Rome, as the Roman acqueducts were beyond the Britons whom Caesar met
 A railway station Is a clearing house for humanity Everybody, almost, sooner or later takes a railway Journey. He must needs board his train and leave his train at station. In the coun- try village where the railroad runs through the main and only street, and the station is the meeting place, at train time, of all the village worthies, the problems presented in station building are exceedingly simple. A house is built alongside the track and the thing is done. But when the village grows the problem becomes more and more complex, and when it has reached the dignity of a city the wits of man and the treasury of the railroads are heavy taxed to solve it.
 The Pennsylvania is perhaps the great est railway system in the world It's greatest business comes from New York City, which 1t connects with the great west and south. This particular corpor- ation bought a bit of railroad which brought 1t to the Jersey shore of the Hudson river in 1871 There it stopped as all other railroads had stopped, and have stopped. New York was the goal. but the great North river rolled be- tween the railroads and their city. There was much talk of great bridge but the cost would have been so enormous, and the difficulties so great that the railroads could not agree on plan of CO., operation, so the idea fell through
 Then the Pennsylvania decided to go under the river. It has tunneled under the North river, under Manhattan island, under East river, and soon it's trains will be running underwater and underground
 
 will have great passenger station in Mannattan and great freight terminals On Long Island. It will have the great est system of terminals In the world and the most expensive, for when the bills are all paid it will have expended more than ssO000,OoO on this project of getting into New York. r.f a#s.y
 The New York Central witch came down from the north and has always had a Manhattan terminal, is spending over $5O,0O0000 in the improvement of the Grand Central station, the enlargement of it's yards and the electrifcation of its su- burban service. This work has been more expensive proportlonately than the Penn sylvania work, because the Central had to make It's improvements without inter- ferfng with the operation of trains. The Pennsylvania was breaking new ground and had no traffic burdens to bear
 The railroads entering Washington. with some assistance from Congress- are completing the new terminals which rep resent an expenditure of almost $20 0OOO,- 900 to improve the condition of the pas senger or box of freight which is un- I loaded in the national capital. St. Louis Philadelphia, Boston and other Ameri- can cities already have great stations and terminals, which represent an invest ment of many millions. Yet the financial
 
 to the railroads. The peculiar require ments of the traffic at each particular place must be provided for. the comfort of the people must be considered and the demands of art not neglected
 The Pennsylvania company might have built an enormous office building over its new Manhattan station, but 1t chose to consider railroad station in its high est sense a public building and not priv- ate convenience. Thus it will be a pure ly classic structure, closely following the plan of the magnificent Roman baths of Caracalla, and it's long Doric colon nades will make 1t one of the most beau- tiful buildings in the world. Taking 2s acres in the heart of Manhattan Island the most thickly populated spot on the globe, this station will be one of the won ders of the world. It will have 21 tracks and can easily accommodate HOO trains day A half million people may be handled daily in this new station without overcrowdlng. The trains will be handled by electricity, of course, and the disagree able feature of tunnels will be elmin- ated
 Not the least remarkable feature of this work is that the Pennsylvania rail road in gratifying it's ambibntion to have a terminal in Manhattan goes further and makes New York City only a way station on It's line. For trains froM the west will merely stop in Manhattan to let off passengers and will then proceed under East river to the real terminus in Long Island city. Going toward the west the trains will start from Long Island and merely stop over in New York to pick up the way station business.
 When the work is completed and the first passenger alights from the train in