Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-12-19
WORLDS BIGGEST
rail- WAY station
NOW COMPLETED
Princely Holiday Gift to
New York Grand Cen
trail Station Represents a
Cost of $3.50, 900, 900.

New York, Dec. 19.-The new Grand
Central terminal. which in few weeks
Will take the place of the old Grand
Central station of the New York Cen
trail and Hudson River railroad. is
nearly completed and may be consid-
cred in the nature of magnificent and
princely holiday gift to the city. When
fully completed the station with its
additional improvements in the form
of office buildings, hotels. etc, will rep
resent cost of $3.50, 900 900 1t will
be by far the largest railroad terminal
station in the world and will be able
TO accommodate without congestion
10000 outgoing passengers per hour.
The gigantic work, now almost COM
pleted, was begun in the spring Of last
year and constitutes ii remarkable
triumph of engineering skill and en-
terprise. It would have been a COM
parativey simple matter to tear down
the old terminal station and the build
ing connected with II and to erect upon
the same site the new terminal with all
It's magnificent concomitants in tie
form of sky-scraper hotels, office
buildings. etc, had 1t not been imper-
atiye to do the work without interrupt
ton of or interference with the traffic
of the railway. To replace the anti
quated structure with new one. how
ever without the slightest interference
with the enormous traffic eNerlastinglY
going ON at this terminal required engi-
neering skill and ingenuity OF the high
est order. The completion of such a
tremendous task under the given con-
ditions would probably have been con-
sidered impossible anywhere clse
An Imposing Structure.
The preliminary work was begun sew
eral years ago when part of the pas
senger traffic was transferred to
temporary station on Lexington avenue
Then several of tho auxiliary buildings
and the office building ON Forty-sec
ond street were built and the Grand
Central Palace building north az the
Terminal, begun about three years ago,
was completed The work on the ter
minal proper was not begun until the
spring Of last year when the old ter
nlinal building was torn down to make
room for the new structure. now almost
completed. In Its outward appearance
1t is an imposing structure facing
Forty second street and resembling
more public museum or library build
ing than railroad terminal in its
architectural beauty and magnificent
proportions
The terminal building IS located on
the north side Of Forty second street
between Vanderbilt avenue and De
pew Place, rests upon a terrace ele-
waited above the level of the street and
its main floor is reached from the street
by means Of numerous inclined planes
The structure, above the ground has a
length of 500 feet width of 900 feet
and rises to height of los feet. But
ONLY small part of the entire terminal
structure IS above ground BY far the
largest part Of the terminal is under
ground, distributed over seven different
levels. the lowest at a depth OF more
than so feet below the street level
Covers 70 Acres.
Tile old terminal with Its office build
ings, sheds, etc, covered an area of % /
acres, while the new terminal with its
additional Improvements will cover -
acres, with a trackage of 20 acres For I
the construction of the building and /
suhstructure 11s,60o tons Of steel and /
more than $4,000 cubic yards of con-
crete We're required
The terminal building was planned
with view of facilitating NJ much as
possible the tremendous passenger traf- +
tic COINS on there at all seasons of the T
year With that object in view the ex-
press train service and the suburban
train service were placed upon differ +
ent levels, with separate waiting rooms I
each large enough To accommodate from
5000 to $1,000 persons az ole time THE
tracks are located on levels below the +
levels Of tho waiting rooms and are 4
reached by TO per cent inclines {
Steps are avoided in every part Of the
terminal which Is used by the travelling
public and this constitutes a remark
able feature Of The new building Be-
low the general c0ncourse which Is
upon the same level as the terrace npen
which the building rests. IS the subur-
ban concourse. each connected with a I
series of large and connections waiting
rooms and rest rooms On the one side /
with the lower track levels on the other
There are entrances for pedestrians on
three sides Of the building, for vehicles
on two sides and the lower levels IRE
connected by underground passages
with the various subway ana street
railway systems centering around Inc
terminal, Passengers arriving at Tie
station will not be compelled to leave
the protection of the building Ia reach
any of tie subway or other street rail
way lines to take them To their destna-
tons.
u your watch passes zf1rougn our re.
pair department and does not Give sat.
'sfactlon we will give a new move.