The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1912-12-20
LARGEST
Railroad Station In World
Soon TO Be Opened
A Description Of The New
Grand Central Terminal

VI OuO VObuuu VI uOn uuuunuUu
New York, Dec. 1s--The new Grand
Central Terminal. which, in a few
weeks, will take the place of the old
Grand Central Station of the New
York Central and Hudson River Rail.
road, is nearly completed and may be
considered in the nature of a magnifi.
cent and princely holiday gift to the
city. When fully completed the sta.
tion, with the additional improvements
in the form of office buildings, hotels,
etc, will represent cost of s1S0,000,.
600. 1t will be by far the largest rail-
road terminal station in the world
and will be able to accommodate with
out congestion 10000 outgoing pas.
sengers per hour.
The gigantic work now almost com.
Pleted was begun in the spring Of
last year and constitutes a remarkable
triumph of engineering skill and en-.
terprise. It would have been compar-
atively simple matter to tear down
the old terminal station and the build
iDgs connected with 1t and to erect
upon the same site the new terminal
with all its magnificent concomitants
In the form of sky-scraper hotels, Of.
flee buildings, ETC., had 1t not been
imperative to do the work without
interruption Of or interference with
the traffic of the railway. To replace
the antiquated structure with new
one, however, without the slightest in
reference with the enormous traffic
everlastingly going on at this terminal
required engineering skill and inge-
nuity of the highest ordor. The com.
pletion of such a tremendous task
under the given conditions would
probably have been considered impos.
sible anywhere else.
The preliminary work was begun
several years ago. when part Of the
passenger traffic was transferred to
a temporary station on Lexington Av.
enue. Then several Of the auxiliary
buildings and the Office on Forty Sec
0nd street were built and the Grand
Central Palace building. north of the
Terminal, begun about three years
ago. was completed. The work on
the terminal proper was not begun
until the spring of last year, when
the old terminal building was torn
down to make room for the new
structure, facing FOrty-Second street
and resembling more public museum
or library building than a railroad
terminal in its architectural beauty
and magnificent proportions.
The terminal building is located or
the North side of Forty-Second street
between Vanderbilt Avenue and De
pew Place, rests upon terrace ele
waited above the level of the street
and its main floor Is reached from
the street by means of numerous in
clined planes. The structure, above
the ground, has a length Of 600 fee
a width of 800 feet and rises to {
height of los feet. But only small
part of the entire terminal structurs
is above ground. BY far the larges
part of the terminal in underground
distributed over seven different levels
the lowest depth Of more than fift!
feet below the street level.
The old terminal with Is Office build
ings, sheds, etc., covered an area o
% acres, while the new terminal witt
its additional improvements will GOV
er seventy-nine acres, with a trackag
of seventy acres. For the constru6
ton of the building and sub-structur
118.6O0 tons of steel and more thai
$4,000 cubic yards of concrete wer
required.
The terminal building was planne
with view of facilitating as much a
possible the tremendous passenge
traffic going on there at all season
Of the year. With that object In vie'
the express service and the suburba
train service were placed upon diffe
ent levels, with separate waitin
rooms, each large enough to accomm'
date from 5000 to $4,000 persons Z
one time. The tracks are located o
levels below the levels of the waitin
rooms and are reached by the 8 to
per cent inclines. Steps are avoide
In every part Of the terminal whic
is used by the travelling public ar
this constitutes q remarkable fe
ture OF the new building. Below Il
general concourse, which Is upon Il
same level as the terrace upon whit
the building rests. 1t is the suburbs
concourse, each connected with sc
les Of large and commodious waitil
Il. IL