STATION COVERING EIGHTY ACRES'

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 51, 1 March 1913, Page 9

STATION COVERING EIGHTY ACRES'

IN NEW YORK. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SAN FRANCISCO, sth February., The new Grand Central terminal in New York City, by all odds the largest and most magnificent railway station in the world, was opened for service on the first day of this month. Some conception of the extent of the groat structure may be gained from the fact that it covers a ground area of a little less than 80 acres. Enclosed under the mammoth train shed aie 33 miles of track. Nearly 1500 trains * day, carrying 260,000 passengers, will bo able "to arrive at or depart from _ the station. One of the most impressive features of the terminal at first sight is the main concourse, measuring 275 ft in length, 120 ft in width, &nd 125 ft ix\ i height. The trackage in the station in on two levels, one exclusively for through trains and the other for suburban traffic. Ticket offices, baggage offices, parcel rooms, information bureaus, and entrances and exit* are bo arranged as to facilitate the movements of passengers and prevent confusion. There are no stairways in the station. All apjiroaches to the various levels ™re by means of ramps or inclined ways. Outwardly the new tprnritwl, like t4ic striking Pennsylvania Station in New York, and the Union Station in Washington, aoesnot resemble the ordinary railway stations. In this it accords with modern requirements and demands. Arnold Bennett, the English novelist, has referred to the Pennsylvania Station as one of the most impressively handsome structures, in the world. The central part of the facade of the Grand Central Station is in the form of the triumphant arch, and at once attracts attention. Over and above the steel frame terra cotta, marble, and light stone complete the structure. The station is situated in the very hestt of New York City, facing Forty-second-street. Through it will pour daily a large proportion of the suburbanites who live north of Manhattan Island and work in the city. The New England trains of New Haven and New York lines and the overland trains of the New York Central Company will also use this station as their terminal.