Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza (Toledo)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza

Lake Shore Limited in Toledo, 2006
Location 415 Emerald Avenue
Toledo, Ohio 43602
Coordinates 41°38′16″N 83°32′30″W / 41.63778°N 83.54167°W / 41.63778; -83.54167Coordinates: 41°38′16″N 83°32′30″W / 41.63778°N 83.54167°W / 41.63778; -83.54167
Owned by Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority
Line(s)
  Lake Shore Limited
  Capitol Limited
Platforms 3 island platforms (formerly 6 island platforms)
Tracks 5 (formerly 12)
Connections Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
Construction
Parking Yes; free
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code TOL
History
Opened 1950
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 68,463[1] Decrease 1.2%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward Chicago
Capitol Limited
toward Chicago
Lake Shore Limited
  Former services  
Baltimore and Ohio
Perrysburg
toward Cincinnati
Cincinnati – ToledoTerminus
New York Central Railroad
Swanton
toward Chicago
Water Level Route
Milbury Junction
TerminusNorwalk Branch
Milbury Junction
toward Cleveland
Detroit Branch
Wagon Works
toward Detroit
Toledo – Charleston
Lime City
Toledo – Thurston
Moline
toward Thurston
Sylvania
toward Elkhart
Old RoadTerminus

Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza is the main passenger rail station of Toledo, Ohio, named for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 1996, the Port Authority completed an $8.5 million renovation of the historic Central Union Terminal facility and it now serves as a modern, intermodal train and bus terminal and office complex.

Toledo is served by four Amtrak trains daily, with service to Chicago and several destinations to the east including Cleveland, Ohio, Washington, D.C., Boston, Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New York City.[2]

It is constructed in a Streamline Moderne style.

History

The original Central Union Terminal opened during the week of September 17, 1950, at a cost of $5 million. It was the last of the New York Central Railroad's great stations. The new terminal was the crown jewel of a large post-war investment by the New York Central into Toledo, which involved constructing nine new buildings, as well as moving and expanding (in conjunction with the B&O) an $18,500,000 coal loading facility from East Toledo to Maumee Bay. C.U.T. was used by four major railroads during the 1950s and 1960s: the New York Central, Baltimore and Ohio, Chesapeake and Ohio, and the Wabash Railroad. The first floor housed baggage services, while the second floor housed a YMCA for train crews. The passenger terminal and concourse were on the third floor, while the NYC Toledo division and dispatching offices were on the fourth.[3]

The Amtrak era

Station sign with the previous Amtrak logo
Nickel Plate Steam Engine No. 765 parked at Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza

In the Amtrak era, Toledo was served by as many as six daily trains in the late 1990s. Prior to the discontinuation of mail services in 2005, Amtrak stored a number of material handling cars (MHCs) at Union Station on several of the disused platform tracks. A small number of private cars are often stored on the platform tracks closest to the station.

Freight trains bypass the station platforms on bypass tracks on the south side of the station. Toledo hosts the 'first' National Train Day every year, a week before the event is held in other cities nationwide. The station is now owned by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

References

  1. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2013, State of Ohio" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Rail Services". Toledo Lucas County Port Authority. 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  3. ↑ Masters, Daniel A. (2007). "Central Union Terminal, Toledo, Ohio; 1950-Present". Retrieved 2008-03-26.

External links

Media related to Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza (Toledo) at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 08, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.