Raleigh’s Union Station, circa 1940s. Photo by John F. Gilbert.
This morning, federal, state, and local officials gathered in the Dillon Supply Viaduct building to announce that Raleigh’s proposed new Union Station is now fully-funded. The chance of Raleigh getting a new train station anytime this decade looked remote until Raleigh won a $21 million federal grant. The Feds are kicking in $15 million of stimulus money and the state is kicking in an additional $6 million. Raleigh is funding $3 million from its earlier transportation bond and Triangle Transit is contributing the $1.3 million property.
Above is a circa 1940s photo of Raleigh’s former Union Station, which still stands at the corner of Dawson and Martin streets facing Nash Square. Raleigh’s station was an “end-station” with stub-end tracks, meaning trains stopping at Raleigh had to back either in or out of the station.
Backing up trains takes a lot of time, so when the Seaboard station and Southern station (both through-stations) opened up it spelled the doom of Union Station. Now the building houses offices. I believe the station’s tracks are still embedded beneath the surrounding roads.