The Union Station built in 1930 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

was the smaller of two principal train stations in downtown,

Terminal Station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

being the other (the latter served Southern Railway,

Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

Central of Georgia The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

(including the '' Nancy Hanks'' to

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

), and the Atlanta and West Point). It was the third "

union station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

" or "union depot" (usage varied in the 19th century), succeeding the 1853 station, burned in mid-November 1864 when Federal forces left Atlanta for the March to the Sea, and the 1871 station.

Overview

The station was located over the tracks between Forsyth and Spring Streets, three blocks west and one block south of the predecessor union stations. The site is the block immediately west of Five Points MARTA station. Opening in 1930, the third Union Station served the

Georgia Railroad Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Atlantic Coast Line (previously the

Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad The Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad was organized in 1926 to replace the bankrupt Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway. The AB&C was controlled by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which owned a majority of the stock. In 1944 it report ...

), and

Louisville and Nashville The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

(previously the

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville on December 11, 1845, ...

). It replaced earlier stations on the same site. Major trains and destinations: *Atlantic Coast Line -in partnership with L&N: **The ''

Dixie Flagler The ''Dixie Flagler'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. It began in 1939 as the ''Henry M. Flagler'', a regional service between Miami and Jacksonville, ...

'' –

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, via Chattanooga, TN, Nashville, TN and Evansville, IN; continuing south to Jacksonville and Miami, FL **The '' Dixie Flyer'' – Chicago, via Chattanooga, TN, Nashville, TN and Evansville, IN; continuing south to Jacksonville and Tampa, FL; shortened in 1965 to an Atlanta to Jacksonville ACL route *Georgia Railroad: **Trains to Augusta, GA for connecting trains to

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

service (e.g., '' Palmetto'') and to Southern Railway service (''

Aiken-Augusta Special The ''Aiken-Augusta Special'' was a named night train of the '' Southern Railway'' between New York City and Augusta, Georgia. Different from other long distance Southern Railway lines which tended to briefly go through the northwestern edge of S ...

'') *Louisville and Nashville: **The ''

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

'' –

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, via Knoxville, TN; continuing south to Jacksonville, FL, via Albany **The ''

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

'' –

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, via Nashville and Evansville **The ''

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

'' -

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, via Cincinnati, OH, Knoxville, TN; continuing south to Macon, then branching to various points in Florida. This train traveled to Terminal Station before going south to Trilby and Florida. Additionally, the Georgia Railroad operated local service between Atlanta and Augusta. After the tenant railroads of Union Station had discontinued all their passenger trains (the last such train operated on April 30, 1971, the day before

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

came into existence), the station was razed in 1972. Remnants of the platform may be seen behind the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' building although construction of

Underground Atlanta Underground Atlanta is a shopping and entertainment district in the Five Points neighborhood of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States, near the Five Points MARTA station. It is currently undergoing renovations. First opened in 1969, it takes ...

and MARTA largely obliterated the site.

References

* {{Atlanta landmarks Former railway stations in Georgia (U.S. state) Union stations in the United States Railway stations in the United States opened in 1930 Railway stations in Georgia (U.S. state) Railway stations in Atlanta Atlantic Coast Line Railroad stations Former Louisville and Nashville Railroad stations Demolished railway stations in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Railway stations closed in 1970 Buildings and structures demolished in 1972