Bristol station (locally known as Union Station and Bristol Train Station) is a historic

railroad 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 ...

Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State S ...

, USA, just north of the Tennessee state line. Built in 1902, the station was served by passenger trains until 1971. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as Bristol Railroad Station in 1980.

History

Rail service first reached Bristol in 1856. A new station was built in 1902 by the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

at a cost of $79,000 (). It is a one- to two-story brick building consisting of a tower section; a long seven-bay, one-story midsection; and a six-bay, two-story east end. The tower has a hipped roof with deep overhanging eaves supported by long sawn brackets. Stylistically, the station fits into the pattern of early 20th-century American eclecticism, combining Romanesque with various European vernacular modes. Associated with the station is a brick freight house constructed in 1883 and expanded in 1891.
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Named trains and end of service

Several N&W trains served the station into the late 1960s: *''

Birmingham Special The ''Birmingham Special'' was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after A ...

''—New York City to Birmingham, and branch to Memphis *''

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

''—New York to New Orleans *''

Tennessean Tennessean refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the state of Tennessee, including: * ''The Tennessean'' newspaper * Tennessean (train) See also * List of people from Tennessee * Tennessine Tennessine is a synthetic chemica ...

''—Washington to Memphis Passenger service to Bristol station ended with the discontinuance of the ''

'' on April 30, 1971, when

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 ...

assumed control for intercity passenger service in the United States. The station was listed on the

in 1980 as the Bristol Railroad Station. Around 2017, with Amtrak extending one daily ''

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busies ...

'' round trip to Roanoke, Bristol officials began advocating for a further extension to Bristol.

References

External links

History of the Bristol Train stationBristol Train Station
Buildings and structures in Bristol, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Bristol, Virginia Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Railway stations in the United States opened in 1902 Transportation in Bristol, Virginia 1902 establishments in Virginia Former Norfolk and Western Railway stations {{Virginia-railstation-stub