J. Douglas Galyon Depot,
also known as Greensboro station, is an
intermodal transit
Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths (and offset the weaknesses) of various transportati ...
facility in
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
. Located at 236 East Washington Street in downtown Greensboro, it serves
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
passenger rail and is the city's main hub for local and
intercity buses.
The station was built in 1927. Train service was moved to a new building outside downtown in 1979. The historic station was renovated and reopened as a transit center in 2005.
History
The station was originally built in 1927 as the Greensboro Southern Railway Depot. It was a replacement for an 1899 Southern Railway Depot that still exists today, albeit without the gabled-third story and cupola it had in the past. The 1927 depot was donated to the city in 1978, a year before the
Southern Railroad finally gave up passenger service.
Efforts to return service to the old station began in 1993. It was heavily renovated from 2001 to 2005, and reopened to the public on October 1, 2005. The restored station was named for James Douglas "Doug" Galyon (1930-2019), a longtime civic leader in Greensboro who was a member of the
North Carolina Board of Transportation
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
History
The North Carolina ...
from 1992 to 2008, serving for most of that time as the board's chairman.
Designed by the New York architectural firm of
Alfred T. Fellheimer & Steward Wagner, the 1927
Beaux-Arts facade of the Greensboro station features Ionic columns, a full entablature, and a three-story arched entry. Inside, the ticketing area features a vast mural displaying the service area of the Southern Railway system in the 1920s.
(Preservation Greensboro)
Until 1970 the Southern Railway operated the ''Asheville Special'' from Asheville
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous ci ...
and Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...
to Greensboro. Until the 1960s that train had linked with the '' Augusta Special'' at Greensboro and had continued to Washington, D.C. and New York City. Until the 1960s the ''Carolina Special
The ''Carolina Special'' was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway between Cincinnati, Ohio and the Carolinas. It operated from 1911 to 1968. It was the last passenger train to use the route of the Charleston and Hamburg Railroad, w ...
'' went from Cincinnati to Asheville, with the North Carolina branch of the train going to Greensboro. Until 1953 or 1954 the ''Carolina Special'' went further east to Goldsboro in the eastern part of the state.
Present-day service
The station is served by three Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
trains: the ''Crescent
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
'', the and the . The ''Crescent'' uses the longer north platform closer to the station, while the ''Carolinian'' and ''Piedmont'' use the shorter south platform. This is because the ''Crescent'' takes a more northerly route to the Northeast via Danville, Virginia
Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...
while the ''Carolinian'' and ''Piedmont'' use an easterly route via Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
.
It also serves Greensboro Transit Authority
The Greensboro Transit Agency (GTA) is the operator of public transportation in the Greensboro, North Carolina area. It complements three other local and one regional bus service in the Piedmont Triad. Fifteen routes travel almost solely within t ...
and Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation
Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) provides inter-city and regional public transportation for the Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, NC combined statistical area, known as the Piedmont Triad area. In , the system had a ...
buses and intercity bus companies.
Gallery
Image:Greensboro_Amtrak_Carolinian.jpg, Train 80, the ''Carolinian'', at Greensboro
Image:Greensboro_Amtrak_Arrival.jpg, Amtrak train arriving in Greensboro
Image:Gsotrainstation.jpg, View of the restored platforms
Image:GRO_Amtrak_Station_Inside.JPG, Inside of restored station
References
External links
Greensboro Station – NC By Train
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081006121926/http://tsalmon.topcities.com/ncrr/green.htm Greensboro Railroad Stations (North Carolina Railroad Stations)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greensboro (Amtrak Station)
Amtrak stations in North Carolina
Transportation in Greensboro, North Carolina
Stations along Southern Railway lines in the United States
Transit centers in the United States
Bus stations in North Carolina
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1927
Railway stations closed in 1978
Railway stations in the United States opened in 2005
Buildings and structures in Greensboro, North Carolina
1927 establishments in North Carolina