Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR

GO is trying to get back into nice stations - Oshawa's new station is actually very nice. West Harbour not so much.. But Confederation looks like it will be good, as will Bloomington and the rebuild of Guildwood.
 
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I think Winnipeg would be Toronto's rival for grand train stations.

https://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/6071055.jpg
 
Nice pics of Vancouver and Winnipeg VIA stations.

I need to redeem my VIA train points for a sleeper on Canadian. (Helped from my days commuting between Ottawa-Montreal).

Got enough for an offseason sleeper, debating whether to save more points for an in-season Canadian, or to redeem the points before the points devalue.
 
Oh man....Winnipeg wins my heart for that ceiling! Very simple yet elegant. Vancouver looks a bit claustrophobic for me. Another reason for me to stick with Winnipeg as my fav city between Toronto and Vancouver. (ok, the competition is a bit weak and I've never been to Edmonton or Saskatoon, but still).
 
mdrejhon said:
I need to redeem my VIA train points for a sleeper on Canadian. (Helped from my days commuting between Ottawa-Montreal).

Got enough for an offseason sleeper, debating whether to save more points for an in-season Canadian, or to redeem the points before the points devalue.
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My reasoning is thus: free points (I'm assuming they were accumulated on trips you'd be doing anyway) means use them sooner rather than later. Off-season is still better than nothing and you aren't paying for it. I don't know what the relative costs are and how many points you have and how long it will take you to accumulate enough to go in-season, but I'm guessing it could be a while (especially with the mentioned devaluation) and life doesn't wait. Besides, winter is as beautiful as summer, in different ways. The end destination isn't exactly winter either which is where I imagine you'd be spending most of your non-train time. Seems like a good deal to me.
 
mdrejhon said:
Got enough for an offseason sleeper, debating whether to save more points for an in-season Canadian, or to redeem the points before the points devalue.
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I've taken the Canadian in December (a decade ago). The dark skies in Northern Ontario were kinda nice; plenty of stars to watch as the trains go well off the beaten road. We transferred in Jasper (bundle up and go for a hike) and went to Prince Rupert which is also worth a visit for the Museum of Northern BC.
 
cplchanb said:
i just hate it when they use the heritage excuse. just because it's heritage doesnt mean that it looks good or is worth keeping.
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Agreed.
There were other ways to give a nod to heritage in the via concourse- why not do a nice full reno and just leave one pillar in the "old style" with a plaque in front to acknowledge it? Heck, it would even have been neat to have a spot in the station left in the design of the old Bay GO concourse too.
Another option could have been a permanent photo display of what the station used to look like... those display cases along the outer sides of the via concourse could have featured heritage station artifacts too. Together they could have made for a nice mini museum / heritage walkway.
 
W. K. Lis said:
The old time railway stations, even the smaller ones in the outskirts, were much better looking than the modern boxes they have today serving GO trains.

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From link.
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One of the criticisms of modern design/architecture is its "cookie cutter" nature......but every time I see a picture of those old rail stations (or see one used in a tv show or movie) I have to check to see which of the ones that all look alike it is....I mean other than being up on a grassy land bank and seemingly in the middle of nowhere....that could be the station building at Brampton (or many others).
 
It's because railways would often use the exact same design at multiple stations. They would essentially copy+paste the station up and down a new rail line.
 
I noticed last evening that they have started to put up the metal roof beams at the Bay Street (east) end of the Bay Moat. Only a couple to do so the glazing at that end should follow pretty soon. The glass is on site. They are also, finally, dealing with the stonework at the (unfinished) east end of the York Moat so I expect to see that moat fully enclosed soon.

Update Thursday @ 4pm: 4 of the 5 'beams' at east end of Bay Moat are now up so they should be putting in glass next week - or before.
 
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innsertnamehere said:
It's because railways would often use the exact same design at multiple stations. They would essentially copy+paste the station up and down a new rail line.
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Each railway had probably five or six standard station plans for stops ranging from rural hamlets to small cities and divisional points (which required second-floor offices), but those changed over the decades, allowing for enough variety. In the 1850s and 1860s, the Grand Trunk pretty much built one style of station, just longer or shorter depending on the size necessary.

Larger cities like Hamilton and Ottawa usually got something unique to attract clientele and make a corporate statement.
 
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