Memphis Central Station

Memphis Central Station
File:Memphis Central 020427.jpg
Location	545 S. Main Street Memphis, TN 38103 United States
Coordinates
Owned by	Memphis Area Transit Authority
Line(s)	Illinois Central (CN)
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Connections	MATA Main Street Trolley MATA Riverfront Loop
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	MEM
History
Opened	1914
Rebuilt	1999
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	76,171  4.2%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Greenwood toward New Orleans City of New Orleans Newbern, TN toward Chicago
Location

Memphis Central Station, referred to as Grand Central Station prior to 1944, is a passenger terminal in Memphis, Tennessee. Located along Main Street and G.E. Patterson Boulevard in Downtown Memphis, it currently serves Amtrak's City of New Orleans route and the MATA Trolley system. The building opened in 1914

History

Early history

Central Station was built on the site of a former station known as Calhoun Street Station. Both stations were owned by the Illinois Central Railroad or its predecessors. Construction of Memphis Central Station began in September 1912, and the station was opened for service on October 4, 1914. The track design included five stub-end tracks (station tracks 1-5), and five through tracks (station tracks 6-10).

Memphis Central Station was owned by Illinois Central Railroad and the station was also used by Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad, St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. Between April 1, 1964, and November 30, 1966, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was also a tenant, during the time that Memphis Union Station was closed.

Lavender v. Kurn, 327 U.S. 645 (1946) was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States dealing with a negligent wrongful death case against a railroad employer under the station. The relatives of the switchtender sued for negligence under the Federal Employers Liability Act and the Supreme Court upheld the claim.

Decline and renovation

File:Memphis Central Platform.jpg

Today the station has just a single platform

Like other large stations across America, the rapid decline of the passenger train network in the 1960s made Memphis Central Station an aging, nearly deserted monument to an earlier era. Rock Island passenger train service to Memphis ended in November 1967, and Frisco train service ended a month later, leaving Illinois Central as the sole occupant of the station. On May 1, 1971, nearly all passenger trains in the United States were handed over to Amtrak, which began operating a single train through Memphis, and large sections of Central Station were closed off and abandoned. Illinois Central offices were moved from the station, and it appeared that the station would eventually be razed, facing the same fate as Memphis Union Station.

After falling into disrepair, Memphis Central Station gained a reputation as one of the worst stations on the Amtrak system. The property was eventually acquired by Memphis Area Transit Authority, and a massive renovation project was undertaken. Much of the former waiting room area of the station would become public meeting area, the Illinois Central office space on upper floors was converted to condominiums, and Amtrak retained a smaller presence in the former midway area of the station. The station renovation, which was completed in November 1999, helped to speed the renovation and redevelopment of this once deserted area of downtown Memphis.

Role during Hurricane Gustav (2008) evacuations

In anticipation of the landfall of Hurricane Gustav, the city of New Orleans began evacuating residents without the means to leave the city, starting on August 30, 2008. One thousand twenty-four evacuees arrived in Memphis via Amtrak.

Named trains serving Memphis Central Station

A partial list of named trains in the pre-Amtrak period that served Central Station:

• Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway
  • Choctaw Rocket
  • Memphis Californian
  • Hot Springs Special
• Illinois Central Railroad
  • Panama Limited
  • City of New Orleans
  • Louisiane
• Louisville and Nashville Railroad
  • Pan-American
• Southern Railway
  • Tennessean
• St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
  • Memphian
  • Kansas City-Florida Special
  • Sunnyland
• Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad
  • Delta Express
  • Planter

	Former services
Illinois Central
Horn Lake toward New Orleans		Main Line		Woodstock toward Chicago Central Station
Terminus		Memphis – Louisville		Woodstock toward Louisville
Walls toward New Orleans		Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Main Line		Terminus
Walls toward Greenwood		Memphis – Greenwood		Terminus
Rock Island Line
Hulbert toward Tucumcari		Tucumcari – Memphis		Terminus

See also

• Union Station (Memphis)

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Condren, Mike. "Memphis Central Station," Memphis Historical Railroad Pages
• Parker, Tom. "IC-Memphis Central Station," Illinois Central Net
• Memphis Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• Memphis, TN (MEM) (Amtrak's Great American Stations)

• Amtrak – Stations – Memphis, TN