The Union Station built in 1930 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

was the smaller of two principal train stations in downtown,

Terminal Station A train station, railroad station, or railway station 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 , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

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 constr ...

(including the ''

Nancy Hanks Nancy Hanks Lincoln (February 5, 1784 – October 5, 1818) was the mother of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Her marriage to Thomas Lincoln also produced a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Thomas Jr. When Nancy and Thomas had been married for ju ...

'' to

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

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

union station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

" 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 South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of peo ...

, 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 reporte ...

), 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 t ...

(previously the

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a Rail transport company, railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, ...

). 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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 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 Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third most populous city in Geo ...

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 ...

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 (U.S.), Southern Railway'' between New York City and Augusta, Georgia. Different from other long distance Southern Railway lines which tended to briefly go through th ...

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

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

'' –

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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

, via Nashville and Evansville **The '' Southland'' -

, 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 intercity 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'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' building although construction of

Underground Atlanta Underground Atlanta is a shopping center, shopping and entertainment district in the Five Points, Atlanta, Five Points neighborhood of Downtown Atlanta, downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States, near the Five Points (MARTA station), Five Points ...

and

MARTA Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an Italian river that flow ...

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 Atlanta Former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad stations Former Louisville and Nashville Railroad stations Demolished railway stations in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Buildings and structures demolished in 1972 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1970