Grand Central Terminal, New York City's jewel box of a train station, sits in the middle of skyscrapers. It is as about as perfect an American example of the French Beaux-Arts style of architecture you can find. (Another outstanding example is just two blocks away at the New York Public Library.)
When Cornelius Vanderbilt opened the the original Grand Central Depot here on 42nd Street in 1871, most New Yorkers laughed at how far uptown it was.
Vanderbilt, a New York native, was the creator of the New York Central System and the world's first tycoon, and can be seen in statue form below. The astonishing fact is he did not start his railroad career (after making his fortune in the ferry boat trade) until he was in his 70's!
And one more amazing part of this story is that we can thank a beautiful woman, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, that GCT is still here.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
