Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station

This article is about the station terminal in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For other Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad stations, see Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad. For the current occupant, see Station Square.

The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station, now Landry's Grand Concourse restaurant in Station Square Plaza in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an historic building that was erected in 1898. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.^[4]

Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station, April 2007
General information
Line(s)	Pittsburgh Subdivision
History
Opened	1898
Closed	July 12, 1985
Former services
Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station Mars toward Chicago Main Line Connellsville toward Jersey City Millvale toward Chicago Braddock toward Jersey City Hazelwood toward Cincinnati Cincinnati – Pittsburgh Terminus Terminus Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Ribold Junction toward Buffalo Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station Coraopolis toward Youngstown Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Main Line Terminus McKee's Rocks toward Youngstown Terminus Pittsburgh – Brownsville 22nd Street toward Brownsville Youghiogheny Branch South Side toward Connellsville
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
City of Pittsburgh Historic Structure
Pittsburgh Landmark – PHLF
Show map of Pittsburgh Show map of Pennsylvania Show map of the United States
Location	Smithfield St. at Carson St., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°26′1″N 80°0′14″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1898
Architect	Burns, William George
Architectural style	Classical Revival, Edwardian
NRHP reference No.	74001743[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 11, 1974
Designated CPHS	March 15, 1974[2]
Designated PHLF	1970[3]

History

The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station served as the depot for the passenger rail operations of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad and the Pittsburgh depot from 1934 into the 1960s. Many of the trains making stops here were trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which were making their way to Pittsburgh from Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis.^[5]

In 1934, the B&O obtained trackage rights on the P&LE from New Castle Junction to McKeesport and, until the discontinuance of its passenger service, used the P&LE station to reduce the amount of heavy-curvature trackage required to reach the original B&O station on the opposite side of the Monongahela River.^[6]

The station closed in 1985 after the last commuter train to College Hill station was discontinued.

The Pittsburgh Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.^[4]

Long distance passenger trains

Noteworthy named trains of the B&O included in 1956:^[7]

• Ambassador (Detroit–Baltimore)
• Capitol Limited (Chicago–Washington)
• Cleveland Night Express (Cleveland–Baltimore)
• Columbian (Chicago–Washington)
• Shenandoah (Chicago–Jersey City)
• Washington–Chicago Express (Chicago–Washington)
• Washingtonian (Cleveland–Washington)

P&LE trains operating as New York Central trains:^[8]

• Pittsburgh–Buffalo Express (Pittsburgh–Erie–Buffalo, with sleepers to Toronto and Albany, eastbound)/Buffalo–Pittsburgh Express (Buffalo–Erie–Pittsburgh with sleepers from Toronto and Albany, westbound)
• Pittsburgh–Detroit Express (Pittsburgh–Detroit, westbound only)
• Steel King (Cleveland–Pittsburgh, with sleepers to Washington via the B&O's Washingtonian)

Gallery

• 
  The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station, c.1905
• 
  B&O's Diplomat at the P&LE Station c.1968
• 
  Inside the station concourse
• 
  Station Square area of the Monongahela River showing the back of P&LE Railroad Station 1951.

See also

• Grant Street Station
• Union Station (Pittsburgh)
• Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal
• Baltimore and Ohio Station (Pittsburgh)

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "Local Historic Designations". Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
3. Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
4. "Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
5. Pittsburgh Station, website
6. Pittsburgh Station, website
7. "Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Tables A, 13". Official Guide of the Railways. 89 (5). National Railway Publication Company. October 1956.
8. "New York Central Railroad, Tables 170, 171, 172". Official Guide of the Railways. 89 (5). National Railway Publication Company. October 1956.

External links

Media related to Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Station at Wikimedia Commons

• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1231, "Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Station, Smithfield & Carson Streets, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA", 2 photos, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page
• Article from Engineering News (1914)
• Article from Railway Age (1902) with floor plan