18-02-08 PHOTOS: Dallas Union Station

Now I've been to Dallas twice before. The first time, in 2007, I mostly focused on riding the DART system to the ends of various lines and also enjoying the historic McKinney Ave trolley. Ten years later in 2017 I was confined to a more suburban location and had to make do riding the TRE commuter line to Fort Worth. This year I was back and staying downtown near Union Station which allowed me to get photos of the downtown rail nexus of Union Station which combines Amtrak, TRE, DART, UP, BNSF and streetcar operations in one place. I also took a brief side trip into Deep Ellum for some BBQ, You can find the complete set of photos here.

The Union Station area is currently dominated not be the station itself, but by a hotel and convention centre complex surmounted by a ball and stick style observation tower informally known as the Sunphere. While reported to have an information desk, the boom-bust oil economy of Dallas as resulted in the tower being filled with thousands of boxes of unsold wigs leftover from the 1980's. The hotel itself is also notable for having an optical cloaking device that would render it and the occupants safe from communist attack.

Dallas Union Station Amtrak Station is still rather nice for a facility that only sees 2 long distance trains per day. The upper floors have offices and event space and there is at least one Wolfgang Puck signature restaurant.

TOWER 107 originally controlled the southern approaches to Union Station. Today it is preserved as a DART communications facility. TOWER 106, at the north end of the station, is owned by the 6th Floor Museum due to a very minor role in the JFK assassination, and retains at least it's old model board.

The Dallas Streetcar is a new, free, service that connects downtown with the Bishop Arts District to the south. Due to the age of the Houston St Viaduct, it was not possible to mount overhead trolley wire so the streetcars use a battery system to bridge the gap  Here we see streetcar #301 making the turn on the Houston St viaduct. 

DART LRV #245 leading a Red Line train to Westmoreland passes under Houston St. Since my first visit in 2007, a center section was installed between the two cars to increase capacity without needing to purchase additional vehicles.

DART LRV #254 passing by TOWER 107 on the rear of the previous train.

DART LRV #177 with the Union Station long distance platform off to the left.

Because Dallas isn't a communist nanny state, app powered bikes such as these seen at the downtown terminus of the Dallas Streetcar, are plentiful.

Dallas Streetcar #302 laying over at the Union Station terminal. When at this station the pantograph is raised to recharge the batteries. There is also a connection to the DART system and I believe that the Streetcars may be serviced at a DART facility.

Despite it's Art Deco appearance,the Union Station building actually dates from 1916.

The station has 5 tracks, 2 for DART, two for TRE and one for Amtrak Long Distance trains #21 and #22, the Texas Eagle.

DART LRVs #212 and #164 passing adjacent to the south end of the Long Distance platform.

DART LRV #222 en route to UNIT. Note the length of the Long Distance platform.

DART Bomber cab car #1005 lays over at union Station. Mid-day service on the route has been expanded to roughly hourly.

TRE F59PH #126 on the other end of the short trainset. These F59's were purchased from GO Transit as that operation upgraded to MP40PH-3C's.

TRE #126 again, this time at night.

DART LRV #165 on a Green Line routing to Buckner at the Medical Center station.

DART LRV #200 on a Westmoreland train pausing at the West End station. The major flaw in the DART network is that neither the Green or Orange lines (the two that serve the airports) stop at Union Station, forcing travelers to change trains at West End.

Below the West End station is the wye where the Blue and Red lines split from the Orange and Green. Here we have a video of two Blue Line trains passing in front of the preserved Tower 106.


Amtrak service to the station is confined to a relatively short stretch of time with the westbound train arriving around 11am and the eastbound between 2 and 3pm. Here we see Amtrak P42DC #51 arriving at the head of Train #21. Due to the lack of major mountains on the route Amtrak has been running 21 and 22 with only a single P42 as a cost saving measure.

Amtrak Train #21 rolling to a stop on the long platform. All tracks at Union Station are non-track circuited with hand thrown switches.

Amtrak #51 meeting BNSF C40-10W #7278 at the west end of the platform, which is now known as JFK Junction. Train #21 is signaled onto the TRE commuter line to Fort Worth. For years Amtrak had used the parallel Union Pacific line, often getting hit with massive congestion related delays and requiring an extra wye move at Fort Worth. After long negotiations over insurance, Amtrak moved to the TRE route in 2016 or 2017, cutting nearly an hour off the scheduled running time alone.

BNSF #7278 with C44-9W #4843 passing by on the through tracks after the passage of Train #21.

With #51 on the westbound train, Amtrak had very appropriately decided to assign P42DC #15 to the eastbound Texas Eagle, seen here posing for a railfan on the LD platform.

Amtrak #15 and Train #22 passing by the far east end of the platform.

A Union Pacific freight train with UP C44/60AC (a converted AC6000) #6909, UP AC4400 #5587 and UP SD70ACe #8335 poses on the landmark "Triple Underpass" that leads to the Honorable Richard J. Dealey plaza, site of the John F Kennedy assassination.

 

Well that's it!  See you next week with a trip up north above Sunbury on the former Conrail Buffalo Line.