The Full Story of New York Penn Station - The US' Most Hated Train Station?

Today I'll take you back in time to the beginnings of the infamous New York Penn Station - once praised for its grandeur and magnificence, its present day story is one of low-hanged ceilings confined to an underground space. In this video, I take you through the story of the old Penn Station, the current Penn Station, and how administrators and leaders plan bring glory back to the busiest rail terminal in the western hemisphere.
#trains #train #northeast #eastcoast #northeastcorridor #railway #rail #rails #njtransit #njt #newjerseytransit #amtrak #subway #nyc #atlantic #newjersey #nj #pennstation #newyorkpennstation #newyorkcity #bigapple #nyp #lirr #longislandrailroad #moynihantrainhall #moynihan
trains, new york city, new york penn station, long island rail road, amtrak, new jersey transit, nj transit, nj, njt, lirr

[@weirdfish1216]

tearing down this station is actually criminal. also great channel! just discovered you from your gateway program video

[@benvids]

The original station looked beautiful.

[@MasonJarGaming]

I hope it get rebuilt someday :(

[@stuartlee6622]

Actually, it was cold and drafty.

[@Hiro_Trevelyan]

I hope they demolish Madison Square Garden and rebuild the old Penn station. Such a loss.

[@CharlieND]

Gonna disagree on that one. I love MSG. Such a cool place to see hockey/basketball.

[@Metsfan30]

Waaaaaaaaah

[@nobodysweirderthanme]

⁠Same Here, MSG Must Stay

[@Hiro_Trevelyan]

@@CharlieND MSG moved once, it can move again. It wasn't even here in the first place, it's not like it had cultural significance unlike Penn Station. If it did, they wouldn't have moved it.

[@josephtakach4930]

Even if they end up not moving msg perhaps a good compromise might be to recreate a version of the best part of the old Penn station...the waiting room and possibly part of the arcade where 2 Penn is now as well as making more space and renovating the part under the arena itself. The problem with that is 2 Penn is being redeveloped as we speak.

[@ScottPalmer-mp1we]

I spent a few hours in the train hall a couple of days ago, including the lounge, and it was gorgeous and spotless.

[@Prodigious1One]

Good video. I took the Crescent train from Atlanta to NYC and I really like Moynihan Train Hall. I might buy a roomette ticket the next time for that experience and to use the lounge at Moynihan Train Hall.

[@metromaster2010]

A Superb video on my favorite place. Thank you for doing this.

[@robertbruce1887]

Excellent video showing both the old Penn Station & an up to date presentation of how it is today.

[@c8e969]

incredible work, dtransit! big fan. trains trains trains

[@RCfromtheNYC]

Excellent video! A perfect breakdown on the history and current status of the station! 👍

[@mesmerize3965]

Thank you for this historic Penn Station. Amazing view!❤

[@jamesorlando8178]

It’s a shame the original Penn Station was demolished, but I think Moynihan is enough of a consolation prize. The money required to build an even more grandiose entrance to the intercity rail platforms would be better spent on building/maintaining tracks/tunnels

[@josephtakach4930]

What could be the best of both worlds is if they got rid of 2 Penn as well as the msg Hulu theater, rebuilt something akin to the old Penn waiting hall and arcade in place of those, as well as expanding the space under msg itself, making it a bit more opulent and passenger friendly. The problem there is Vornado owns 2 Penn and they have no plans to sell or move either.

[@luislaplume8261]

The Pennsylvania R.R had a full railroad width on an elevated train line in Jersey City to its Exchange Place Terminal from 1890 til 1910. For the ferries to Lower Manhattan. It was served by steam locomotive pulling trains to self propelled electric commuter trains with overhead wires to Washington D.C..

[@samtrak1204]

Thank you.

[@johnmoran1537]

Main problem with penn station is the platforms. I do not see any plans addressing the platforms

[@emjayay]

And because of supports for the arena above it seems they can't be improved without removing MSG, which should be done.

[@adambuesser6264]

Is it best if Madison Square Garden move its location to a new location in the city?

[@Techno-Universal]

TThe gateway project will also involve the reconstruction of the North River tunnels that have been decaying over the decades and are currently in extremely poor condition and may soon have a chance of collapse. Pretty much that part of the project will begin when the two new tunnels under the Hudson are opened to trains so because of that there will only be two tunnels in that array for up to another decade as the North River tunnel rebuild will take 3-10 years.

[@samblensdorf7384]

Pennsylvania railroad was going so broke they sold the air rights

[@billconserva1461]

Makes you wonder, 1963 and they torn down the original,who made a fortune on that decision ?

[@stuartlee6622]

Democrats.

[@jmax3245]

I used PENN STATION every week day for several years in the 80's to commute to Long Is. ..It was so nasty and depressing , confusing and claustrophobic...I will ALWAYS remember the smell , a combination of OIL , DUST , URINE and STALE POPCORN ....totally gross...there were still a lot of OLD fittings ( hand rails and columns) ..I remember the exact moment I caught the FLU holding a handrailing on a staircase ...a disgusting RAT HOLE / THANKS JOE for getting some funding to turn things around ..AND Trump ...such a hypocite to "love NYC " and block improvements to a basically 3rd world facility

[@Hiro_Trevelyan]

Fun fact, I stayed at the Pennsylvania Hotel in front of Penn Station in 2016. I'm not American, I didn't know Penn station was a thing and it took me 5 DAYS to realise there was a train station here, while literally sleeping in front of it. I just got lost on my way out of the subway someday and ended up finding the tracks of Penn station, I was soooo confused. Really tells you how good the current Penn station design is.

[@brmnyc]

@@Hiro_Trevelyan Sadly, the Pennsylvania Hotel was recently demolished. It's phone number will live on in history, a big band era song titled "PEnnsylvania 6-500".

[@PeteS_1994]

1:20 It's almost like the station was similar to a London terminus except most London terminuses were retained. Some which were too modernised, like Euston for example, were ruined aesthetically.

[@emjayay]

I think a whole new Euston is being built now. And the renovated Pancras and other renovated London stations are really beautiful - because they were built to be beautiful in the first place.

[@user-qm7nw7vd5s]

I saw the Moynihan train shed, a total rip-off. All they did was erect a cheap glass covering over an empty courtyard in the post office building, across the street, and charge over a $billion. It’s so poorly constructed, the cheap grey tiles in the flooring, laid down by unskilled day laborers, is already cracking, falling apart. Anything short of rebuilding the original station (which can be done much easier today, using computer design and modern construction materials) is a waste of time, a money pit for grifters.

[@pineyforkpress]

Tucked Away? Really....

[@sglenny001]

I would say its the Euston of America

[@emjayay]

Only much worse.

[@eli1000fer]

You know, if your delivery of a line is not good, you can do another take ... very distracting.

[@jaygatz4335]

All that space in the new hall and I don't see one measly bench to rest on.

[@Graviton1066]

There is a large ticketed waiting room at Moynihan Train Hall and a large Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge ... there is also an absolutely massive food hall where people can wait for their trains as well.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

You're not supposed to linger.

[@emjayay]

@@Graviton1066 Yes, but the ticketed waiting area is off at the side and people have to jump up and run out of it through a narrow jammed single exit when their train is announced and then find long lines for the escalators already there. It really doesn't make sense in terms of its use.

[@empirestate8791]

They really need to get rid of MSG and rebuild a new grand headhouse full of seating, shops, and dining. They can finally bring light back to all the platforms and provide a much more open space for passengers to wait for trains and walk between platforms. The current passageways are way too cramped, and the space to wait for trains outside of Moynihan Train Hall is woefully inadequate. I imagine a lot more people will want to commute by train if the process is made much more pleasant, and Penn station can become a destination by itself if shops & dining are added, similar to Grand Central Terminal. The new station can even take inspiration from the old demolished station!

[@MikeJ2023]

You can’t have a lot of seats because bums will sleep on them shoot up drugs on them and go BM on them. That’s what bums do.

[@subzerofromny735]

Yeah get rid of msg so they can have the knicks and rangers moved to gird locked New Jersey and have everyone stuck in traffic

[@emjayay]

Also the platforms are not up to modern standards or current usage numbers but can't be changed because of the support columns for MSG. It should go.

[@emjayay]

@@subzerofromny735 There are other options. It was demolished and moved four times already.

[@liaminabox]

Slow down a bit when you speak 😊

[@michaelimbesi2314]

It’s just a shame that all of the renderings for the new Penn Station are so butt-ugly

[@angrynoodletwentyfive6463]

You should work to improve your editing and your Recitation, Leaving in all these spots where you mess up and have to restart a sentence or where you stutter or mumble harms your credibility as it comes off as unprofessional and sloppy, unprofessional and sloppy is fine and can even be charming for some content but when it comes to semi-educational video essay type content you really need to come off as professional or nobody is going to listen. I'm not saying this to be mean or discouraging I just think many new content creators underestimate to what extent subpar delivery can harm good content. I don't want to make you feel bad i want to give you advice to improve, if that is something you want to do, maybe this is just a hobby and you are ok with getting a few hundred views and you don't feel the need to invest in improving it its just something you do for yourself and you are not trying to make anything out of it, That is perfectly valid aswell. But if you are trying to create this content because you want to actually make something out of it, right now you are giving off high schooler presenting a history project to the class vibes. Which is not ideal if you are trying to come off as a legitimate content creator. Your presenting skills are not going to get better over night but if you watch popular channels with similar content and pay attention to how they present things and the way they deliver their scripts you can learn alot about how to better present your own content.

[@edflaherty1887]

OK - Let's see your response ! It must be nice to be perfect !LOL !!

[@DTransit]

Very much appreciate the long message and the feedback! I'll definitely be sure to improve on this for my next few videos, thanks a lot again 🙌🙌

[@mirzaahmed6589]

@@DTransit You also don't have to say things like "Penn Station, which is short for Pennsylvania Station". That part is obvious to almost everyone.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

@@edflaherty1887 It's constructive feedback. At no point did the guy claim that he could do it perfectly himself.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

@@DTransit Also, "New Haven, Westchester County, and Connecticut". New Haven is in Connecticut; there is no need to list it separately.

[@arnavk3331]

facts i hate new york and pennsylvania

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Not sure how this is relevant.

[@agentrgwx8529]

Dude was on drugs when they wrote this 🤣

[@diegomatamoros3940]

American trains are terrible😂

[@mirzaahmed6589]

No. We don't have as many trains as other countries, but the ones we do have are perfectly fine.

[@agentrgwx8529]

At least they get me around, something you wouldn't understand ☠

[@jnation29]

@@mirzaahmed6589Perfectly fine? Yea maybe for American standards but not global standards.

[@darienmiller1032]

@@mirzaahmed6589 American trains are a JOKE compared to the international standard set by Europe and East Asia. Any attempt to compare shitty ass Amtrak to the Shinkansen, ICE, and TGV should make you reconsider this. We have a long, long LONG way to go before we catch up.

[@subzerofromny735]

@@jnation29and by global you mean European standards

[@galenstone9097]

the destruction of the original Penn Station was a travesty.