Memphis Union Station - History

History

Memphis Union Station Company was chartered in Tennessee on September 25, 1909, for the purpose of operating Union Station. Construction of the facility began in April 1910, and the new station opened for service on April 1, 1912. The architectural design of the station was a source of pride for Memphis, and the main building was the largest stone structure in the city.

Memphis Union Station's purpose was to unite the passenger and express operations of the major railway lines that terminated in or travelled through Memphis, principally between east and west. Traffic between the north and the south was generally carried by the Illinois Central Railroad, whose operations at Memphis were large enough to justify a separate Central Station two blocks to the west of Union Station.

The terminal tracks were of a stub-end design, meaning that all trains had to back into the station from the main line tracks via a wye to reach the station's platforms. The station also had additional tracks for storage and servicing of passenger cars as well as a roundhouse and turntable, allowing locomotives to be serviced on site.

This configuration served the primary objective of the “western lines,” such as the Cotton Belt (and its parent company, Southern Pacific), the Rock Island, and Missouri Pacific were fully occupied serving all of the above named gateways. So Memphis held very little interest to them as a source of long-distance passenger revenue.

As passenger train traffic declined after World War II, studies were done on consolidating all Memphis train operations in either Union Station or Central Station. However, the various railroads could never agree on consolidation arrangements, and Memphis Union Station continued in operation into the early 1960s.