New York Pennsylvania Station is not only Amtrak’s busiest station, but it handles nearly twice the number of passengers as the next busiest. In addition to Amtrak’s long distance trains are floods of Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit suburban runs.
Busy, yes; attractive no.
It’s been more than a half century since the Pennsylvania Railroad demolished its original Penn Station terminal buildings.
Back when I worked at Pentrex Publishing in the 1990s, every so often we would need an illustration of Penn Station for Passenger Train Journal. While photos of New York’s elegant Grand Central Terminal were a dime a dozen, decent photos of Penn Station were few and far between.
Now, when I visit Penn Station, I often try to make representative views.
So, can you make interesting photos in ugly places?
Good impressions of an awful station. Those dreadful narrow platforms, the even narrower escalators and the late notification of platforms for boarding make it my top non-favourite station anywhere.
Considering what you had to work with, I think you did a great job! Great lighting on two shots of trains, and the floor level picture was an interesting angle I don’t recall seeing before.
I never was in the original station (seldom been to NYC), but on a recent trip I did some photography in the station and got some interesting shots from the “second” floor level and the ends of the station. Nicely restored, but I don’t know how it compares to the original.
How do you propose I email you? I don’t have your address.
Brian, email me.