12-06-2011, 09:31 AM
Actually, I'm not sure if there's a single, clear definition of terminal railroad. When passenger service was important, in many cases there were railroads specifically called "terminal railroads" that owned, maintained, and switched union stations. St. Louis, Kansas City, Washington, DC, and Detroit were typical examples: the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, Kansas City Terminal, Washington Terminal, and Fort Street Union Station. On the other hand, the TRRA did a lot of freight switching, too -- but the Alton and Southern was a similar St Louis railroad that didn't own a passenger terminal. Another common feature of these railroads is that they are, or were, owned by several different Class Is. The Alton and Southern was owned by the C&NW and MP. The Indiana Harbor Belt was owned by the New York Central and the Milwaukee. The Belt Railway of Chicago was owned by a large number of Class Is. The Chicago and Western Indiana served Dearborn Street Station in Chicago and did some of the passenger and local terminal switching, though not all of it, as the Santa Fe did its own.
On the other hand, you could have a union station without a terminal railroad: Los Angeles and Chicago, for instance. The Pennsylvania Railroad stations in Baltimore and Pittsburgh were called "union stations", but only because separate corporate predecessors of the PRR did at one time call there -- in the 20th century, they were just PRR stations. The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern was similar to the IHB but owned by US Steel, as was the Union Railroad in Pittsburgh, another urban/industrial switching line.
For that matter, getting a little farther afield, I've seen lines like the New Haven and the Boston and Maine described as "terminal railroads" on a larger scale -- after World War II, they didn't originate much traffic and simply delivered incoming freight in New England.
So I don't think there's a single definition, though they all have some features in common.
On the other hand, you could have a union station without a terminal railroad: Los Angeles and Chicago, for instance. The Pennsylvania Railroad stations in Baltimore and Pittsburgh were called "union stations", but only because separate corporate predecessors of the PRR did at one time call there -- in the 20th century, they were just PRR stations. The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern was similar to the IHB but owned by US Steel, as was the Union Railroad in Pittsburgh, another urban/industrial switching line.
For that matter, getting a little farther afield, I've seen lines like the New Haven and the Boston and Maine described as "terminal railroads" on a larger scale -- after World War II, they didn't originate much traffic and simply delivered incoming freight in New England.
So I don't think there's a single definition, though they all have some features in common.