Union Station Tunnels Intact

[Coolyfett]

WOOOOOWWW!!! I thought I was one of the only people interested in this sort of thing. I LOVE GOOGLE!!! Man how long has this site been up? Anyhow I have jump the fences of the convention center a few months ago to see if tracks were still there, after learning the POCC was once a train terminal. I saw 2 set of tracks, the same tracks in your photo. I can see I am going to be a regular on this site due to my addiction to the history and progression of Jax....WOW

Im Cooly by the way nice to meet everyone.

aww 1 of my very first post on here! Thanks for the bump!

[Ocklawaha]

The Tunnels called the "Pedestrian Subway's" were open as a part of the new and larger Head House Station, (the one with the 14 pillars), in 1919.

They served all of the railroad of Florida and the citizens of the City until Amtrak pulled out in 1974 for the AMSHACK in the NW side... You know, the station known nationally as "under a highway overpass, next door to a junk yard and no where near downtown."

The tunnel system sat empty slowly filling with rain water, running down the concourse ramps, until construction started on the convention center. Then they filled the entrys with debris and paved over them on the Convention Center Side. On the Railroad side, access was still possible until the great idea of the new Park/Lee Viaduct..."This would center our downtown view on the grand entry of our convention center-former railroad station."

So we tore down the old viaduct, as it partly blocked the entry view, something that by itself was not a bad idea for cosmetic reasons. The STUPID entered the picture when the new viaduct was built too low to clear any but FEC's two access tracks. Thus a bridge that should vault over 10 tracks, suddenly got short!

Have no fear, Jacksonville leadership is at work, they have calculated that since they had to lower the FEC about 10' to clear the new bridge, when we open the station as a train station again, we'll just lower all 10 tracks... STUPID? YOU BET! No one bothered to check the historical record of this land, which was once McCoys Creek MARSH! In a tropical storm of about 1900, the older depot (the one that burned and a slight piece remains on Bay Street) suffered terrible damage. Water covered the yards, entered the building and rail cars up to two feet deep in the car floors... It also blew down all of the great train shed that once covered all tracks.

When I tried to explain this to our Lords and Ladies, they said, "Oh don't worry, we'll put the new tracks in a waterproof tub - with FLOOD GATES!"  Do the math, 10 tracks in a concrete tub, which includes tearing out all of the tunnels + floodgates... or, we simply re-rebuild the damn little bridge - miaybe this time WITH streetcar tracks in it.

REopen the old tunnels, and extend them under the great vestibule between the station and the convention space, under Bay street and come up at the new Transit Center. Other ramps take folks into the depot itself.
How easy is that? Cut and cover...

AAAARRRRUGH! BOHICA JACKSONVILLE!

OCKLAWAHA

[Charles Hunter]

we simply re-rebuild the damn little bridge - miaybe this time WITH streetcar tracks in it.

But, Ock ... that will mess up the view of the front of the Terminal from .... somewhere!  We can't have something that makes transportation sense if it messes up The View.  With the ramps from the Acosta at Broad and Jefferson - the view of the columns is unobstructed from the Federal Reserve - just a couple blocks from the CC/UT

[Ocklawaha]

Sorry Charles, got carried away with myself... you understand, a momentary minute of thought. A phenomenon unknown in Jacksonville City Hall and Planning Departments. I bet if they would have asked Amtrak, USDOT or even JTA about the future impact of the dumb new bridge it would have been done very differently. Oh my bad! They probably did ask, but then it was just going to be a convention center so how could JTA or Amtrak have answered THAT question correctly?

I hope someone at FDOT looks up the tropical storm that wrecked the old station and forces the State and City to come to their senses, as if?

OCKLAWAHA

[Ocklawaha]

WHY I AM THROWING A FIT OVER REMOVAL OF THE TUNNELS AND FILL OVER THEM....

Meet Jacksonville Terminal POST TROPICAL STORM, and Pre-tunnels or landfill, circa 1895.


A rare, rare view of the 1890's terminal, after a MINOR tropical storm. In the distance you can see the great train shed over the passenger tracks, so this view is from about Riverside Avenue looking West. The next big one flooded all of it again and blew away the great shed. Don't worry, FDOT wants to remove the land fill, put the tracks at water level, and build a big elevated walkway to the trains... WHY? History they say, we don't want to mess with the stations history. Uh hu?


All tracks closed by water hyacinths over the yard. Would you want to board Amtrak here? FDOT thinks so!

Now read the article on Amtrak expansion in the http://jacksonvilletransit.blogspot.com/ and see how we are being shafted, and you'll REALLY get your panties in a bunch.

OCKLAWAHA

[Timkin]

Lake... I am reading what you state, and I think I understand the message....

To me, Ock knows the most about all of this ......If they refuse to listen to him...Why would they listen to me?

TRUST ME.....I want to help.. I want to see the Train Terminal put back in use, and by all means these tunnels utilized....

I certainly hope no one gets the lame-brain idea to demolish these tunnels, just to prevent them from ever being put back into use.. What a huge waste that would be!

[ricker]

OWOW I've only recently heard of any of this! Ped subways etc
I have read other threads regarding transit plans but where do these magnificent tunnels fit into the latest plan to restore service to Jacksonville Terminal?

I have a meeting in January and would love to not seem  a fool.

input

five alive
input

[BackinJax05]

Back in 83, long before the convention center opened, and Jacksonville Terminal was still abandoned, my dad & I walked around & saw the tunnels. At that time they were still "open". I wanted to go down the ramp for a better look, but there was a homeless camp in the tunnel. Common sense told me to stay away.

[Ocklawaha]

Back in 83, long before the convention center opened, and Jacksonville Terminal was still abandoned, my dad & I walked around & saw the tunnels. At that time they were still "open". I wanted to go down the ramp for a better look, but there was a homeless camp in the tunnel. Common sense told me to stay away.

Kind of funny really, because the day that Sasquatch and I broke back into these tunnels, the folks that assisted us in the deed were the Bo's from the nearby 'Hobo Jungle.' After the fact they even invited us over to their 'house' under the I-95 bridge. The Railroad Bull's knew these folks were on the property but left them alone because they served as unofficial guardians of the site, contesting anyone that wanted to get into the danger zones around the track. Terri and her dog 'Special' went along on our tour. Lunican walked up to the fence on the Convention Center side just as my head popped out of the ground, wet and pretty muddy...  "Is that you Bob?" "Yep, come on down!"

Of course some at FDOT still claim the tunnels are 'gone'. Someone else at FDOT told a story that somehow caught press that 'the old BAGGAGE tunnels' were still in place. What happened next is a typical cluster F**K! JTA'S senior planner apparently sat down with Amtrak and they designed the station with 'functional BAGGAGE tunnels.' Guess that means they would have to move the columns for their overhead concourse a few feet to the east. Hey, this way we can pay for TWO complete sets of concourses! JTA? FDOT? Everyone has a right to be stupid; some people just abuse the privilege.

[BackinJax05]

Yeah, the hobos probably would have been cool. The reason we didnt enter the tunnels was mainly because that was "their" property. I wouldnt want someone trespassing at my house. Common courtesy & respect, you know.
Still, those tunnels were awesome. Removing them would destroy a great part of that old station. When I "found" them at 16 I thought I'd made a great discovery, like finding Atlantis or something.

[OldBikerTom]

  I'm a retired Jacksonville police officer. I'm estimating around 1976 we used to explore the old station, still completely intact. The tunnels were about half full of water at this time. You could walk about 30 feet down the ramp before reaching the water. At this point you were below ground level. We would toss anything that would float in the water and target practice would begin. What a great place, perfectly safe and no sound escaped.

[BackinJax05]

^Hope you wore ear protection 

[JaxJag]

You guys need your own tv show! not like the news but an actual show..(probably already thought of but)updating jax on bills, meetings, elections, polls, historical findings like this etc. and getting things this important to a wider audience therefore getting a larger uprise for the better of the city. i think if people werent so ill informed there would be a much different city.  Idk just a thought.

[jtwestside]

^Hope you wore ear protection 

HUH?

SPEAK UP FOR CHRIST SAKES!

[BackinJax05]

^Hope you wore ear protection 

HUH?

SPEAK UP FOR CHRIST SAKES!

ROFLMAO!
When I go to the range I use ear muffs and the little foam inserts. Even with all that my ears still ring afterward. I know this forum is about the Jacksonville Terminal tunnels, but I will give up my gun when they take it from my dead body.

Perhaps we could shoot the water out of the tunnels