Shri Nathji ‘s American Railroad Trip

Shortly after His arrival in America, Shri Nathji undertook the historic Rail Road Trip of America’s East Coast. He traveled thorough the states of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He started from the Boston Railway Station. 

The Main Railway Station at Boston is called the South Station, which is located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston. It serves as a major intermodal domestic transportation hub, with service to the Greater Boston region and the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. The historic station building was constructed in 1899 to replace the downtown terminals of several different railroads and is used by thousands of commuter rail and intercity rail passengers daily. In the early 1900s, after the station first opened, heavy commuter ridership made it the busiest station in the world. South Station opened as South Central Station on January 1, 1899 at a cost of $3.6 million. The architects were Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston, with the actual construction undertaken by the engineering firm of Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co. It became the busiest station in the country by 1910.. The train shed, one of the largest in the world, was eliminated in a 1930 renovation due to corrosion from the nearby ocean's salt air. While the station handled 125,000 passengers each day during World War II,

The South Station head house and wings incorporate Neoclassical architecture. The building’s symmetry and stone façade are common to the style. The granite came from nearby quarries in New England. The main doorways are located in a section that protrudes from the curving shape of the building. The doors are housed under tall arches that give the impression of grandeur. The curved shape of the building pushes its presence into the surrounding area, making it much more prominent. This also gives the building a more distinctive and accessible main entrance from Atlantic Avenue, Summer Street, and Dewey Square.

From Boston Shri Nathji went to Rhode Island at the invitation of Dr, Kean of New York, who Invited Shri Nathji to his beach side, holiday home at Watch Hill, Rhode Island, Connecticut. For going to Watch Hill, the nearest train station is at Westerly, Rhode Island. It is about 130Kms from Boston. It is served by Amtrak's Northeast Regional train, and was originally built in 1912 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

This is a beautiful old building which looks exactly the same as it did in 1912, when it was build. This place is about half an hour drive from the residence of Dr. Kell. In the photograph bellow we can see Shri Nathji embracing the chauffeur of Dr. Kean, the Millionaire at Rhode Island, who sent his car at the Railway Station to receive Shri Nathji in June 1964. Shri Nathji stayed at the Beautiful Mansion of Dr. Kean an article on which has already been posted which can be viewed by clicking here. After staying at Dr. Kean’s Mansion for few days Shri Nathji left for New York. New York is about 300Kms from Rhode Island.

  Shri Nathji arrived at the famous Grand Central Terminal at New York. Grand Central. Terminal (GCT) is colloquially called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central is a commuter rail terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger rail travel, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms:  44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres (19 ha).

According to the travel magazine Travel + Leisure in its October 2011 survey, Grand Central Terminal is "the world's number six most visited tourist attraction", bringing in approximately 21,600,000 visitors annually. Besides platforms, Grand Central has restaurants, such as the Oyster Bar and various fast food outlets surrounding the Dining Concourse on the level below the Main Concourse, as well as delis, bakeries, newsstands, a gourmet and fresh food market, an annex of the New York Transit Museum, and more than forty retail stores.  The Main Concourse is the center of Grand Central. The space is cavernous – 275 ft (84 m) long, 120 ft (37 m) wide and 125 ft (38 m) high – and usually filled with bustling crowds. It is a spectacle to behold.

After staying for few days in New York, Shri Nathji and HH Priya Nathji, took a train to Boston. This was a long journey of about 400Kms.