The first railway line in Ulster opened on the 12th August 1839. It ran only 71/2 miles from Belfast to Lisburn but by 1842 the line extended to Portadown and by 1849 it reached Armagh. This was soon extended and the commercial success which ensued allowed the company, Ulster Railway, to build an imposing Belfast terminus and main office at Glengall Place (later part of Great Victoria St).
The building was completed in 1846 under the direction of John Goodwin, the company engineer who soon after became the first professor of civil engineering at the Queen's College, Belfast. The canopy over the approach drive was added later. In 1876 the Great Northern Railway Company was formed from the original Ulster Railway and several southern companies, so linking the whole Belfast to Dublin line under one management.
The main portion of the building was demolished in 1967 to make way for the Europa Hotel. The left hand pavilion and wing survived until 1974. Now only the engine shed with fine cast-iron survives as part of a bus station. The date of the photograph is c.1906, the time is 9.35 a.m. and the morning rush is over.