Most of the military personnel and their dependents arriving in Stuttgart arrived by train. Shown here is the Hauptbahnhof as it looked in 1962. Looked pretty much the same in the 30’s and it’s still the same today. Once you arrived you made your way to your new unit.
There were more than 15 military facilities within a 5-10 mile radius of the station. Some units sent their own transportation to pick up their personnel the smaller units relied on a military bus system.
Needless to say with two major military headquarters located in the area the train station was always busy. 7th Army Headquarters was located at Patch Barracks in Vaihingen on the south side of Stuttgart. The other major unit was VII Corps Headquarters at Kelley Barracks in Mohringen, also on the south side.
Most of the other military facilities were located in the northern suburbs of Zuffenhausen, Kornwestheim and Ludwigsburg. Stuttgart Post was located at Robinson Barracks where the main PX was located as well as housing for Stuttgart Post personnel. While most of the facilities were north, the 5th General Hospital was located in the eastern suburbs in Bad Cannstatt.
I would guess that if you spent your entire tour of duty in the area you probably saw the Hauptbahnhof only once or twice during your tour.
Groovy stuff
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