posted
I disagree with the author about the Savannah station, which i don't think is that "sad" a station. I can add MANY other stations to his list, however, such as (to name only a few):
Crawfordsville, IN Chemult, OR South Portsmouth, KY Essex, MT (OK, so that one is conveniently close to Isaak Walton Inn......) Fraser, CO
and there are many others.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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But, I'm happy to report my local station, that Amtrak declared was the worst on the route of the Silver trains, has been fully restored. I believe it was ADA money that financed most of it. Still can't figure out how the restoration included copper gutters and downspouts, new solid wood doors to match the originals, and a complete redo of the canopy that was about to fall down.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by palmland: This articlementions a couple more.
But, I'm happy to report my local station, that Amtrak declared was the worst on the route of the Silver trains, has been fully restored. I believe it was ADA money that financed most of it. Still can't figure out how the restoration included copper gutters and downspouts, new solid wood doors to match the originals, and a complete redo of the canopy that was about to fall down.
You're talkin' Orlando, right?
Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Houston's station is so ugly it looks like it's in Louisiana........
Hmnnnnn.....
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
What I dislike about Savannah station is the location--taxis to downtown are a fortune. This is a problem with many stations on the Silver line. The whole idea of train travel is to get downtown to downtown, not the 'burbs!
David P: I don't get your "dis" of Louisiana. I have never been to Houston, but along with Las Vegas, it is at the bottom of my list of places I want to visit. So in my imagination its having the ugliest train station in America would be appropriate.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by sojourner: What I dislike about Savannah station is the location--taxis to downtown are a fortune. This is a problem with many stations on the Silver line. The whole idea of train travel is to get downtown to downtown, not the 'burbs!
David P: I don't get your "dis" of Louisiana. I have never been to Houston, but along with Las Vegas, it is at the bottom of my list of places I want to visit. So in my imagination its having the ugliest train station in America would be appropriate.
Don't blame him, Sojourner - he was just quoting the article! Why not read it and see what stations you would put on the list! BTW, I've been to both Houston and Vegas. I wouldn't mind seeing Vegas again, but I've had all I ever want to see of Houston!
Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Ms. Sojourner, both Charleston and Savannah once upon a time had stations located in their downtowns. However, both were accessed by long backup moves (think Tampa) and in the interest of efficiency and reducing schedule time, the Atlantic Coast Line made the decision to locate both stations away from the Downtown areas.
Simply a trade off; efficiency vs. convenience for some passengers.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Sorry, Jerome, I didn't read the article, afraid to hit links since I got a virus or something that way.
I would vote for some of the stations with no building at all as among the worst. Especially in bad weather.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Hah - Been so long since I looked at the article that I had forgotten that I was merely repeating a barb from the original writer.
Pretty impossible to defend something one cannot remember.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Mr Norman, There is no efficiency in having a train station so many miles from where most train travelers want to go. It is not just an added expense; it's an added time factor. And it discourages use--especially when we're talking about cities that have a lot of tourist business, like Charleston and Savannah--so it's bad for business. (In a city where most of your travelers are probably locals taking the train out and back, they own cars and can be dropped off in the suburbs, or park by the train. But when many of your travelers are tourists, a lot of them don't want to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere, especially at night, and have to find or arrange transportation.)
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Sojourner, you are correct that today's tourists would much prefer a downtown station in Charleston and Savannah. However we can't blame Amtrak for this one. The 'new' Charleston station was built in North Charleston in 1956 and Savannah was built in 1962, long before Amtrak and in the days when the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard railroads had a booming passenger business to Florida points. With the increasingly better air service and highway system reducing travel time for snow birds was very important then.
The problem is of course the geography with the historic downtown areas having wide rivers on their borders causing railroad mainlines to be built where it is easier cross west of town. Even postwar, only one train (the Palmetto) still used the old Charleston station downtown. All others used the North Station (close to the 1962 one) but provided bus service downtown.
Today, only the wealthy live in the historic area with the majority in the newer suburbs of Mt. Pleasant and James Island that is just as convenient to use the newer stations.
Of course this begs the question. With so many tourists now visiting these cities, why doesn't Amtrak offer a Thruway bus to downtown as well as the suburbs and perhaps to some of resort areas like Kiawah Island and Hilton Head.
But there is some hope. The viaducts that carried tracks to downtown Savannah for the Central of Georgia railroad are still in place and terminate near the visitor center. In Charleston the tracks are still active with considerable industrial business including the Port on Bay St. that sees daily trainloads of BMW's.
But don't look for Amtrak to do this. It would be a state sponsored service to Macon and Atlanta or Columbia and Greenville. Not likely in my lifetime.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
But don't look for Amtrak to do this. It would be a state sponsored service to Macon and Atlanta or Columbia and Greenville. Not likely in my lifetime. [/QB][/QUOTE]
Do you see any hope for Richmond? Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Jerome, there is always hope. The question is: is there any money?. Certainly this is doable as the roadbed and much of the trackage is in place and useable to upgrade the line to Main St. station from RVR and then on down to the connection on the secondary line (former Seaboard) at Centralia with the main line Amtrak now uses.
However I suspect if it is part of the Southeast HSR project a new right of way might be envisioned at least as far as Main St to avoid any conflict with CSX's Acca yard. However I would vote for an incremental approach - just upgrade what's there plus signaling and perhaps a second track to address some of CSX concerns.
Maybe someone at 500 Water St. will realize a new relocated yard/intermodal/transload facility outside of town would be in their best interest and free up the yard for passenger rail access and real estate/industrial development.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
If only the loop tracks behind Broad Street Station hadn't been taken up, that building could have served as an excellent multimodal station. Maybe even like Denver's Union Station! Can't be undone now, not with the State DMV on the former site of the tracks.
Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
That is too bad, but at least it wasn't torn down like many great old stations. But Main St. can be an excellent terminal too. If the shed area is developed, again, for restaurants and retail, the main building is more than adequate for passengers. Of course rather than develop the shed, putting the tracks back in would provide plenty of storage and servicing for all terminating trains.
And, Main St. is arguably in a better location than Broad St. as it is closer to the core downtown and all the tourist activity around the Capital and Shockoe Slip. RVR should should still be retained for a suburban stop for the sizable population out on the west end.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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RVR (Staple's Mill) should should still be retained for a suburban stop for the sizable population out on the west end.
Mr. Palmland, from this discussion, as well as traveling through the area on Auto Train, it would appear that to serve both RVR and RVM with any volume of trains beyond the "two a day" to Newport News, it would be necessary to relocate the RF&P's Acca yard. After "Pot" was closed (wise, considering the value of the land upon which it sat) Acca was where trains for B&O as well as PRR interchange were made up, as it were the only yard on the RF&P.
However, I have to wonder to what extent 500 Water has evaluated the need for such in view of that Wash is no longer an interchange amongst CSX properties and that the NS likely routes most traffic through Hagerstown avoiding Wash and the various HAZMAT restrictions found in our post-9/11 world.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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