Hamlet North Carolina

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad Station

It was raining the morning I pulled into Hamlet North Carolina on Amtrak’s Silver Star. We were running a “bit” late, as is common for Amtrak on the tracks of many freight lines, but not terribly late. As the train pulled up it stopped right by the depot to let a sleeping car passenger off. Therefore, I found myself in a fairly decent location to take this shot.

Hamlet North Carolina was a town of the post-Civil War south. It developed the obligatory cotton mills and a few lumber yards. More importantly, it became a “railroad town.” In this case, the railroad that brought life to the gathering of buildings that became Hamlet NC was the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. From an initial beginning of one crossing, the Seaboard soon expanded to the point where 5 different lines left Hamlet for Richmond VA, Wilmington NC, Atlanta GA/Birmingham AL, Charleston SC/Savannah GA, and Columbia SC. In its prime, Hamlet had 30 passenger trains a day leaving.

The town, itself, was incorporated in 1897. About the same time, this depot was constructed. It was designed in the “Queen Anne” version of Victorian Architecture, a popular choice for many railroad stations built during this period. It’s most prominent feature is a rounded corner tower, with a roof to match. The feature, often called a “Witch’s Hat,” was designed to give train employees and passengers better visibility of the various approaching tracks. This was an important feature in those pre-radio days, when often the only warning anyone had of an approaching train was the blowing of the whistle upon the train’s close approach.

Today, the station is served by 1 train a day each way, Amtrak’s Silver Star. Further, most days this train comes through during the darkness of the North Carolina night and thus the station is unseen by most of the passengers. The station also has a second use. It is the home for a railroad museum located in Hamlet.

Thurmond West Virginia

The Chesapeake and Ohio Depot

These days, three days a week, Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, two Amtrak Trains, # 50 (Eastbound) and # 51 (Westbound) The Cardinal, pass by this station located in one of West Virginia’s, and I would submit America’s, most famous Ghost Towns. Because this town (yes, under the laws of the State of West Virginia it is still an “Incorporated” town with a mayor city council etc.) is a well-known White Water Rafting mecca, Amtrak still lists Thurmond as a flag stop. And sometimes, occasionally, the Cardinal, will stop, but only occasionally. But it was not always so. During the first two decades of the 20th Century, the Thurmond Depot hosted 15 trains a day, and handled as many as 95,000 passengers a year (note: for FY 2008 Amtrak reported the grand total of Boardings and Alightings at Thurmond WV came to 405)!

Thurmond WV began its existence in post Civil War West Virginia. It was the offspring of the fertile mind of Captain William Dabney Thurmond. He was called “Captain” because during the then “recent unpleasantness” had had led a group of Confederate “fighters” known as “Thurmond’s Rangers.” (Note: for much more of the historical background on the town click on: http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvhs1403.html. This is an article by Jessica Fair on Thurmond which appeared in the West Virginia Historical Society Quarterly in 2000.) Nowadays, in addition to having the town named after him, he has an extreme sport triathlon, consisting of whitewater rafting, biking and running events, named in his honor: “Captain Thurmond’s Challenge.”

In 1873 when the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad was finally completed through the Allegheny Mountains, Captain Thurmond built a railroad depot on some of his land in Fayette County WV. All of his holdings, and the Depot in particular, were located on a small spit of land on the north side of the New River. Then he and his sons went into business hauling produce and passengers in, and passengers out on the newly completed Richmond to Huntington rail line. His “town” never grew to more than about 75 people. But it was a complete town with a general store, post office, Western Union office, Adams Express office, and after 1891 a hotel in addition to the depot. But one thing it didn’t have was liquor.

Captain Thurmond was a strict Baptist and he wanted that evil “firewater” kept out of “his” town. As part of his plan to do this he had his town Incorporated in 1901. He wanted to be sure that if you lived in his hamlet located on a narrow piece of land on the north side of the New River, deep in the heart of the New River Gorge, you would never be in temptation’s way. With “Incorporation” he insured that this would remain the situation in Thurmond. Now that he was sure he had Satan under control, in 1904 the old depot was torn down and a new one was built. This depot is the one pictured above.

Oh yes, the Liquor, it never did come to Thurmond. But it came close. A commercial rival of Mr. Thurmond’s, a Mr. McKell, saw a “business opportunity” and opened a rival hotel to Mr. Thurmond’s establishment but on the south side of the New River, not within Thurmond itself, but literally within sight of the Thurmond C & O Depot. This hotel, The Dunglen Hotel, became known as a “Little Monte Carlo” because it not only had liquor, particularly for miner’s on the week-ends, but also gambling, “the world’s oldest profession’ (ahem it is hard to maintain a family-oriented blog these days isn’t it), and 100 rooms. Among other activities, there are those who claim (a claim published in that noted historical authority: “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!”) that the Dunglen Hotel hosted the worlds longest running poker game. This Gaming Marathon lasted, it is claimed, for 14 years. (Too bad they didn’t continue on so they could have hosted a show on the Travel Channel.)

In the 2000 Census the town of Thurmond had a population of 7 (click on the site if you don’t believe me). I really don’t think there has been much of an influx since then, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see a decrease in next year’s counting. Most of the buildings are vacant and not open under normal operations (don’t worry, from what I have heard and seen, there is nothing in them anyway, unless you are into the paranormal world). The Depot is owned by the National Park Service and is part of their New River Gorge National River operation.

The Thurmond Depot is a National Park Service Visitor’s Center. It is opened during the “tourist season” (generally during the summer and a few “high tourist weekends” such as the fall foliage season). It has a few exhibits downstairs and a few more upstairs as well. On the second level, in the “Bay Window” extension on the track side (the above shot is of the other side) is a recreation of the railroad telegrapher’s office complete with a manikin dressed in his C&O uniform and a recorded message wherein this “agent” tells about what he did back when Thurmond was a classic American Mining Boomtown.

You can still travel to Thurmond West Virginia today. The National Park Service directions are as follows:

“To reach Thurmond, take U.S. Route 19 to the Glen Jean exit, north of Beckley. Follow the signs to Thurmond, seven miles down WV Route 25 (Route 25 is a narrow, winding road and is not recommended for RVs and trailers). No automotive services are available in Thurmond.”

Those of you who may travel into this area in an RV or even a small truck with a trailer note the warning about Route 25 well. I drive this road 1 or 2 times a year. They are not kidding and yes, I have seen several “rigs” driven by “experienced” drivers come to grief on this road. Yes, the curves ARE that bad. But other than that, I do urge you to come, not only to see the Depot, but also “Downtown Thurmond.”

Special note: The Hotel Dunglen, mentioned above, burned to the ground in 1930. The site is now a parking lot used by the National Park Service and its visitors. As with most National Park Sites, I am sure the use of alcohol is prohibited and the Rangers probably would not want card games or any other shenanigans going on either. Ahh . . . Captain Thurmond would be pleased.

Olympia Washington

Centennial Station

This station poses the eternal question that bedevils rail fans and non rail fans alike: namely, when is something new, really something old? But before you get an answer, you’ve got to understand the history behind the riddle.

Olympia Washington (actually the location is east of Olympia) had a Northern Pacific Railroad train station for many years. However, in the late 1960’s, given the passenger traffic declines, and the desire of the then-failing railroads to exit the unprofitable passenger business, the station was razed after the last passenger train had departed.

Even after the arrival of Amtrak, rail passengers going through Olympia Washington found a wooden bus shelter in a remote area, with bad parking and no other connection to any form of public transportation. Finally one of the County Commissioners, George Barner, realizing that a train station is, first and foremost, a community’s way of saying “hello” to the traveling public began the process of raising the money for Olympia to build a new station.

After several years of fund-raising efforts, the community managed to gather together a combination of $100,000.00 (USD) in cash, and an estimated $300,000.00 (USD) to erect the structure. These efforts allowed the work on the new passenger station for Olympia, and the adjacent community of Lacey, to begin. The new station, dubbed “Centennial Station” was opened in 1993.

Since it was not an “Amtrak Station” it was not staffed by Amtrak. Instead a collection of volunteers has manned the station during all operating hours since the station was opened.

Now, we get to the old part. On the inside the Station is very “new.” It has several eco-friendly energy-conservation features. It also has a very modern electronic train status board so that awaiting passengers have some access to train arrival and departure information. However, for the outside the architect, Harold E. Dalke (who had donated his services), decided to keep the “look” old. He did this, in part, by incorporating into his design a collection of 150 year old corbels made of Cyprus which had been saved from houses on Cherokee Street in New Orleans LA. While the pieces, as most Victorian-type “Gingerbread,” are strictly decorative and structurally add nothing to the building, esthetically, they add a lot. They help to remind us that while this is a new building, it has a very old, traditional, function: Welcoming the weary traveler into your midst.

Today much of the thinking about building train stations/ airports/ bus terminals (or that new conglomerate the “Intermodal Center”) appears to hold that most travelers are rushing through the station on their way to their “real” destination. Thus they are looking for nothing more than entertainment, if even that, while they await their next mode of transport. However, Centennial Station reminds us that we should also take the time, as a community, to welcome the stranger within our midst.

I have visited this station on several occasions. While I found the “electronic boards” to not always be correct, at least the people inside the station were friendly, and I was made to feel welcome. That says a lot about what a train station, or any kind of mass transportation terminal, should be.

Jacksonville Florida

Jacksonville Union Terminal

This Beau Arts station, designed by Murchison K. Mackenzie (or possibly Kenneth Mackenzie Murchison a New York Architect who was the son of a Confederate Colonel from North Carolina depending upon your source), was opened in 1919 to serve the burgeoning passenger traffic, particularly in the winter, between the frozen north, places like New York City, Cleveland, Chicago and Charleston WV, and the growing balmy beaches on Florida’s “Gold Coast,” Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and the rest. As such, most of the passenger traffic this station saw was “through” traffic. That is to say, in its heyday 85% of the passengers who used this station had arrived from elsewhere and were going to another location. Thus, this was a “Terminal” in name only for the vast majority of the travelers. Jacksonville was not their destination or the point of departure. They were only there to change trains, have their car switched from one train to another, or to use the station’s platforms as a good place to get out and stretch while the train’s operating crew changed and the train was serviced with fuel, water, and all the other items a passenger train needs (contrary to some Congressional expectations) to operate comfortably and efficiently.

The first Jacksonville Union Terminal was built in 1904. Interestingly enough, when the 1919 structure was built to replace the by-then inadequate structure, instead of tearing down the old station, it was incorporated into the new structure as a baggage and perishable freight facility. Thus, even today, it sits beside, and in the shadow of, its replacement.

The biggest problem with the Jacksonville Union Terminal was getting the trains into and out of it. Because of its location along the St. John’s River, a location dictated in part by the need to be near the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), many of the trains coming and going, had to back into the terminal, or, back out when departing. While most of the trains coming in from or going onto the FEC simply pulled through on the station trackage located on the river side of the building, trains from the other lines using the terminal, the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line, and the Southern Railway (and its subsidiary line The Georgia, Southern and Florida Railroad) were forced to make several inconvenient, and potentially hazardous, switching moves. This awkward situation was compounded when, as a result of labor strife, the FEC stopped all passenger traffic in 1963.

Jacksonville Union Terminal, nevertheless, soldiered on into the early days of Amtrak. It finally closed on January 3, 1974, when Amtrak’s Floridian made the last stop at this facility. The next day Amtrak opened its new facility on the northern outskirts of town.

The new location, is not as convenient to downtown Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Landing as the old Jacksonville Union Terminal. However, it is convenient to the tracks Amtrak uses for its “Silver Service” trains. Further, it allows a “run-through” operation (except when the Sunset Limited ran through Jacksonville on its New Orleans LA to Orlando FL leg). While this new facility has never seen 115 trains and 20,000 passengers, the design capabilities of Jacksonville Union Terminal, it nevertheless can be quite busy in the mornings and again in the evenings. Many times I have had to “wade through” a huge crowd of people in order to board at this new station. It does appear to have some expansion room available so that it could handle more trains and people. However, it does not, IMHO, have as much as might possibly be needed if the “dream” of a high speed rail line up and down the east coast is realized.

As for Jacksonville Union Terminal, it has survived to “live another day.” Now it is the key structure in Jacksonville’s Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center. Prime F. Osborn was the last president of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad and, consequently, the one who led it into the CSX merger.

Washington DC

Union Station

Inauguration Day

Those of you who are regular followers of this blog (all 1 or 2 of you) will remember that I began these postings with a piece about my "home town depot, Washington DC's Union Station. Today, in honor of the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, I wish to return to this station for just a bit.

Since it opened in 1907, Union Station has been the “next-door neighbor” to 25 Inaugurations (today would have been number 26, but on his 4th Inauguration FDR, already showing signs that his condition was terminal, opted to be sworn in at the White House). While some of these Inaugurations have been memorable, others have been less so. For Union Station probably the most memorable Inauguration was the 1953 Ceremony when Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower became President for his 1st term. What made this particular Inauguration memorable actually occurred about 3 weeks before the event.

Starting in 1935, the Pennsylvania Railroad used the engine it became most famous for, the Raymond Loewy-designed GG-1, to pull the majority of its passenger train runs into and out of Union Station. For the most part, the arrivals and departures went unheralded; the GG-1 was, among other things, a very reliable piece of motive power. However, in the early days of January 1953, one of the trains comprising the Pennsylvania’s through service from Boston (via the New Haven Railroad), The Federal, got out of control. The incident started as the consist powered by a GG-1 was coming through the station trackage. As it left the station trackage and came in on Track 16 it was way too fast to stop at the bumper. Instead, it proceeded to crash through the bumper, crash through the “Gate” and roll out on the main concourse floor. Thankfully, an announcement had been made moments prior to this that a train was out of control and persons were advised to flee from the concourse. Luckily, everyone there did just that. Consequently, no one was killed or injured on the concourse floor.

Due to the weight of the engine, the GG-1 stayed on the Concourse only momentarily before the floor gave way and the huge engine crashed down into the baggage room located below the concourse. As I remember it, it did trap a baggage handler or two in there for a few minutes, and I think at least one of them did receive a few scratches, but otherwise, things were fine.

The only problem was Washington DC was getting ready for its version of "The Big Show," the upcoming Inauguration. It was only 3 weeks away. And now, Union Station had no concourse for passengers to use. So the decision was made to install a temporary plywood floor over the concourse and leave the GG-1 IN THE BAGGAGE ROOM until after the “festivities” were over. Accordingly, this was done, and except for a slowing of the baggage service, everything went on as planned. Only a few of the thousands of people coming to town through the station ever paused for a moment to reflect upon the meaning of a plywood floor on the concourse.

And after the crowds were gone, in the cold days of February, the plywood was ripped away and the GG-1 was lifted out (incidentally, it was eventually returned to service by the Pennsy). And then the concourse was re-built for use.

I remember the time well. Being a local, I, along with many others, joined in the inevitable “second-guessing” that occurred as everyone talked about what “they” would have done about the runaway locomotive. The most popular notion put forward by us locals was to question why “they” hadn’t just re-routed the train through the tunnels that led south (I suspect the answer was, in part, if there had a derailment in those tunnels, then things would have really been messed up for all the expected travelers).

In addition, there were some locals who gave pause to the possible terror such a repeat scenario might cause. For example, A. recalls that for several years after the accident, whenever she was in Union Station, particularly when she and her family were riding on the train back to West Virginia, she would always be afraid another train would come crashing through the concourse. Consequently, she was always relieved when she could finally board their train and leave.

Well, that was 1953, and this is 2009, another busy Inauguration Day for Union Station, the station that literally “re-made” a city. Happy Inauguration Day President Obama, treat Union Station and Amtrak well. They are a key to helping our country become what it should be.

Boston Massachusetts

Boston South Station

Boston, in the late 1800’s had as many as 8 different passenger depots. The city officials, recognizing that this was too much of a “good thing” convinced the railroads to consolidate down to two stations. The first to be constructed was Boston North Station, opening in 1894. It was the station designed to serve the “New England Trains,” that is to say, the Boston and Maine. It was soon eclipsed by the structures surrounding it, and today “Boston North Station” is completely engulfed by Boston’s Fleet Center, home of the Basketball Celtics and the Hockey Bruins teams.

Boston’s South Station followed 4 years later, seeing its first revenue passengers pass through its headhouse in September 1898. The Boston South Station was designed to serve the “Northeast Trains,” that is to say the Boston and Albany (later part of the New York Central System), and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad.

As with most passengers stations in America, Boston South Station was at its busiest during World War II. However, 20 years later, the New Haven Railroad, which owned the station through its subsidiary line The Boston Terminal Company, entered bankruptcy and sold the structure to the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA).

The initial ideas of BRA included demolishing the old structure and erecting a new complex of office development projects. However, in 1972, at the 11th hour, with demolition already started, BRA changed its mind and retained those parts of the station not already gone, mainly its signature headhouse, and decided to re-think its development ideas. The reason, in part, was the fact that America finally had a passenger rail system, Amtrak, and thus the revival of intercity rail became a possibility.

The station was sold by the BRA to the local Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 1978. Shortly after this transaction, between 1984 and 1990, $195 million was spent to refurbish South Station and make it an “Intermodal” facility including not only intercity passenger trains, and commuter trains, but also inter-city buses, local buses, and a stop on the city’s historic subway system.

The late 1990’s saw Amtrak bring electrification into Boston, thus enabling the fast Acela trains to travel between Boston and Washington DC on a schedule which at this posting calls for a run of 6 ½ hours. Add to these speedy electrics, a complement of “Regional” runs, some through Springfield MA and others through Rhode Island, a daily train to Albany that connects with the New York-Chicago Lake Shore Limited, and commuter trains, to say nothing of all the busses and subway trains, and South Station is once more a busy place. Perhaps not as busy as 1945, but still busy enough to make many realize how close the BRA was to making a fatal city-killing mistake in the late 1960’s.

When Boston South Station was originally built, a coffer dam was constructed to keep the tidal waters of Fort Channel out of the station. Maybe there was a lesson here. Since that time, Boston, in true fashion, continued to “creep in” on Fort Channel with development, culminating with the construction of the infamous Central Artery which carried I-95 though downtown Boston.

In the 1990’s Boston realized that the Central Artery was out-of-date and started a new project intended to replace the Artery, the so-called “Big Dig.” During the planning phase, Rail Passenger advocates lobbied to have a rail connection between Boston’s North Station and Boston’s South Station become part of the project (the tunnel runs right by both stations). They were unsuccessful in their efforts and so even today, travelers coming in from the “Northeast” who desire to travel to “New England” must detrain and either catch a bus at South Station, or take the MTA to North Station where The Downeaster stops (Amtrak recommends if you do this, don’t get off your NE Corridor train at South Station, get off at the Back Bay station and catch the Orange MTA which runs from the 128th station up past Fleet Center and Boston’s North Station).

But remember the coffer dam of 1898? In a final fitting tribute to the shortsightedness of the planners of the Big Dig, it has been reported from time to time, that the new I-95 tunnel project has an awful lot of water being pumped out of it, far more, so it is rumored, than was originally projected. As the actress on the old Margarine commercial used to say: “It’s not NICE to fool with Mother Nature!”

Grand Canyon Arizona

Santa Fe Station

I have been to the Grand Canyon twice. The first time, when I was a boy, our family came into the Park through this station. We had boarded our sleeper in Los Angeles CA the night before and rode the Santa Fe Railway’s aptly named Grand Canyon Limited through the night (not even noticing the switching move in Williams Junction AZ). We awoke at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, climbed off our car, passed through this station and climbed the steps to our hotel accommodations at the El Tovar Lodge (a truck moved our luggage). And even though it was before breakfast, we were able to check in. We stayed that whole day, and the next and on the third day in the evening we boarded our sleeper through this same station and left sometime after sundown for the reverse move down to Williams Junction AZ where we were shifted onto the San Francisco Chief.

But all of the above was in the mid-1950’s, on my second visit, in the summer of 2000, I witnessed “Change.” The Santa Fe was no more, it was replaced with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. And it no longer was in the passenger train business, and it no longer owned the branch line that extended from Williams Junction AZ to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

And so, A. and I de-trained at Flagstaff AZ and spent the night there. The next morning we took a bus up to the Grand Canyon where we spent 2 nights and most of three days. But, that was how we chose to do it.

Now, don’t get me wrong it is still possible to take a “train” from Williams Junction up to the South Rim. I understand the Grand Canyon Railway hauled more passengers this past summer than have ever been hauled on that line. But it is just not the same.

For one thing, The Grand Canyon Railway appears to have bought into the “Disney theme park” routine hook, line, and sinker. Why I mean you start off your day with a “Wild West Shootout." Why lookee here pardner, you have almost the real thing complete with horses, blanks and face bandanas. Then you ride up the line from Williams Junction and you are pulled by “historic” engines (since steam is more difficult to do these days, you will probably find yourself pulled by some 1st generation re-worked diesels, of course, if you're lucky, you'll draw an Alco, they smoke almost as much as the old Mallets used to).

You arrive at the South Rim about noon, and if you are on the 1 day excursion, that means you have time for a quick picture at the South Rim, a little souvenir shopping (after all, you want all the folks back home to know you’ve been there), and then its “All Aboard” and back you go (I understand you can make arrangements to stay over.) along about 4:30 PM.

Now don't get me wrong, being a theme park ride is one way to consider rail transportion. But it is also possible, indeed it is probably very likely, that America is going to have to join the rest of the world and get serious in appreciating rail transportation as a viable option, both for "pleasure" and business travel. (Gee where does going to visit family fit into this dicotomy?) In other words, you don't need Mickey Mouse aboard in order to have a successful train service.

It is theoretically possible to ride the train all the way from your home (provided you are within 50 miles of Amtrak's drastically truncated "national system") next summer. The only draw back to riding on the Grand Canyon Railway via Amtrak is that in recent years the westbound Southwest Chief pulls into Williams Junction AZ in the late, late hours of the night, while the eastbound arrives in the early, early, and I do mean early, morning hours. So if you want to ride the rails to the South Rim, your best bet is, you guessed it, to drive to Williams Junction, either directly, or by renting a car from, you guessed it, the Phoenix AZ Airport.

Of course, rail travel to the South Rim is not your only option. When we were there, every day, just about 11:30 in the morning, two or three buses rolled in from Las Vegas, and a pile of people got off. They came out took a picture from the South Rim (“Now Mable, turn you head a little more to the right and at least LOOK like you are enjoying this trip!”), got in line to get some food and/or a souvenir, and then boarded promptly at 2 or so for the ride back to the gaming tables.

And then, of course, you can drive it and spend the majority of your time in Grand Canyon National Park looking for someplace to park your "rig." Or maybe you are daring and want to ride one of the "puddle jumpers" into the Grand Canyon Airport (that is, if they will still be operating). (Please note, for much of the above, I will not provide "helpful links." Sorry.)

The sad part of all this is, the folks working at the Canyon see a problem, there are an awful lot of cars, and the accompanying problems of congestion, pollution etc. (I wonder how it was this past summer with the high gas prices?) When we were there in 2000 we saw their “solution.” They were going to build a giant parking lot about 5 miles away from the canyon rim, and "make" (good luck on that in freedom loving America) everyone park there and ride a “light rail shuttle” into the park.

I wonder, whatever happened to the “overnight train from Los Angeles” concept? It’s funny, in a very sad way, how America has come to regard transportation. Everyone knows there is a problem if you rely only on Airplanes and Autos to move people around, but no one is willing to see the rail passenger alternative. Indeed, they not only do not see it, they go out of their way to avoid it as a possible solution, they trivialize it.

It kind of reminds me of a party game that became popular in the late 1960’s and 70’s and is still somewhat popular today. It is called “Twister.” As I understand it (and no, I haven’t played it, and I suspect with my back I better not), you have this large piece of cloth on the floor with various color dots. You goal is to place your various body parts on the colors as instructed by a spinner. To read a full description of the game click here. Anyway, that is how it seems to me it is with America and its transportion.

Every time someone, or more often some agency, comes up with a new reason why we should be riding the train more (less pollution, less congestion, energy efficient, etc. etc.) those “in charge” of transportation planning spin around and pull every kind of contortion possible to avoid the obvious. Some of the contortions I have seen rival anything that Twister could ever create.

America needs to be riding on more trains, and less planes and a lot less automobiles.

Oh yes, I almost forgot in all my ranting, the station pictured above. It was built in 1909-1910 by the Santa Fe Railroad to service its hotel, the El Tovar, which it had constructed 5 years earlier. This station was one of only 10 log train stations ever constructed in the United States. Today, there are only 3 still in existence. It is the only log train station which still is in active use as a “Train Depot.”

Sorry for the rant. I promise, I'll try to do better next time.

Galesburg Illinois

The Chicago Burlington and Quincy Depot

This depot, which is still in use by Amtrak, is of uncertain (at least to me) origin. I do not know when it was built. But I do know that the town it serves is a thorough railroad town even in this day and time.

Knox County Illinois, Galesburg is the county seat of Knox County, was founded in 1825 and the first settlers arrived shortly thereafter. Things were put on hold for a while in that area when the last major dispute between the settlers, and those who had been there first, erupted into what became known as The Blackhawk War. This affair was chiefly noted for two things, first, it was the last attempt east of the Mississippi to stop the settlers, and a young man, one A. Lincoln, was elected a Captain of his militia company that was raised to do battle on the side of the settlers.

By 1841 a College, Knox College, was founded and by 1854, the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad arrived. Thereafter, Galesburg became known as a railroad town. Even today, it is the site of the 2nd largest hump classification yard on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.

But that is not Galesburg’s only connection to railroading. Galesburg is also the home town of poet, author, Lincoln biographer, and troubadour, Carl Sandburg. Sandburg, in a certain sense, is recognized by many as the “Father of Modern Folk Music.” While Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, Peter Paul and Mary, and The Weavers (and many others) are all credited with the popularizing of this genera of music, Sandburg is often credited with being the first to sing it in public, for a fee.

Prior to Sandburg, if you sang “folk music” you could sing only songs that had been composed by who knows whom before the invention of the printing press. Any song composed since that event, was written down at sometime or the other and thus was not considered a “folk song.” Sandburg changed all that when he started collecting tunes he heard in what he called his “Song Bag.” Sandburg spent part of his young adulthood as a "hobo" who rode the rails. Many of these individuals were musically inclined and sang many songs. Most of these tunes were of uncertain origin and uncertain parentage. Yet, Sandburg wrote them down and then sang them. Not co-incidentally, many, though by no means all, or even a majority, of these songs he collected were either about railroading, had been composed (or were believed to have been composed) by someone on the railroad (often as a work song), or were sung by railroaders. Thus, Galesburg, and not co-incidentally its railroaders gave birth, albeit in a very indirect way, to what we called “Folk Music” today.

The Galesburg Depot is still a very busy place today, with 4 trains a day each way, serving points as distant as Los Angeles and San Francisco California, Denver Colorado, and Quincy Illinois. The town celebrates its continuing railroad heritage each year in September during “Railroad Days.”

Springfield Oregon

The Southern Pacific Depot

This structure is notable for several things. First, it is the oldest commerical structure in Springfield Oregon, having been constructed in 1891. It was built according to Southern Pacific standard plan # 22 for a combination station and depot. (What is meant here is that it was a station that was designed to handle both passengers, station, and freight, depot.) Given its building date, the structure, not surprisingly, is now regarded as a "Victorian structure." More specifically it was constructed in the style called "Queen Anne." In this style the builder used as many pieces of architectual ornamentation in erecting the structure as he thought he could get away with/as much as his pocketbook, or the pocketbooks of the buildings owners would tolerate. Regardless of which was the case in the building of this structure, the fact remains it is the last Queen Anne style passenger train station left in the state.

Passenger service into Springfield disappeared in 1965. For a time the SP continued to use the building for freight. But soon even that business evaporated. Finally in 1988 the city council of Springfield took the SP up on its offer to give the building to the city.

Subsequent to its "purchase" by the city it was moved to its new location. It became the anchor for Springfield's "western" (car) entry. It was placed near the old Mill Race, and a park. In its new surroundings, the building was restored to how it looked in 1913.

In addition to the station, the city also purchased a "baggage car" and placed it out in back of the building. The car that was purchased was actually a combination baggage and Railway Post Office car that had belonged to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Notwithstanding its heritage, the car was moved to the city, sandblasted and then re-painted into the Southern Pacific livery.

The only question that remains is, why display a baggage car? Why not a passenger car? Well, possibly because the city of Springfield found it to be a "cheaper" way to go. Baggage cars, in the early 1990's, may have been more plentiful than they appear to be now. Nowadays, according to the officials at Amtrak, such is not the case. And thus, Amtrak's trains # 50 and 51, The Cardinal, are forced to operate with 3 coaches, a sleeper, a combination diner/lounge car, but NO baggage car. Not surprisingly, in the coaches, this results in bewildering mounds of luggage stacked in the mini-luggage bins at the ends of the cars, in the overhead compartments, and whereever else one can find room.

Marlinton West Virginia

The Cheaspeake and Ohio Station

Pocahontas County was formed in 1821 by an act of the Virginia Legislature (West Virginia was still part of Virginia at this time). The first county court met in the small community of Huntersville WV.


In 1891 the County seat was moved to "Marlin's Bottom" which was subsequently re-named "Marlinton" ("There ain't no "g" in Marlinton). In reality, Marlin's Bottom had been the scene of the earliest settlement. In 1851 Andrew Lewis, a famous early Virginia explorer, found 2 individuals living in the bottom, one of them in a tree.


Shortly after Marlinton became the county seat, The Cheasapeake and Ohio extended its Greenbrier sub-division into town and then beyond (the line eventually ended at the small town of Durbin WV). This station was constructed in 1901.


After the Greenbrier Sub-Division was abandoned by the Chessie System (the successor to the C&O), most of the roadbed was converted to the Greenbrier Rail-Trail. The Marlinton Station, by that time one of only 4 still extant on the line, was converted into a Visitor's Center complete with information and a display of what the station had been like in the period 1910-1920.




Sadly, this station burned last spring. I found out about it a few weeks ago from a fellow traveler on Amtrak's train, The Cardinal. He told me at the time that he understood the fire had started in the electrical system.



Since the fire, the Visitor's Center has been moved to the Van Reenen Home, and an effort is underway to build a replica of this station. This is an area of the country that has struggled economically for many years. Any help I am sure would be appreciated.

Naples Florida

The Atlantic Coast Line Depot

Florida, unlike many of our states, is not so much the product of "settlement" per se, as it is a product of "Development." This is best explained in this way. In many states of the present-day United States land hungry settlers moved in to settle, in reality to "squat," on a piece of land and farm it (i.e. "work" it). They figured on purchasing that land for little or, in the case of the "Homesteaders" nothing. However, in Florida the thousands of people who came, came to play. And this time, they were willing to pay for their pleasure, or at least let people think they were paying for their pleasure. This fact is what makes the history of Florida a bit different from all the other states (including Califormia's). And so much of this difference can be seen in a name.

"The name Naples caught on when promoters described the bay as 'surpassing the bay in Naples, Italy.'" Thus is the self-described history of the birth of the name of this city. By the late 'teens of the 20th Century, promoters in the area, and, in particular, Baron Collier the biggest landowner and developer in the area, wanted to emulate the astounding success that they could see happening over in the Miami area (an area which had taken upon itself the nickname of "The Gold Coast."). And they wanted to do it the same way as it had been done in Miami, by promoting their area as having a "Mediterranean-type" climate. After all, wasn't the original Naples in Italy? And wasn't Italy on the Mediterranean Sea? So Naples, the American answer to Italy, became a growing reality. Frederick Lewis Allen in his classic book "Only Yesterday" describes the realities behind this early "development" of Florida in the Miami area in all of its gory details, including the use of a sophisticated financial instrument, for its time, called "The Binder"(sorry, Google does recognize this term, you'll have to read the chapter on the Florida Real Estate Boom in Allen's book to understand it). NOTE WELL: A Binder is not to be confused with "The Derivative" BUT in a certain sense, I regard them as "cousins" in the Financial World. Apparently, much the same type of land speculation happened at many other locations in Florida, including Naples.

The emphasis on "Mediterranian-style" living extended even to the railroads that were quickly built through the swamp-land that was, and to a large extent still is, Florida. And so it was, and is, that most Florida train depots from this era are built to represent Spanish Missions. Because while few Americans had been to Italy, many were aware of the Spanish influence in architecture in our Southwestern states. And after all, isn't Spain on the Mediterranean Sea also (and so the logic goes, remember we are dealing in speculation here)? Thus, you see in this posting a Spanish Mission-style Naples Depot built in 1926-7.

The Naples Depot was built by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. It was the starting point for their passenger train which became most famous for inspiring a fiddle tune, "The Orange Blossom Special." What the lyrics of the song do not make clear is that "The Clearwater Line" does not run down to Miami, the tracks run down to Naples. And so, at 12 noon every day, from 1927 up until 1971, the whistle would blow, and the train would begin its northward trek.

But, for now, those days are past. The tracks into Naples are practically non-existent and so are the trains. Instead, you either fly into the airport Naples shares with Ft. Myers or if you take the train, as I do, you come into a more northern city, in my case Lakeland, Winter Haven, or Sebring on Amtrak, rent a car and drive to Naples.

Oh yes, and did I mention, in all the speculation surrounding the building of Florida, all the promotion of the sun, the surf, the sand, and the Mediterranian-style climate, they forgot to mention one thing -- Hurricanes. And that, at times has almost put an end to everything down there.

Ottumwa Iowa

The Burlington Station

Sometimes a station is memorable because the town is memorable. In this case memorable because of a great fiction.

As many people in my generation, I watched the TV program "M*A*S*H" regularly. For me, it was refreshing because it was about the only program on the air then (or now for that matter) that had an actor playing an Ordained Minister as part of the regular cast (Father Mulchay). Further, the character portrayed was not the Elmer Gantry type that is all too common among Hollywood productions.

Ottumwa Iowa was the "hometown" of "Radar" O'Reilly. Not really, but hey, it put the town on the map.

Being on the route of Amtrak's California Zephyr, Ottumwa is a regular passenger train stop these days. And this station is there to welcome guests eager to see where "Radar" lived. It also welcomes bus passengers as well, since it is also a bus depot. Finally, it also has a small museum.

The Station itself is fairly old, being constructed originally in 1888. For many years it served the trains of the Chicago Burlinton and Quincy Railroad (more commonly known as "The Burlington Route.") It was "remodeled" in 1951 (probably when the stone exterior was added). Thus, despite its age, it appears to be fairly modern.

Portland Oregon

Portland Union Station

This station opened in 1896. It was a joint project of the Union Pacific, the Northern Pacific, and the Southern Pacific railroads. All three lines used the station for the first two decades of its existence. They were finally joined, after a fight in which the WW I US Railway Administration got into the act, by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle. At the same time the US Railway Administration also allowed the Great Northern to use the station.

For most of its existence prior to 1950, the station saw in excess of 90 trains a day. While I came into this station on UP's Portland Rose from Pocatello ID (Yellowstone Park), and left on SP's Lark bound for Los Angeles (but we got off in San Francisco) when our family went west in the mid-1950's I do not remember anything about the station from that trip.

Today, it is a busy Amtrak terminal hosting 2 long distance trains, the Coast Starlight, and the Portland section of the Empire Builder, as well as 10 Cascades trains (southbound to Eugene, northbound to Seattle and Vancouver BC) a day. In addition, the bus station is just across the street and bus departures are announced in the station, particularly those which are Amtrak "Thruway" connections. In addition, the City of Portland is extending its Light Rail line so that one of its routes will call at the station.

The station, itself, is downtown near the Japanese-American Historical Plaza along the Wilamette River. It is also within walking distance of the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. This latter place makes a great place to spend a 3 to 4 hour layover!

When we were there in the summer of 2008, it was a busy station indeed. Maybe not all the time, but certainly when trains were arriving or departing.

While the interior has been "spruced up" it still reminds you of the way stations used to look, complete with wooden benches! Portland should be proud of what they have done to make the Amtrak traveler feel welcome.

Milwaukee Wisconsin

Milwaukee Amtrak Station

This posting we will consider a new station, not an old one. This is the new Amtrak Station, in Milwaukee Wisconsin. It is an "Intermodal Station" since Greyhound is also located there. It is brand new because it has been opened within the last year. It is a ray of hope in an otherwise dark scene of modern passenger railroading. And yes, it is an Amtrak station that shows the community is proud of itself and not afraid of rail passengers and welcomes them as guests.

I admit this station is not as ornate as past stations that have graced this area, such as this shot of the former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (better known as The Milwaukee Road) station I found in the waiting area. However, it is certainly a lot better than the all-to-common "Amshack" structures that many communities, such as Chemult Oregon, provide for their guests who travel by rail.

According to the city's web site, this structure will also become the key to a comprehensive transportation plan that will grow to include Commuter Rail, a light-rail (streetcar) downtown Circulator, and a series of rapid bus lines (oh come on, in today's traffic? Only if you have a separate bus way such as Pittsburgh PA's.).

I have seen noteworthy stations that have been constructed in the Amtrak in other communities, and will present them in future blogs. But I wanted to start with this one, since it stands out in my mind as the best that I have seen to date.

At any rate, this is something for other communities to shoot for.

Denver Colorado

Denver Union Station

The original structure, erected in 1881 by financier Jay Gould to serve all of "his" railroads that served the Denver area, survives as the center section of the present structure. Though this 1881 structure was devastated by a fire in 1894, the rebuilt structure used the original walls in part, thus preserving the heritage of the station.

One of the unique aspects of this station was that for many years it regularly served not only "Standard Gauge" railroads (4' 8 1/2"), it also served the 36" gauge Colorado Southern Railroad. While this arrangement existed all the station's trackage had a third rail inside the outer two rails. The Colorado Southern is no more. It eventually became an all-standard gauge line that was affiliated with the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad (The Burlington Route). However, some Colorado and Souther equipment can still be found at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden CO.

Denver Union Station is still an active station today, serving Amtrak's California Zephyr. In addition, the Ski Train that operates from Denver to Winter Park also departs from here. Finally, if and when the route from El Paso to Denver by way of Albequerque NM ever takes shape, it too will call at DUT. Finally the station is also the end of the line for the "Light Rail" system in Denver. While these activities do not generate the constant flow of people traffic of previous years, nevertheless, at times, it is one busy place! And it appears slated to be even busier!

Cincinnati Ohio

Cincinnati Union Terminal

In 1900 Cincinnati OH had a problem similar to many cities of that era, too many train stations, 5 of them in all. This meant that travelers on the 7 different railroads which served the town, who needed to change trains often had a cross-town dash. Further, the many railroad grade crossings caused a lot of traffic congestion on the city's streets. Finally, all of the stations were within the Ohio River floodplain. And in those days the Ohio often flooded.

Finally in 1927 work was begun on a new facility located in the west end of Cincinnati. The architectural firm of Fellheimer & Wagner won the commission and began work on this structure shortly after completing Buffalo NY's Central Terminal. It was to be one of the "high water marks" of the Art Deco style of architecture.
It opened in 1933 two weeks early because once again, the Ohio River was on the rampage and threatening to inundate the old stations. But despite the undeniable beauty of the building, it has never lived up to its initial expectations. In addition to the overall decline in passenger rail traffic which began in the 1930's, the city fathers and the railroads soon realized they had located the new station too far from downtown.

Today, the basement of the building is still an Amtrak stop for its tri-weekly Cardinal which calls in the wee hours of the morning. The rest of the building has become a children's museum.

Thus, though the building is beautiful beyond words, it stands almost as a testament to the old saying "Beauty is skin deep." It may be beautiful, but through the years it has not met the needs of the traveling public.

Washington DC

Union Station

I will start off this blog, fittingly, with the station located scarcely 4 blocks from the hospital where I was born (this hospital no longer exists in this location). It is also located 3 blocks from the house where my father was born (the house no longer exists either, does this tell you something?). Washington Union Terminal, or Union Station as the "locals" called it (and still call it), was a child of, what else in DC, politics.

About 1900 Congress, both then and now the true "city council" of Washington DC decided that it was time to end the inconvenience, smoke, noise etc. that resulted from having two separate train stations, one for the B&O, one for the Pennsylvania RR (and the southern connections). The B&O was located on the NE corner of the Mall (roughly were the Taft Memorial is today) and the Pennsy on the south central border of the mall (near the Smithsonian and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing). While Congress initially told the railroads to each build a station, by the time the "politics" of the situation panned out, through something called "The McMillian Commission" the result was, as signed into law by Teddy Roosevelt, a single Union Station.

The architect chosen, Daniel Burnham, of Chicago's World Fair fame, had close ties to both the McMillian Commission and the Pennsy (have things ever be otherwise in DC?). He took as the basis of his design Baths of Diocletian. The result, Union Station, not only set the tone for the re-establishment of a Washington DC according to the original plans of Pierre L'Enfant, complete with its Mall and many monuments, but also a whole school of Public Architecture, Beax-Arts.