Whitefish One of the most attractive legacy stations along the Amtrak system is in Whitefish, Mont. The Alpine-style facility was built in 1927 by the Great Northern Railway, an en- terprise of James J. Hill — the old “Empire Builder” himself — for whom GN’s premiere Seattle-Chicago Empire Builder was named. Today, Whitefish (Montana’s busiest pas- senger rail station) hosts the successor train that carries on the Empire Builder name, this time under the aegis of Amtrak, and op- erating on trackage owned by Warren Buf- fet’s BNSF Railway, GN’s successor Class I railroad. The station’s design is reminiscent of the
Chalets built in Glacier National Park. In the 1980s, when BN decided to vacate the structure, the local historical society arranged with the railroad for a transfer in ownership which was completed in 1990. The society donated money it had allocated for renovation. Then the historical group revamped the
upper story of the depot and leased the space back to BNSF. Additional funding en- abled the renovation of remaining areas. The lower level is shared by the Stumptown Historical Society, Amtrak and several local vendors. The station has been added to the Nation-
al Register of Historic Places. A baggage fa- cility to the side of the structure better serves the many passengers in and out of Whitefish, especially in the ski season. This writer has been through there on the Builder during the warmer weather when there was no skiing, and the “Passenger and Freight Depot and Division Office [its offi- cial name]” was still busy.
Hattiesburg The original 1910 station built in Hatties- burg, Miss., by the old Southern Railway is one of the more elaborate passenger depots in the Magnolia State. It was built in an Ital- ian Renaissance style, noted for its 924-foot canopy, partially removed in 1958. In 1998, the city began negotiations with
Norfolk Southern to purchase the facility. Extensive repairs included exterior and in- terior restorations — notably a new roof, or- namental plaster, original flooring and oth- er historic features, particularly the Grand Hall. The platform canopy was also restored The station, now serving as an intermodal
center, was rededicated in April 2007, cele- brated at a grand gala black tie event the night before. The depot site links Newman- Buschman, a locally designated historic district, with the Hub City Historical-Down- town and Hattiesburg Historic Neighbor- hood District. It serves Amtrak’s Crescent on a daily basis.
New York After years of delay, the project is going for- ward to make a grand entrance to New York City in the traditional way afforded visitors who used the original Penn Station during that grand early 20th century landmark’s pitifully short life. New York State is embark- ing on Phase 1 of the Moynihan Station project. Timothy Gilbert, President of the Moyni-
han Station Development Corporation says the future Moynihan Station will expand the current makeshift Penn Station into the James A. Farley Post Office Building “to cre- ate a new sky-lit train [station] similar to that of Grand Central [Terminal.]
In brief, the history of that comparison is interesting. In the ’60s, when the original Penn Station was torn down, that desecra- tion in and of itself led to a more muscular preservationist movement with the former First Lady Jackie Kennedy leading the charge that succeeded in blocking the at- tempt by Conrail to tear down Grand Cen- tral as well. Gilchrist says the new Moynihan Station
will “alleviate congestion at the busiest train station in the country.” More than a half million passengers pass through Penn Station on a daily basis, he adds. In addition to Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and the Long Island Rail Road, Penn Station serves the 7th Avenue (old IRT) and 8th Avenue (IND) subway lines, with the Broadway line (the old BMT) and 6th Avenue (IND) sta- tions an easy one block walk away. In more ways than one, it makes perfect
sense to “recapture the grandeur of the orig- inal Pennsylvania Station” by reconfiguring the interior of the Farley Building. Both Farley and late lamented Penn landmarks were designed by the iconic architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. Penn Sta- tion opened in 1910, the Post Office in 1913. The site of the two architectural beauties standing across the street opposite each oth- er symbolized what some have viewed as Gotham’s “best days.” The Moynihan Station alone will encom-
pass 300,000 square feet. The hub will in- clude 750,000 square feet of retail and com- mercial space, possibly including a boutique hotel. The U.S. Post Office will still occupy 250,000 square feet of the building. The new design calls for a grand staircase connecting main station spaces to three street en- trances.
All Across the Nation Other projects underway include Seattle King Street Station, St. Paul Union Depot, and Denver Union Station. Michigan is im- proving several stations. Lincoln, Neb., is new. Lancaster, Pa., is undergoing an up- grade, and as we noted here recently, Miami has plans for its station. The above are just samples of how the passenger rail infrastructure — after a gen- eration of disrepair — is making a comeback through one of its most visible lasting sym- bols, the train station.
Amtrak Food Service As one who at times has witnessed food por- tions on Amtrak that seemed barely enough to feed a mouse, there was some curiosity when Chairman John Mica of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Commit- tee defined Amtrak’s losses on its food oper- ations as “staggering.” Amtrak Inspector General Ted Alves de- termined that some of this (903 instances that he specified) could be traced to theft. An estimated $4 to $7 million annual loss was at stake, according to the IG. At a committee hearing August 2, Alves pinpointed such schemes as inflating first class meal checks, selling complimentary items, selling non- Amtrak items, shorting cash register sales, stealing inventory, and providing items at no cost. Management testified that some people have been fired and others arrested. But those losses — not unheard of in the
overall restaurant industry — were a part of the entire Amtrak annual deficit in food sales: $85 million, or $833.8 million in the
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