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Re: (rshsdepot) Savannah, GA
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Well, here is the Union terminal designed by Philip Tornton Marye. I do not
know if it is extant nor if AMTRAK uses it.
Gene Paoli
stationman_@_prodigy.net
- ----- Original Message -----
From: Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>
To: Rail Depot List <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2002 4:52 PM
Subject: (rshsdepot) Savannah, GA
>
> Savannah, Ga.'s Amtrak Station Still Bustling
>
> Jul. 1--In the pre-dawn hours last Thursday, Amtrak's Savannah station
> shined like a beacon in the dark along barren Louisville Road.
> Inside, passengers waited for the Silver Palmetto due in at 5:22 a.m. from
> its origination point in New York. Many with faces showing signs of sleep
> deprivation jerked awake as horns blared in the distance.
>
> The sudden noise jarred them from their state of near-sleep as they
listened
> out for a sound that would build gradually.
>
> Soon the loud clickety-clack along the train tracks silenced the crickets
> and tree frogs, but raised the enthusiasm of two young rail riders eager
to
> begin their trip.
>
> Robby Rahn, 11, and Samuel Rahn, 3, ran outside to the platform to greet
the
> locomotive.
>
> "It's a choo choo," said Samuel, pointing.
>
> For the brothers, the freight train provides a brief distraction until
they
> can board the first Amtrak passenger train of the day.
>
> For other passengers, like Graham Toms from Bangor, Ireland, it's one step
> closer to reaching Orlando, his final destination.
>
> Despite different travel itineraries, the strangers share an appreciation
> for traveling by rail.
>
> Regardless of Amtrak's recent financial woes, train lovers and travelers
> remain optimistic about the future of the nation's largest passenger train
> service provider. A temporary fix of $100 million from the U.S. Treasury
> will help alleviate Amtrak's immediate problems.
>
> But "what ifs" still remain. The biggest being: What happens when the loan
> runs out?
>
> Savannah is one of five Amtrak stations in Georgia. It employs six people
> and in 2001, 44,371 passengers rode through the station.
>
> For people like the Rahns, who travel five times a year to visit their
> grandparents in Savannah, and Toms, on business travel and Ellie Tardif,
of
> Savannah, who rides the train to visit her family in North Carolina,
Amtrak
> provides a much-needed service.
>
> Toms didn't even seem to mind that his train has been delayed. He said it
> was still better than the alternative.
>
> With last-minute travel arrangements, the train was cheaper than booking a
> seat on a plane. There are other benefits as well, he said.
>
> "By taking the train, I've got a shorter distance to fall from the air,"
he
> said. "I do a lot of traveling by plane and you get to see the country on
> Amtrak."
>
> "Why I prefer Amtrak, is also for the service, too," he said.
>
> Tardif couldn't agree more.
>
> "You don't spend a lot of time in the terminal, the atmosphere and the
> trains are nice and pleasant," she said. "You don't have to be there 30
> minutes before the train comes ... there are no waits and no hassles. I
> don't fly if I can get away with it."
>
> Amtrak's predictable service is the reason why Tardif knows her schedule.
>
> The owner of Bull Street Station, a local hobby shop, said she leaves
> Savannah at 10:15 p.m.
>
> Friday and gets into Greenville, N.C. at 9 a.m.
>
> She'll leave at 7:18 p.m. Sunday and return home at 5:30 a.m. Monday.
>
> "For the rest I get and the comfort, the eight to nine hour trip is not
that
> bad," she said. "Maybe it takes a little longer, but if you count in train
> time vs. air time and waiting in the airport terminal -- that makes up for
> excess time."
>
> But for Robby Rahn, time passed quickly as he discussed trains.
>
> His grandfather is a retired train engineer and his father, Bobby Rahn,
> works for CSX. Robby added he has plans of becoming a train engineer.
>
> He matter-of-factly talked about how to get a train into gear and his
dreams
> of one day running the engine room.
>
> "I want to work for Amtrak," Robby Rahn said, adding he hopes the company
is
> still around when he is of working age.
>
> His father added to the conversation.
>
> Like Europe and the U.S. airline industry, Bobby Rahn said he believes
> Amtrak should receive government assistance.
>
> He was interrupted by a long low whistle cutting through the morning
air --
> the Silver Palmetto pulling into the station.
>
> Robby and Samuel's ride was about to begin.
>
> To see more of the Savannah Morning News, or to subscribe to the
newspaper,
> go to http://www.savannahnow.com
>
>
>
> Bernie Wagenblast
> Transportation Communications Newsletter
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/
>
> ================================
> The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
> railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
>
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
------------------------------
End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #422
*******************************
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org