(rshsdepot) Paradise, PA

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Paradise train station rounds bend

Intelligencer Journal
12/12/03

A new Amtrak train station planned for Paradise Township should be built and
ready for passengers by this time next year, county officials announced
Wednesday.
The long-planned Paradise Rail Station will be built on the east side of the
Route 30 bridge over Amtrak's right of way on 1.33 acres that will be
purchased from Stock Building Supply.

The station will be accessible from the south side of Route 30, opposite the
Keim Chevrolet dealership. It will be built where Strasburg Rail Road
reaches the Amtrak right of way in Paradise.

The proposed station also will be a new stop for Strasburg Rail Road, said
Jeff Glisson of Red Rose Transit Authority. Glisson also is an alternate
member of Lancaster County Transportation Coordinating Committee.

The station will be unmanned, but there will be plenty of lighting for its
eastbound and westbound 300-foot-long covered platforms. The platforms and
their access paths will be handicap accessible.

The station will include a circular driveway, a passenger drop- off area,
hitching posts for horses and buggies, parking for about 30 cars and a
bus-waiting and drop-off area. The station will be served by RRTA buses.

A pedestrian walkway from the eastbound Amtrak platform will connect to
another new platform that will serve Strasburg Rail Road.

The $2.75 million project also includes the construction of a turntable
allowing the coal-burning steam-powered Strasburg Rail Road locomotives to
turn around for their return trip to Strasburg.

Officials hope the new station will boost tourism as it will enable anyone
with access to Amtrak to visit Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg
and other sites. A trip could be made entirely by train, with the last 45
minutes aboard America's oldest short-line railroad.

"We are also working on what kind of service options RRTA could provide to
tourists once they get to the Strasburg railroad museum," Glisson said. "For
example, if they came here on Amtrak from Harrisburg International Airport,
we'd like to be able to provide them transportation from Strasburg to other
venues and attractions so they could see as much of Lancaster County as
possible without bringing a private automobile."

An environmental-impact assessment for the project was completed in December
2002, and a required archeological study of the area is under way. Although
the county has not received in writing Amtrak's commitment to serve the new
station, which is required, Glisson said it doesn't appear that will be a
problem.

"The meeting with Amtrak in September went very well, but we're still
waiting for the official word," Glisson said. "Based on previous meetings,
Amtrak appears willing to serve the station."

Work on the final design of the new station began in January, and the county
plans to seek bids for construction in spring subject to the review and
approval of the plans by Amtrak, Paradise Township and receipt of a highway
occupancy permit issued by the state Department of Transportation.

The $2.75 million will come from a combination of federal, state and local
sources. Construction should be completed by December 2004, Glisson said.

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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