Fw: (rshsdepot) Windsor Locks, CT

["Paul Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Henry Rosenberg" <hwr5_@_comcast.net>
To: "Paul Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2004 6:26 PM
Subject: Re: (rshsdepot) Windsor Locks, CT


: The second largest airport in New England, so-called "Hartford," i.e., 
: Bradley - is in Windsor Locks. It makes me crazy that there's no shuttle 
: from Amtrak to airport - service should be wildly upgraded on this line to 
: get air travelers off the road.
: Henry
: 
: ----- Original Message ----- 
: From: "Paul Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>
: To: "Henry Rosenberg" <hwr5_@_columbia.edu>
: Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 9:58 PM
: Subject: Fw: (rshsdepot) Windsor Locks, CT
: 
: 
: >
: > ----- Original Message ----- 
: > From: "Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>
: > To: "Rail Depot List" <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
: > Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 9:53 AM
: > Subject: (rshsdepot) Windsor Locks, CT
: >
: >
: > : From today's Hartford Courant.
: > :
: > : Bernie Wagenblast
: > : Transportation Communications Newsletter
: > : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications
: > :
: > : ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
: > :
: > :
: > :
: > :
: > : TRAIN STATION RENEWAL SOUGHT DEPOT, ON NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC 
: > PLACES,
: > : WAS BUILT IN 1875
: > :
: > :
: > : By LARRY SMITH
: > :
: > : The old railroad station stands boarded up on Main Street, the last 
: > remnant
: > : of Windsor Locks` downtown of a century ago.
: > :
: > : Resident Barbara Schley believes that with the right amount of effort, 
: > the
: > : station can be restored to its past glory -- if not as a train station, 
: > then
: > : as a vibrant commercial building.
: > :
: > : Schley has been investigating the station`s history and is hoping to get
: > : enough community support to have the building renovated. She and local
: > : history buff Mickey Danyluk are forming the Let`s Save the Windsor Locks
: > : Station committee to work toward getting the project done.
: > :
: > : On Tuesday, Schley, First Selectman Jeffrey Ives and three Amtrak 
: > officials
: > : toured the building. The officials declined to discuss the meeting.
: > :
: > : Schley said she and Danyluk are hoping that enough people will become
: > : involved with their group to influence Amtrak and town officials to help
: > : restore the property. There are grant opportunities that could help 
: > finance
: > : such a project, she said.
: > :
: > : Ives said restoring the station has been discussed in the town at 
: > various
: > : times for more than 30 years.
: > :
: > : ``Most people I`ve talked with would be in favor of it,`` Ives said. 
: > ``Maybe
: > : this stands a better chance this time, and the town is willing to help 
: > out
: > : where it can.``
: > :
: > : The railroad station, built in 1875, was in use through the early 1960s,
: > : when it was closed and boarded up. It was placed on the National 
: > Register of
: > : Historic Places on its 100th anniversary.
: > :
: > : Since 1978, the station has been owned by the National Railroad 
: > Passenger
: > : Corp., better known as Amtrak. Its trains now use a stop about a mile 
: > south
: > : along Main Street.
: > :
: > : Locally, the station is remembered as the site where, one January 
: > morning in
: > : 1975, newly elected Gov. Ella T. Grasso of Windsor Locks boarded a train
: > : bound for Hartford for her inauguration as the first woman in the nation 
: > to
: > : be elected governor without succeeding a husband in that office.
: > :
: > : Schley said Amtrak officials want more information about what the group
: > : would like to do with the building before discussing leasing or 
: > purchasing
: > : the property. While the inside of the building is in disrepair, it is 
: > not as
: > : bad as she thought it would be.
: > :
: > : With a proposal for a larger commuter platform farther south on Main 
: > Street,
: > : Schley said she believes Amtrak does not want to use the old station for 
: > its
: > : trains.
: > :
: > : ``I`d really like to see the building utilized for one of the local
: > : businesses,`` Schley said.
: > :
: > : After also touring the station, Nina Harkrader, of the Connecticut Trust 
: > for
: > : Historic Preservation, said the building still has a lot of 
: > architectural
: > : features from its past.
: > :
: > : Harkrader said being listed on the National Register might help the 
: > station
: > : in getting funding or tax credits if it is used as a commercial 
: > building.
: > :
: > : Anyone interested in helping or joining the group may call Schley at
: > : 860-798-5376 or Danyluk at 860-623-4143.
: > :
: > : =================================
: > : The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
: > : railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
: > :
: > 
: 

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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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