(rshsdepot) Elizabethtown, PA

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

From today's Intelligencer Journal.

Bernie Wagenblast
Transportation Communications Newsletter
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/

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E-town station `a real gem`: So says Amtrak chief during tour of oft-debated 
property


By Tom Knapp

Elizabethtown`s borough manager, Peter Whipple, said Amtrak`s president has 
thrown his support behind a plan that would breathe new life into the vacant 
building.

Amtrak president David Gunn paid a visit to the Elizabethtown train station 
Tuesday evening.

Wednesday, during a meeting with Lancaster County officials, the railroad 
executive called the abandoned World War I-era station ``a real gem.``

More importantly, borough manager Peter Whipple said, Gunn has thrown his 
support behind a plan that would breathe new life into the vacant building.

``We are very close,`` Whipple said Wednesday afternoon. ``But we need to 
keep up the momentum.``

The $2.3 million restoration/expansion has been stalled for years as borough 
officials work out details and apply for various approvals from Amtrak and 
the state Department of Transportation.

``I was able to show him not only our train station plans but our plans for 
that whole section of town and how the train station fits in,`` Whipple 
said.

He asked Gunn to help organize a meeting between ``the Amtrak decision 
makers`` and various representatives from PennDOT; CorridorOne, a planned 
light-rail system; and the borough.

``Let us move on with this project,`` Whipple said. ``Mr. Gunn intimated 
that he will try to accommodate that request.

``He really was taken with our station. It`s a gorgeous historic landmark 
for our town. To get it up and running would be a great boon for everyone 
involved.``

The ambitious renovation is ``down to two issues,`` Whipple said. Both 
concern engineering, and both come with a hefty price tag.

The first deals with relocating electrical switching equipment, which should 
cost $50,000 or less, Whipple said.

The second calls for changes to the height and width of train platforms to 
accommodate various transit and Americans with Disabilities Act 
requirements. That could lead to even more expenses, Whipple said.

``If the platforms get changed, then the canopies get changed and the 
handicapped access gets changed. ... It could easily run into six figures - 
and that could be a stumbling block.``

The borough has a 99-year agreement to lease the station from Amtrak for $1 
per year.

As part of the agreement, Amtrak must approve any work to be performed on 
the station, platform or grounds.

The station, built in 1917, has stood vacant for more than 20 years. 
Elizabethtown hopes to use some of the space for commercial enterprises. 
Amtrak, citing financial difficulties of its own, withdrew financial support 
of the project - to the tune of $464,500 - in 2003. It also delayed 
approving renovation plans because of liability concerns.

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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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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1137
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org