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(rshsdepot) Mineola, TX
From an Amtrak news release.
Bernie Wagenblast
Transportation Communications Newsletter
_http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/_
(http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Amtrak passengers traveling to or from business, shopping, relaxation and
recreation in the "Piney Woods" of East Texas will now have a station in Mineola
that is simultaneously modern and historic. A ceremony is set for Saturday,
June 10, to rededicate the former Texas and Pacific Railroad station in the
community about 80 miles east of Dallas.
From 1974 until 1996, the Amtrak Texas Eagle and its predecessor trains
passed through the community of 5,000 without stopping. However, Mineola
community leaders convinced Amtrak to make their city a stop, based on creative local
marketing and a promise to renovate the train station. The station being
rededicated captures the look of the 1906 station that was remodeled and
replaced almost exactly nearly 55 years ago, on June 20, 1951.
The city used grants from the Texas Department of Transportation ($550,000),
Mineola Development Inc. ($195,820) and the Meredith Foundation ($46,000 for
a railroad museum) and raised additional funds ($13,000) to support the
project. The 50's-era "modernization" of the building was removed and the
building's exterior recreated to the original 1906 design. Site improvements
included parking, signage, fencing, landscaping and bicycle racks. Interior
restoration included ticket windows, waiting area and a railroad artifacts museum.
The building, at 115 East Front Street, is now part of what is known locally
as the Mineola Transportation Plaza. The property is leased from the Union
Pacific Railroad, a successor to the Texas and Pacific.
"The renovations are beautiful, the community is enthusiastic and at Amtrak
we are grateful for all the work to make this improvement to our facilities,"
said Richard Phelps, General Superintendent of the Los Angeles-based Amtrak
Southwest Division. "More than 4,000 passengers used the Mineola station last
fiscal year and we expect this project will entice even more to ride the
Texas Eagle."
The Amtrak Texas Eagle (Trains 21/321/421 & 22/322/422) provides daily
service from Chicago to San Antonio, via St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas-Fort Worth
and Austin. Three days weekly, a section of the Texas Eagle connects to the
Sunset Limited (Trains 1 & 2) between San Antonio and Los Angeles via El Paso
and Tucson.
At Fort Worth, the Texas Eagle also exchanges passengers with the Heartland
Flyer (Trains 821 & 822), with daily service to and from Oklahoma City.
The rededication ceremony at 10 a.m. on June 10 will feature a
ribbon-cutting, speeches and a fly-over by the Wood County Airport Pilots Association.
Following the program, the station museum will open and the Texas Eagle will
make its scheduled morning westbound (11:10 a.m.) and evening eastbound (6:05
p.m.) stops.
Contact: Marc Magliari, 312/880-5390; Mercy Rushing, 903/569-6944.
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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