(rshsdepot) Burlingame, CA

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From The San Mateo County Times.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Caltrain unwraps $20.5 million birthday gift to Burlingame
Station  remodeling adds safety features

By Mark Abramson
MediaNews
Article Created: 06/12/2008 08:59:37 PM  PDT
 

"This is a momentous day," Mayor Rosalie O'Mahony said. "All of  Burlingame 
has been looking forward to this exquisite birthday gift. It's just a  
wonderful moment in time."
 
O'Mahony pointed out that the train station needed a face-lift back in 1994  
for its own 100th birthday.
 
City Councilwoman Cathy Baylock, who is also treasurer for the Burlingame  
Historical Society, called the station "the heart of Burlingame," noting there  
was nothing around for miles when it was built.
 
The $20.5 million station remodeling at Burlingame Avenue and California  
Drive took a year to complete, and the goal was to get it done this month as the  
city wraps up its yearlong centennial celebration. 
 
The project included building covered shelters in the same Spanish  
architecture as the station to keep waiting passengers dry in wet weather,  replacing 
the center platform with fencing between the northbound and southbound  tracks, 
and installing a platform for the northbound trains so riders do not  have to 
cross the tracks to board. 
 
The 114-year-old station building was renovated as well.
 
The new platform layout allows two trains to use the station at the same  
time, which was previously prohibited for safety reasons. 
 
Caltrain officials said that with Burlingame no longer a "hold-out  station," 
service should speed up.
 
"We are very proud of this new facility," Caltrain board member Arthur  Lloyd 
said. "Like most cities, Burlingame grew up around the railroad."
 
Lloyd said the project is just one part of the plan to remodel Caltrain's  
remaining hold-out stations to speed service along the line, which stretches  
roughly 80 miles from San Francisco to Gilroy.
 
Caltrain and city officials also touted the new landscaping, improved  
parking, wider sidewalks and added safety features, such as pedestrian crossing  
arms. A public address and visual message system to announce the next trains to  
arrive was also added. 
 
The station is slated to serve as the future home for the historical  
society's museum.



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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1741
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org