(rshsdepot) Tuscaloosa, AL

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From the Tuscaloosa News.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Train station needs  overhaul

July 8, 2008 

Train station needs overhaul  
Tuscaloosa’s Amtrak station has limited parking, poor conditions  
By Harriett Burton  
Special to The Tuscaloosa News  
Published: Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 3:30 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, July 8, 
 2008 at 12:08 a.m.  
Before passengers at the Amtrak station in Tuscaloosa ever hear a train  
whistle, they encounter tall grass in need of mowing and trees whose limbs have  
slumped nearly to the ground.  
“I thought it may have been a chance I was in the wrong location,” said  
Kenneth Bennett, who was waiting for the train last week on its route to and  
from New Orleans.  
Even finding the station on Greensboro Avenue can be difficult for those  
unfamiliar with the area. Tall weeds covered the sign on the south side of the  
building identifying it as the station.  
Parking at the station is so limited, especially around 1 p.m. when the train 
 comes in each day, that drivers often block one another in.  
Nielco Pite, 22, said the trees in the area haven’t been trimmed in a long  
time. Pite attends Stillman College and rides the train often to and from New  
Orleans.  
“This train station is barely holding on,” Pite said. “I am really surprised 
 that a strong wind hasn’t come through yet and blown it away.”  
As rising gas prices force citizens to reconsider their travel options, the  
dilapidated condition of Tuscaloosa’s train station is becoming more visible.  
Many who use the train station say they hope that the station’s owners will  
clean up and maintain the station’s facilities, while others say they have  
abandoned hope of that and are uncomfortable while in the waiting area.  
“As a citizen of Tuscaloosa, I feel that the building is being let go,” said 
 Max Smith, a member of the Black Warrior Model Railroad Society in 
Northport.  “It would be nice not to let the building go to waste.”  
The train station building is owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad, which has  
an office in the building to handle freight operations. Norfolk Southern 
leases  space in the building to Amtrak.  
Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Susan Terpay acknowledged that the company was  
responsible for the condition of the building and said she was not aware of 
how  bad it was.  
“The Amtrak station in Tuscaloosa is the smallest I’ve ever seen,” said  
Amanda Drizis, a 15-year-old from New York.  
“I’ve ridden a train several times, and most of the train stations I have  
been to are cute and cozy, but not this one.”  
Once inside the station, passengers are confronted by more signs of neglect,  
including stains on the ceiling from a leaky roof and spider webs on windows 
in  the station’s back hallway. The restrooms are not in great condition, 
either.  
Some passengers said the conditions are unsanitary.  
“With the amount of business that comes through here, they should consider  
renovation,” said Ruthea Motley, a 24-year-old from Birmingham. “You would 
never  notice the station if it wasn’t for the train tracks. It looks old and  
abandoned.”  
In the 2006-07 fiscal year, Amtrak served about 7,656 passengers at its  
Tuscaloosa station, according to Amtrak records.  
Terpay said Norfolk Southern officials would look into improving conditions  
at the station. 



**************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for 
fuel-efficient used cars.      (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
To Unsubscribe: http://lists.railfan.net/rshsdepot-photo/unsub.html

------------------------------