(rshsdepot) Berlin, CT

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From the Hartford Courant.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Berlin Train Station Could Get Upkeep
By BILL LEUKHARDT
 
Courant staff writer
 
August 5, 2008
 
BERLIN —
 
      The town's brick Victorian train station,  with its stained-glass 
windows, has crumbling mortar, water-stained interior  walls and peeling paint.
 
Now it looks as if the station, at which 12 trains stop each weekday en  
route to Hartford or New Haven, is going to get some upkeep.
 
Town officials recently signed a resolution that could result in as much as  
$1.7 million in federal funds to repair and fix the landmark station, built in 
 1900.
 
The town already is getting $400,000 in state grants to landscape and  
improve the parking lot, which has spaces for about 75 vehicles.
 
There is no clear schedule yet for the work to begin at the station, which  
is owned by Amtrak, and the lot, which is owned by the state.
 
The resolution signed last week by the town council gives town backing to  
state transportation officials to seek federal money for engineering work on  
station improvements. Those preliminary designs will answer questions about  
schedule and cost.
 
The station, on Depot Road just off Farmington Avenue, provides Amtrak  
passenger service, and freight service for the Boston & Maine Railroad and  Conrail 
lines.
 
About 100 to 150 riders use the station on weekdays, with Fridays being the  
busiest day, Berlin ticket agent Bill Sample said Monday.
 
Sample, on the job here since 1996, said it's good to improve both the  
building and parking lot, but the station is in greater need of repair.
 
Mortar is eroding from the exterior brick walls, water is leaking inside  
because of rotting wood and roofing, and paint is curling away from the wood on  
windows and doors, he said.
 
When electrical cables were pulled away from the station in an accident a  
few years ago, crews had trouble finding brick that was still strong enough to  
withstand the weight and pull of the wiring, he said. Much of the brick was  
soft, so workers needed to attach a steel plate first to help anchor the  
electrical work, Sample said.
 
Contact Bill Leukhardt at _bleukhardt_@_courant.com_ 
(mailto:bleukhardt_@_courant.com) .




**************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? 
Read reviews on AOL Autos.      
(http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 )

=================================
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

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