(rshsdepot) Kingston, RI

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From the South County Independent.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ten years later, train station is thriving

By Mark N. Schieldrop 
 
In the 10 years since Kingston Station underwent a major restoration,  
ridership has ballooned from 50,000 passengers annually to more than 150,000. 
 
As Amtrak’s high-speed Acela trains rocket through the station each day and  
riders walk through the glass-lined sky bridge over the tracks, it’s hard to  
visualize the sad state Kingston Station was in during the late 1980s and 
early  ‘90s. 
 
A fire ravaged the station in 1988, and with low ridership, no parking and  
aging facilities, Amtrak was considering tearing the station down. 
 
Today, the station is busier than it has ever been, the station building  
stands as an example of historic railroad architecture, cyclists whiz on and off  
the nearby William C. O’Neill Bike Path and the Friends of Kingston Station –
  which led the restoration effort 10 years ago – is ready to celebrate the  
station’s continued growth and success. 
 
On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Friends of Kingston Station, U.S.  
Sen. Jack Reed, state officials, Amtrak officials, railroad buffs and residents  
will descend on the station for a celebration to commemorate the 10-year  
anniversary of the station’s major renovation project. 
 
Frank Heppner, chairman of the Friends of Kingston Station, said the day  
will be fun-filled and informative and especially exciting for people,  
especially children, who want to see an Acela train blast through the station at  top 
speed. 
 
“We’re going to time it so that one of the high-speed trains is going  
through the station at full speed right before the full speakers program,”  Heppner 
said. “Senator Reed will call the train as it comes through the station  like 
a race announcer. It’s going to be a lot of fun.” 
 
The station will be “all fixed up” for the event, Heppner said, and guided  
tours of the railroad museum located inside the station building will be  
conducted throughout the day. On display will be model railroads, photographs  
depicting South County’s long history with the railroad, and even a high rail  
truck – a standard truck fitted with train wheels so it can drive on the tracks. 
 
With more than 1,000 guests expected, Heppner said that attendees will be  
asked to park in the American Power Conversion parking lot on Fairgrounds Road.  
A shuttle bus will carry people to and from the event. 
 
The Friends of Kingston Station is a group of like-minded volunteers who  
share an interest in trains and railroads. The group was established 30 years  
ago to advocate on behalf of the station. 
 
The first restoration took place in 1974. Volunteers chipped paint and  “
crawled all over the station” to improve the station’s appearance. 
 
Heppner said the group had the foresight to get the station placed on the  
National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s. This act spared the station  
an untimely demise after the 1988 fire, when Amtrak, looking for the cheapest  
route possible, contemplated demolishing it. 
 
The Friends of Kingston Station stepped in and “made Amtrak an offer they  
couldn’t refuse,” Heppner said, and committed themselves to raising a large  
portion of the costs to repair and improve the entire station. 
 
Along with moving the station back from the tracks to make way for  
high-speed trains, the group convinced the state Department of Transportation to  
increase the parking capacity to more than 200 spaces and create an overflow  
parking lot. 
 
“They thought we were nuts,” Heppner said. “They said people didn’t ride  
the train anymore and we’d be lucky to get 200 spaces.” 
 
Even today, many people don’t realize how busy the station has become and  
find themselves out of luck after arriving 10 minutes before a train is due  
expecting to buy a ticket. 
 
“They pull in, the lot is full, they panic, they leave their car on the  
sidewalk and find the train had been sold out for a week,” Heppner said. “One of  
the messages we’ll be trying to distribute is that it ain’t the old days and 
a  lot of people do ride the trains and you have to book in advance.” 
 
The group led a study recently to see how inexpensive and efficient train  
travel out of Kingston Station really is. 
 
The study compared how long it takes and how much it costs to take a train  
directly from Kingston to downtown Manhattan as opposed to driving to 
Providence  to take the train or to T.F. Green Airport in Warwick to board a plane. 
 
With each choice ending up in New York within 10 minutes of each other, the  
route from Kingston Station was the cheapest by far at $94. 
 
To take the train from Providence, factoring in parking and the extra fare  
for the Acela express train out of the city, the total cost was $220. Driving 
to  T.F. Green and taking the plane to LaGuardia Airport and then taking a taxi 
to  Manhattan cost a whopping $540. 
 
“I’d leave it up to you which is the most rational method,” Heppner said. 
 
Along with Senator Reed, a band will be performing music at the  celebration. 
Rep. James Langevin, DOT Director Michael Lewiss and  representatives from 
Operation Lifesaver also will be in attendance. 



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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1784
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org