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Re: (rshsdepot) Kingston, RI

Kingston Station website :

http://kingstonstation.org/  or
http://www.trainweb.org/kin/

Jim.

- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: <I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com>
To: <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 3:44 PM
Subject: (rshsdepot) Kingston, RI


> 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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>
> =================================
> The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
> railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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> 

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

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1785
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=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org