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Atmore Train Station Would Be Demolished Under Amtrak Plan
July 20, 2009
It’s has been an iconic symbol of Atmore for years, but if Congress approves one of three Amtrak proposals, the train station in Atmore will be demolished and replaced.
Amtrak has presented three proposals to Congress for reestablishing passenger rail service from New Orleans to Orlando. (Read more here.) Passenger service on the route ended in August, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast and stopped the Sunset Limited line. That left cities like Mobile, Atmore and Pensacola without rail service.
The Atmore train station has appeared in promotion materials for the city and the town’s chamber of commerce, appeared on t-shirts and been the background for many a photograph. It’s a quaint little building, with a single room, a covered area with two benches and a long passenger ramp. To a passerby on Highway 31, it still appears as it did in in the day when the sounds of “All Aboard” echoed above the sounds of the diesel engines of the Sunset Limited and the Gulf Breeze.
The building was constructed for the Gulf Breeze, a daily Mobile to Birmingham passenger rail route that begin in 1989 and ran until April 1, 1995.
But a closer look reveals the stresses of time on the building. The door to the single small room is missing. It’s nothing more than an empty room holding empty brochure racks. Outside, on the covered area, the two benches sit empty most of the time, or sometimes play host to a dad that stops by to show his children the passing freight trains as they rumble past. The passenger ramp shows great age, with many boards cracked or turned upwards on their ends. Walking the ramp’s edge without tripping can prove a challenge.
The building’s age, and the fact it does not meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, is why Amtrak is recommending that Congress agree that the building be demolished and replaced at a cost of $740,147, if the proposal to return rail service between New Orleans and Orlando is approved.
The total cost for the Atmore station would include $238,881 to build the actual station, $165,000 for an electronic sign board to provide real time train status updates, $84,346 in “flagging precautions” to protect rail workers, and $110,000 for an electronic ticket system. ADA improvement would cost another $10,571 at the station, $56,791 for pathway construction and $74,528 for platform construction improvements.
The total ongoing cost to run the stations would be an estimated $2,959 per year.
Documents obtained by NorthEscambia.com show that very few people — less than an average of three per week — ever boarded the Sunset Limited in Atmore. In 2003, there were 223 that boarded the passenger rail service in Atmore; 292 in 2004; and 255 prior to the service’s end in August 2005.
If Congress approves one of Amtrak’s New Orleans to Orlando plans, it would take up to 20 months to complete the repairs or reconstruction of the 13 stations along the route, including Atmore.
Pictured top: The train station in Atmore has not seen a passenger train since August, 2005. Pictured inset: The boards along the ramp are rotten and bowing upwards. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
10 Responses to “Atmore Train Station Would Be Demolished Under Amtrak Plan”
There’s something funny about the way the numbers are broken down. I have a strong suspicion that the expensive part is building an ADA-compliant platform (concrete, most likely) — and building it is probably easier if the building is out of the way.
I wonder if the building could be picked up and put back in place on top of the new concrete platform/ramp/floor? It could have holes left in it to put the columns in.
Maybe the Creek Indian Casino could offer some incentives to bring possible customers to their new facility through the rail system? Just a thought….
its a charming building try like the dickens to keep it
In college in the 1960’s, one of my best friends (Richard M.) was from Atmore, and he traveled occasionally from there to Nashville, where we were in school. He loved the train ride, but I doubt he has ever seen the “new” Atmore Amtrak station (having lived in Orange County, CA for many years). I think he would be deeply saddened (as would I) to see this “mini-landmark” razed in the name of progress, the ADA, or for any other reason. It needs some TLC and a GREAT DEAL LESS MONEY invested to make it a permanent and useful part of Atmore’s restored rail transportation service.
“Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take…”
-Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Well, well ,well, Atmore has plenty of money … Hmmm
The Rat is named AMTRAK. The study for restoring the service is terribly inflated as to cost, and terribly toned down as to potential ridership. Remember though that the figures cited for the Atmore station (which I think is a great architectural gem really) are based on top dollar, which is the safer way to estimate. I suspect that if Atmore elected to do the work with local people, and some federal assistance an excellent work, which the people would be very proud of, could be accomplished for far less than the AMtrak estimate.
For whatever reason, I would often awaken in my sleeper roomette as we came to Atmore and I like to see the sight, in the dim lighting as we passed. if 255 people got on/off in a year, with a 3 times a week schedule, and many times the train being stopped at NewOrleans, I suspect a daily would attract many more.
that’s udderly RIDICULOUS…it does not cost that much to do all of that. You could build a HUGE house for that kind of money, someone is trying to get rich off of this…i smell a rat
I don’t understand why the Atmore Train Station would have to be torn down. If the train is going to stop there then why not refurbish it and make it possibly even bigger to accommodate the passengers boarding there. Amtrak will take on passengers there, right? Is’t Amtrak going to be footing most of the bills for this anyway since it’s their idea to reopen the rails from New Orleans to Orlando? All of the Amtrak stations I saw from San Antonio to Los Angeles & up the coast of CA used the same old train stations that were refurbished and they are beautiful buildings.
It would be a shame to tear down that cute little building that is a part of the nostalgia of Atmore. It gives Atmore that little part of small town America flavor.
If Amtrak isn’t going to use it, it couldn’t possibly cost that much for a new platform and fresh coat of paint.
I suggest that for $100,000 they put in a ramp and pave the platform.
Now, I’m OK with paying $750K for a new station, so long as we can charge each person that boards next year $5000 for a ticket.
Another story on NE before it is in the Atmore papers. No wonder everybody I know in Atmore looks here for local news.