Centralia station (Washington)

Centralia Union Depot
Amtrak inter-city rail station
Centralia Union Depot in 2011
Location 210 Railroad Avenue
Centralia, Washington 98531[1]
 United States
Coordinates 46°43′03″N 122°57′10″W / 46.7174°N 122.9529°W / 46.7174; -122.9529
Owned by BNSF Railway & City of Centralia[2]
Line(s) BNSF Railway Seattle Subdivision
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 1
Connections Twin Transit
Construction
Parking Free
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code CTL
History
Opened 1912[3][2]
Rebuilt 2002[2][4]
Traffic
Passengers (2016) 25,871[5] Increase 4.36%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Amtrak Cascades
toward Los Angeles
Coast Starlight
toward Seattle
  Former services  
toward Seattle
Pioneer
Discontinued in 1997
toward Chicago
Centralia Union Depot
Location 210 Railroad Avenue
Centralia, Washington
Coordinates 46°43′03″N 122°57′10″W / 46.7174°N 122.9529°W / 46.7174; -122.9529Coordinates: 46°43′03″N 122°57′10″W / 46.7174°N 122.9529°W / 46.7174; -122.9529
NRHP reference # 88000608
Added to NRHP 1988[6]

The Centralia Union Depot is an Amtrak train station in Centralia, Washington, United States. It is served by the Cascades and Coast Starlight trains.

The track and platforms are owned by BNSF Railway. Local transit connections are provided by Twin Transit.

History

The station was constructed by the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) and opened in 1912. It is the third station to have been constructed in Centralia since rail service began in 1880.[7]

The large brick structure was built to accommodate a 400% population boom in the area from 1900-1914. Only 2 years after its opening, Centralia Union Depot was being served by 44 passenger trains and 17 freight trains daily. The station faced 14 hotels along Tower Avenue, as well as 5 theaters and 8 banks in the downtown core.[8]

NP later merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) in 1970, and Amtrak began operating passenger rail service on the Seattle–Portland route on May 1, 1971. Amtrak trains initially did not stop in Centralia, but were added during a service change on July 12, 1971.[9] The demise of NP, coupled with increased automobile traffic on Interstate 5 saw the Centralia Union Depot deteriorate, much as the city's downtown core was experiencing economic decline. Local civic leaders recognized the problem during the mid-1980s and began a two-decade project that would see the structure acquired by the city and restored as part of a larger downtown revitalization project.[8]

The 1996 merger of BN with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to form the BNSF Railway (BNSF) spurred both the city and the state Department of Transportation (Rail Branch) to negotiate with BNSF to acquire the depot.[8] Following its purchase, the city began the design process for the historic restoration which took place as follows:

  • Phase 1 (1996) consisted of exterior work. Stabilize structure deterioration, restore roof dormers that had been removed, install new tile roof, re-point brick exterior, new utilities, new parking lots at each end of the building.[8]
  • Phase 2 (2000) consisted of interior work. New floors, restored mill work and brass fittings, Amtrak ticket office, baggage room, freight room, express building, HVAC, elevator.[8]

The restoration project was completed in April 2002 and celebrated in the city's "Railroad Days" festival.[8]

The depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[10]

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "Centralia, WA (CTL)". amtrak.com. Amtrak. Retrieved 12 Jan 2014.
    2. 1 2 3 "Great American Stations: Centralia, WA (CTL)". greatamericanstations.com. Amtrak. Retrieved 12 Jan 2014.
    3. ↑ "Centralia". www.amtrakcascades.com. Amtrak. Retrieved 12 Jan 2014.
    4. ↑ "Amtrak Cascades Ridership and Station On-Off Information" (PDF). www.wsdot.wa.gov. Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved 12 Jan 2014.
    5. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2016, State of Washington" (PDF). amtrak.com. Amtrak. Nov 2016. Retrieved 17 Jan 2017.
    6. ↑ "National Register of Historical Places: Listings in Lewis County". www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. American Dreams Inc. Retrieved 11 Mar 2011.
    7. ↑ "Centralia Union Depot - Centralia, Washington". waymarking.com. Groundspeak, Inc. Retrieved 12 Jan 2014.
    8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Restoration of the Historic Centralia Railroad Depot" (PDF). www.awcnet.org. City of Centralia Community Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-12.
    9. ↑ "Amtrak adds stops on Portland trains". The Seattle Times. July 7, 1971. p. A18.
    10. ↑ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

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