Any word on Demolition of Sanderson Station?

[MontanaJim]

I was thinking of taking the sunset limited to sanderson sometime in march or april. I like desert routes and id like to say i stopped and visited the least-used amtrak stop. would be great to go there when the old station is still standing. Anyone know if it still is and if so, when it will be demolished? i heard sometime early this year. Jim

 

[Bob Dylan]

I was thinking of taking the sunset limited to sanderson sometime in march or april. I like desert routes and id like to say i stopped and visited the least-used amtrak stop. would be great to go there when the old station is still standing. Anyone know if it still is and if so, when it will be demolished? i heard sometime early this year. Jim

The Station (if it can be called that! )is still there, they do plan to tear it down but some locals (there aren't many left, Sanderson is turning into a Ghost Town!)have formed a group to "Save" it, but no real need to, it's a dump! You are aware that Sanderson is a "FlagStop" on the Sunset/Eagle Route right? The only days you can make Connections are Thursday and Saturday since #21/#421 Arrives @ 11;10AM and #22/#422 Leaves @ 3;36PM. Theres not much to do here but hang out waiting on the Train. A better plan might be to consider booking to Alpine and if the Trains run late you could Bail in Sanderson, but be sure and let the Conductor and OBS know if this is the case since it is a Flag Stop!!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I was thinking of taking the sunset limited to sanderson sometime in march or april. I like desert routes and id like to say i stopped and visited the least-used amtrak stop. would be great to go there when the old station is still standing. Anyone know if it still is and if so, when it will be demolished? i heard sometime early this year. Jim

Well, if Sanderson gets closed/demolished, you could still take the Cardinal to Thurmond, West Virginia. That's the second least used Amtrak stop, as far as I know.

 

[MontanaJim]

I was thinking of taking the sunset limited to sanderson sometime in march or april. I like desert routes and id like to say i stopped and visited the least-used amtrak stop. would be great to go there when the old station is still standing. Anyone know if it still is and if so, when it will be demolished? i heard sometime early this year. Jim

The Station (if it can be called that! )is still there, they do plan to tear it down but some locals (there aren't many left, Sanderson is turning into a Ghost Town!)have formed a group to "Save" it, but no real need to, it's a dump! You are aware that Sanderson is a "FlagStop" on the Sunset/Eagle Route right? The only days you can make Connections are Thursday and Saturday since #21/#421 Arrives @ 11;10AM and #22/#422 Leaves @ 3;36PM. Theres not much to do here but hang out waiting on the Train. A better plan might be to consider booking to Alpine and if the Trains run late you could Bail in Sanderson, but be sure and let the Conductor and OBS know if this is the case since it is a Flag Stop!!

You mean bail in Del rio? id travel on a saturday. i guess if the train broke down between del rio and sanderson i could jump out the window and catch the eastbound sunset! Or maybe there is a hotel i can stay at in sanderson for a couple of nights, LOL

 

[johnny.menhennet]

I was thinking of taking the sunset limited to sanderson sometime in march or april. I like desert routes and id like to say i stopped and visited the least-used amtrak stop. would be great to go there when the old station is still standing. Anyone know if it still is and if so, when it will be demolished? i heard sometime early this year. Jim

Well, if Sanderson gets closed/demolished, you could still take the Cardinal to Thurmond, West Virginia. That's the second least used Amtrak stop, as far as I know.

I think North Philadelphia beats out even that!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I was thinking of taking the sunset limited to sanderson sometime in march or april. I like desert routes and id like to say i stopped and visited the least-used amtrak stop. would be great to go there when the old station is still standing. Anyone know if it still is and if so, when it will be demolished? i heard sometime early this year. Jim

Well, if Sanderson gets closed/demolished, you could still take the Cardinal to Thurmond, West Virginia. That's the second least used Amtrak stop, as far as I know.

I think North Philadelphia beats out even that!

But North Philadelphia has commuter traffic. Thurmond is in the "middle of nowhere." No offense.

 

[daveyb99]

Last I saw that station, it was about to fall over. While I am all for history, how you "save" that station is beyond me.

If you want to go to Sanderson, I would plan 2 days. You can try to bail at Alpine, at Del Rio, or try some crafty timing stunt and ask for a flag stop ... but no matter what, the train only runs 3 says per week. I can not locate any lodging in Sanderson, so you might want to call the Mayor and ask him for a room

 

[MontanaJim]

I emailed the editor of the local paper and also another person involved in efforts to save the station. they tell me that the station hasnt been demolished yet, but it could be at anytime. Apparently UP has hired a demolition crew and they are just working out details with Amtrak, and that once Amtrak gives the go ahead, demolition will begin. Is there anything that we as Amtrak fans can do to help the cause? let someone in authority at Amtrak know that they should try to work with UP to save the depot? Apparently, UP turned down a rancher's offer to pay for the depot to be moved to a nearby vacant lot.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Supposedly the depot was going to cost $200,000-$300,000 to restore. That's some pretty big money for a small town. Luckily there were $500,000 in federal funds authorized for the purpose of restoring the depot. However, the city council of Sanderson refused the funds. Which I guess is pretty much what you would expect from a tiny Texas town in the middle of nowhere. Personally I think I'd rather help raise funds to help demolish the rest of Sanderson than try to save the depot. :lol:

 

[Bob Dylan]

As I said in my previous Post, that place is a Dump! It's Falling Down, Dangerous and Not Worth Moving, Fixing Up etc. Besides that, there's Nothing to use it for in Sanderson, the Money could better be used in a place like Alpine that has a Nice Station (unstaffed) that needs Rennovation badly! Ill give one more plug to the place of my Birth, Alpine! :wub: Check it out, nice little Mountain town with lots of interesting stuff in the Big Bend and Davis Mountain Area!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

As I said in my previous Post, that place is a Dump! It's Falling Down, Dangerous and Not Worth Moving, Fixing Up etc. Besides that, there's Nothing to use it for in Sanderson, the Money could better be used in a place like Alpine that has a Nice Station (unstaffed) that needs Rennovation badly! I'll give one more plug to the place of my Birth, Alpine! Check it out, nice little Mountain town with lots of interesting stuff in the Big Bend and Davis Mountain Area!

I don't know who precisely is picking up the tab, but it would appear someone is paying to improve ALP...

For those who are not aware, that's a brand new platform with new fence, new lights, new signs, etc. Nothing different inside the station that I could see as of a month and a half ago. The funny thing is that unless the train is extremely late you'd never need any of those lights as both 1&2 pass through ALP in the middle of the day. On those rare days when any passenger train passes at all. -_-

 

[Grandpa D]

I can not locate any lodging in Sanderson, so you might want to call the Mayor and ask him for a room .

There are 4 motels in Sanderson; the Budget Inn looks like the best bet. It's 7 blocks from Amtrak.

As for Sanderson disappearing, it's the county seat for Terrell County. Sanderson will be there long after any of us. If it could survive the flood of '65 it can survive anything.