Sanford Auto Train Station

[Hanno]

I saw that the ground breaking for the remodel of the Sanford station was done last week (or maybe two). Has anyone seen a plan for what the layout will be when this project is completed?

Thanks!

 

[Murjax]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

 

[Hanno]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

Was there any information on the layout of the tracks or do the tracks stay the same as they are now?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

Was there any information on the layout of the tracks or do the tracks stay the same as they are now?

They'd be insane to keep the dual track status. Not saying they won't, just that they'd be insane to do so.

 

[AlanB]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

Was there any information on the layout of the tracks or do the tracks stay the same as they are now?

They'd be insane to keep the dual track status. Not saying they won't, just that they'd be insane to do so.

The original plans did call for them to totally rework the entrance/exit to Sanford, the platform, and the station to accomodate the full train. I read someplace maybe 6 or 9 months ago that those plans were discarded for cost issues and perhaps another reason that I don't recall, if indeed there was another reason.

The current plan is to keep the current track configuration and just replace the existing station AFAIK.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

Was there any information on the layout of the tracks or do the tracks stay the same as they are now?

They'd be insane to keep the dual track status. Not saying they won't, just that they'd be insane to do so.

The original plans did call for them to totally rework the entrance/exit to Sanford, the platform, and the station to accomodate the full train. I read someplace maybe 6 or 9 months ago that those plans were discarded for cost issues and perhaps another reason that I don't recall, if indeed there was another reason.

The current plan is to keep the current track configuration and just replace the existing station AFAIK.

Yeah, but maybe with the stimulus monies they have decided to re do it. It would be awesome, it would cut about 30 minutes off the schedule if they could assemble the car-carrying consist, and then simply shove it onto the back of the consist and take off after the brake test.

Then maybe they could wipe that hour of padding they put on a couple of years ago.

 

[sunchaser]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

IMHO It looks like something straight out of the 1950s or 60s! Looks like a heating/cooling nightmare.

 

[AlanB]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

Was there any information on the layout of the tracks or do the tracks stay the same as they are now?

They'd be insane to keep the dual track status. Not saying they won't, just that they'd be insane to do so.

The original plans did call for them to totally rework the entrance/exit to Sanford, the platform, and the station to accomodate the full train. I read someplace maybe 6 or 9 months ago that those plans were discarded for cost issues and perhaps another reason that I don't recall, if indeed there was another reason.

The current plan is to keep the current track configuration and just replace the existing station AFAIK.

Yeah, but maybe with the stimulus monies they have decided to re do it. It would be awesome, it would cut about 30 minutes off the schedule if they could assemble the car-carrying consist, and then simply shove it onto the back of the consist and take off after the brake test.

Then maybe they could wipe that hour of padding they put on a couple of years ago.

It was only because of stimulus monies that Amtrak is even able to go ahead with the plan. And again, I haven't heard that they've changed the plan.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

That's odd, Alan. I had seen various things last time I took the Auto Train, before the stimulous bill, indicating that Amtrak was going to break ground on the thing on some specific date that currently slips my mind.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

IMHO It looks like something straight out of the 1950s or 60s! Looks like a heating/cooling nightmare.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but yea, you hit it exactly.

Looks like a proposal for an exposition hall at the 1964 Worlds Fair. It just needs an "Amtrak" tram running thru it.

 

[cmthru]

When I was there this past December they had some artwork on display showing what the new station would look like. Mostly it would compliment the appearance of the Lorton station. The waiting area will be significantly larger and the area where they would bring out vehicles will be completely covered like Lorton. I asked if they would continue to split the passenger coaches/sleeper cars as they currently do. Was told they intend on reworking the track to allow the train to pull straight in from the main line, then remove the car carriers, again just like Lorton. The manager I spoke to also said reworking the track would allow them to cut 30-45 minutes off the schedule.

 

[MrFSS]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

IMHO It looks like something straight out of the 1950s or 60s! Looks like a heating/cooling nightmare.

What would you want it to look like?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

IMHO It looks like something straight out of the 1950s or 60s! Looks like a heating/cooling nightmare.

What would you want it to look like?

A perfect replica, full size, in proper materials and attention to detail, of the original Pennsylvania Station, New York.

 

[Tony]

What would you want it to look like?

A train station.

 

[GG-1]

Here's what the completed station is supposed to look like.

IMHO It looks like something straight out of the 1950s or 60s! Looks like a heating/cooling nightmare.

What would you want it to look like?

A perfect replica, full size, in proper materials and attention to detail, of the original Pennsylvania Station, New York.

With or without the Eagle Getting those autoracks in a perfect replica would be a challenge But what a beautiful building. The city "cried" when it was removed.

 

[PRR 60]

A perfect replica, full size, in proper materials and attention to detail, of the original Pennsylvania Station, New York.

With or without the Eagle Getting those autoracks in a perfect replica would be a challenge But what a beautiful building. The city "cried" when it was removed.

Well, to offer my usual counterpoint, I used the old Penn Station multiple times as a teenager. My opinion is that Pennsylvania Station was a magnificent piece of architecture, but a truly lousy train station. It was cavernous, cold, filthy, and poorly designed for passenger movement. Huge area were useless and deserted in the peak of the day, while other areas were crushed with passengers with no place to sit. The glass roof over what is now the Amtrak concourse leaked like a sieve and was nearly opaque from dirt. The interior was smokey from all the cigarettes with little ventilation to clear the air. It was, in my opinion, a dump: a building you wanted to transit as quickly as possible. In that regard, today's Penn Station is a fitting successor, since it is also a dump that you can't wait to leave.

Of course, many of the problems the afflicted the last days of Penn Station were due to the dire financial condition of the PRR and then the PC. But some of the problems were simply due to the fact that the building was impossible to properly operate or maintain. I can not even imagine what it cost to heat that place in the winter, and there was no AC, so summertime in there was truly a special treat.

When I hear pining for the dearly departed Penn Station, I think that maybe those who think so fondly of the place were, in fact, never actually in the building. There are, of course, those who rightly admire the architecture achievement of the structure, but the bottom line is how it perfomed its central purpose: a train station. To that end, I was not impressed.

For my money, the best station ever built by the PRR was 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. It is well laid out, bright, and a great people place. And, unlike Washington Union Station that is a shopping mall with a train station out back, 30th Street is to this day a train station first and foremost. It is at least as good, and most likely better, than the day it opened.

 

[TampAGS]

IMHO It looks like something straight out of the 1950s or 60s! Looks like a heating/cooling nightmare.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but yea, you hit it exactly.

Looks like a proposal for an exposition hall at the 1964 Worlds Fair. It just needs an "Amtrak" tram running thru it.

Unfortunately, it looks very similar in style to a lot of other newer public buildings that have cropped up over the past few years in Florida. At any rate, at least it will be an improvement on the current station.

 

I've only ridden past and never actually visited the current facility. I hadn't realized what a complete and utter crap-shack it is. The tent is a joke, and a lousy one at that. Between the embarrasing condition of the auto-train station and post-apocalyptic ghost-town look of Sanford's neighboring derelict former passenger depot, I imagine arriving passengers might briefly begin to wonder just what they've gotten themselves into. As a major portal for visitors arriving into the state, it hardly exhudes the feeling of Florida hospitality.

 

Local coverage of the groundbreaking, including a video are at this link:

http://www.cfnews13.com/Business/LocalBusi...in_station.html

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Well, to offer my usual counterpoint, I used the old Penn Station multiple times as a teenager. My opinion is that Pennsylvania Station was a magnificent piece of architecture, but a truly lousy train station. It was cavernous, cold, filthy, and poorly designed for passenger movement. Huge area were useless and deserted in the peak of the day, while other areas were crushed with passengers with no place to sit. The glass roof over what is now the Amtrak concourse leaked like a sieve and was nearly opaque from dirt. The interior was smokey from all the cigarettes with little ventilation to clear the air. It was, in my opinion, a dump: a building you wanted to transit as quickly as possible. In that regard, today's Penn Station is a fitting successor, since it is also a dump that you can't wait to leave.

I'm kind of sad to hear that granted all I have is I guess a fantasy that the old Penn Station was the greatest station ever. I'm sure thats not true but still :lol: I agree though I dislike the current Penn Station It would be so much better if there was just a window or 2

 

[Green Maned Lion]

As a major portal for visitors arriving into the state, it hardly exhudes the feeling of Florida hospitality.

Actually, I'd say it shows my impression of Florida hospitality, or the total lack thereof, to the T. Florida is a nasty state full of rednecks to the north, and arrogant, over-monied retirees to the south, an incompetent government, and an infrastructure based on the concept that space has no value. I hate Florida, I think it is the worst state in the entire United States, and the only reason I go there is either in transit to a cruise ship, or to see my girlfriends parents.

The current Sanford station is a fitting microcosm of all that is wrong with Florida, and I'd love for it to stay just the way it is if you truly feel that a station should represent the area it serves.

 

[AlanB]

I've only ridden past and never actually visited the current facility. I hadn't realized what a complete and utter crap-shack it is. The tent is a joke, and a lousy one at that. Between the embarrasing condition of the auto-train station and post-apocalyptic ghost-town look of Sanford's neighboring derelict former passenger depot, I imagine arriving passengers might briefly begin to wonder just what they've gotten themselves into. As a major portal for visitors arriving into the state, it hardly exhudes the feeling of Florida hospitality.

As someone who has used the Auto Train on several occasions, both pre-tent and post-tent, I can tell you that it is one heck of an improvement over what used to be there. Which was basically nothing. Assuming that you weren't one of the lucky ones to gget into the small building, you used to have a glass roof over your head in the tent area that let in the sun, and a couple of fans to push around that wonderful hot, humid Florida air.

Now at least with the bubble tent, one isn't stuck out in the sun and one now has AC. That's a major improvement over how things used to be.

All that said, yes, I'm certainly looking forward to the new station, which will be a huge improvement over things.

 

[GG-1]

I'm kind of sad to hear that granted all I have is I guess a fantasy that the old Penn Station was the greatest station ever. I'm sure that's not true but still :lol: I agree though I dislike the current Penn Station It would be so much better if there was just a window or 2

Aloha

I share the same fantasy as It came down and was replaced by Madison Square Garden about the time I moved to Manhattan. Would be hard to have windows that go through an Arena, theaters, and other stuff.

 

[TampAGS]

As a major portal for visitors arriving into the state, it hardly exhudes the feeling of Florida hospitality.

Actually, I'd say it shows my impression of Florida hospitality, or the total lack thereof, to the T. Florida is a nasty state full of rednecks to the north, and arrogant, over-monied retirees to the south, an incompetent government, and an infrastructure based on the concept that space has no value. I hate Florida, I think it is the worst state in the entire United States, and the only reason I go there is either in transit to a cruise ship, or to see my girlfriends parents.

The current Sanford station is a fitting microcosm of all that is wrong with Florida, and I'd love for it to stay just the way it is if you truly feel that a station should represent the area it serves.

Ok, but don't hold back... what do you really think of Florida? Lol...

 

My point was that in a state where attention is generally paid towards tourist-frequented public structures and attempts made to make them look welcoming and comfortable, the Auto-Train station sadly and for too long did not benefit from such consideration. It sticks out like a sore thumb when compared to Florida's highway welcome stations, airports, and cruise terminals. Even Florida's other Amtrak stations, or at least the majority of them, look more inviting.

 

As for the state in general, I'll be the first to admit Florida has more than its share of problems and flaws. Though, to be fair, the criticism of "Incompetent government" could be levied at many other states. Your assessment of the infrastructure reads a bit cryptic to me, so I may not understand correctly. If you mean that no value or consideration is given to conserving space, or space is seen as unlimited, I'll agree. Florida lacks appropriate density in its development and there is too much (sub)urban sprawl. This, again, could be said about many, if not most other states.

 

Sanford station may well be a microcosm of all that ails Florida. If so, there could be greater implications, since Florida, as a "bellweather" state and the nation's 4th largest, is frequently described as a microcosm of the US as a whole.

 

[Amtrak OBS Gone Freight]

As a major portal for visitors arriving into the state, it hardly exhudes the feeling of Florida hospitality.

Actually, I'd say it shows my impression of Florida hospitality, or the total lack thereof, to the T. Florida is a nasty state full of rednecks to the north, and arrogant, over-monied retirees to the south, an incompetent government, and an infrastructure based on the concept that space has no value. I hate Florida, I think it is the worst state in the entire United States, and the only reason I go there is either in transit to a cruise ship, or to see my girlfriends parents.

The current Sanford station is a fitting microcosm of all that is wrong with Florida, and I'd love for it to stay just the way it is if you truly feel that a station should represent the area it serves.

Lion,

In all due respect to you my friend, I am gonna bust your chops on this one. I find a couple of those remarks to be very offensive to me (and probably most of us who are native to this great state), and while you are entitled to your opinion, here's mine! At least you aren't one of these I speak of below (so therefore I must give you that respect, my friend).

As a native born fourth generation Floridian I have the same feelings about the North (especially Northern NJ, PHL, BOS, NYC, and even WAS) to some degree! So with that said, the irony to all this is there seems to be a whole slew of "carpet bagger northerners" who prefer to call our great state HOME! I just wish they would leave NJ, NY, PA, etc back up there when they move here! So Florida is obviously a preferred place to reside by many! Explain that my friend! Our great state has lost a whole lot of its hospitality because the vast majority of the state is from somewhere else (with a huge majority of the more wealthy snotty folks or inner city ghetto rats being from the urban Northeast)! At least we are not subjected to a state income tax, a substantial luxury tax on my RV, an ad valorum tax on every vehicle owned by me personally and my business, and outrageous through the roof property tax rates (at least not in my area), don't have to deal with snow and ice, my second amendment rights are better preserved here, etc. The list goes on and on!

Personally, I have no intentions of ever leaving my great native state (despite its problems)! But I have no problem telling any Northerner where to put it when they complain about our state, or expect life to be like it is "up home!" These carpet bagger folks are merely getting what they asked for (a touch of the urban northern way of life)! And us native Floridians resent the the nasty attitudes of the majority of urban Northerners! It has nothing to do with the civil war or that area of history! We are tired of this urban northern attitude of many transplants who call Florida home! I am from the country, live in the country, but I am far from the description of a redneck (or as in your use of the new terminology of it meaning country folk white trash). I am sorry to hear you feel that way about Florida, but there ya have it! Y'all can keep the North (or at least the urban North)and your way of life up THERE!

Now that my rant is complete....

The new Sanford Auto Train Station will be a great representation of Florida to those who arrive into the state on Amtrak's most popular East Coast train, and most of us will be proud of it. It is high time Amtrak have the ability to get with the program, upgrade, and expand. And hopefully our glorious middle management will be held accountable in the coming years to produce a useful, valuable service to the traveling public who chose rail as their mode of transport.

OBS gone freight...

 

[sunchaser]

What would you want it to look like?

A train station.

Well, in Florida aren't there quite a few Art Deco buildings? IMHO, I would expect that 'the design people' would have had that in mind... Art Deco is kind a cool. I do like the classical architecture of the older stations, but would that fit in better with the other buildings there? This design just seems to be an odd fit to me. Seems to be cold & a bit sterile. But I'm no expert on this subject.

 

[Amtrak OBS Gone Freight]

What would you want it to look like?

A train station.

Well, in Florida aren't there quite a few Art Deco buildings? IMHO, I would expect that 'the design people' would have had that in mind... Art Deco is kind a cool. I do like the classical architecture of the older stations, but would that fit in better with the other buildings there? This design just seems to be an odd fit to me. Seems to be cold & a bit sterile. But I'm no expert on this subject.

Then you would like the architecture to pretty much all of Miami's South Beach and downtown Celebration, FL (which is a Disney creation of course with a 1940s early 1950s feel to it).

But anyway, a major point with this project taking place is the mere fact that Amtrak has outgrown the existing station building, and needs to update and expand it to a point where it will again be usable for its purpose. Personally, anything will be better than the existing building! So even as I may disagree with Green Maned Lion's standpoint, it is still a true fact that the station represents the area for which it serves. And that area of Sanford is not the greatest area in Florida, but the station's appearance could possibly make a difference to those who are visiting. So why not make the necessary improvements? Most developed property around a railroad tends to be an eyesore anyway. The least we can do is to have our rail facilities make a good impression of the community! Yeah I know, that's a lot to ask!

OBS gone freight...