Winter Park, FL breaks ground on new station

[Scott Orlando]

In the 'something I thought I would ever live to see' category...my hometown Winter Park has broken ground on a new rail station. The platforms and track have been undergoing serious work for months, but the cornerstone, a brand new station, is now under construction. The 1962 ACL station will be replaced with a 2400 sq ft structure for the Amtrak Silvers, Sunrail and Lynx bus service....(and hopefully the Sunset Limited and more...)

http://www.greatamericanstations.com/station-news/ground-broken-for-new-winter-park-fla.-station

 

[chrsjrcj]

Looks good.

Wonder if they'll redo Orlando's building too.

 

[Scott Orlando]

I am very curious how Orlando will look. From the plans it looks as if only the platforms and track will be affected. Which leads me to wonder how a station built in 1926 will look with the modern touches. (And how the 1889 Church Street station downtown will look too!) I have faith that they can blend them together and have it look good. The old platforms were crumbling and there was no shelter outside of the open air waiting area, so any improvement is welcome. Orlando has a nice character to it, but still needs a good sandblasting and some paint.

 

[crescent2]

Congrats to you Sunshine State folks! Hopefully you'll see the SL again someday.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Sounds like Florida is doing a Good job with Rail Inspite of the Anti-Rail Governor!

When it comes to Orlando, Penny's Condo is a Much Nicer Place to Wait for the Train, Healthy Snacks, Cold Beer and she'll even Shuttle you to the station in her Honda Limo! :giggle:

 

[crescent2]

I'm going to Orlando in March with three of my girl friends for a couple of days. Penny, how nice of you to put everyone up!!

 

[Scott Orlando]

Gov Scott is hard to figure out. I voted for him, because I liked his ideas. But like all politicians, what they say will do and actually do are completely different. To his credit, he has helped create non-service jobs and has cut unnecessary spending. But for transportation, he loves ships and hates rail. All for Panamax expansion in Florida, especially Miami. But Florida HSR and Sunrail he couldn't see the light. Luckily he spared at least one. But both Sunrail and HSR have faced long battles. HSR has been on-off-on-off. It pains me to hear people say "Who will ride a train from TPA to ORL?". Gee,...not that many... if thats where you stop building. How about "Who will ride TPA to ORL to MIA to JAX to ATL to ...". Its off topic so I will stop. But as I always say, "build it now or in 10 years for twice as much?"

 

[pennyk]

Sounds like Florida is doing a Good job with Rail Inspite of the Anti-Rail Governor!
When it comes to Orlando, Penny's Condo is a Much Nicer Place to Wait for the Train, Healthy Snacks, Cold Beer and she'll even Shuttle you to the station in her Honda Limo! :giggle:

What??????? I do not have a "waiting room" in my condo, however, I do wave when my friends are coming through town and depending on my schedule, I sometimes visit friends while they are in Orlando waiting on a Silver.

I have not heard of any major renovations to the Orlando station, but am looking forward to the new WPK station.

 

[the_traveler]

Sounds like Florida is doing a Good job with Rail Inspite of the Anti-Rail Governor!
When it comes to Orlando, Penny's Condo is a Much Nicer Place to Wait for the Train, Healthy Snacks, Cold Beer and she'll even Shuttle you to the station in her Honda Limo! :giggle:

What??????? I do not have a "waiting room" in my condo, however, I do wave when my friends are coming through town and depending on my schedule, I sometimes visit friends while they are in Orlando waiting on a Silver.

Your "office" doesn't have a waiting room? :giggle:

You didn't come to see Jim & I when we came thru. You only saw us when you yourself left the Silver.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Good to see that Winter Park is getting a nice new station. When we were there in January it was obvious that no more money would be spent on the old station. Now we know why?

It looks like it will be real showcase and something that WPK can be proud of. Look forward to our next visit. Perhaps the new station will be completed by next January.

It will sure make those points runs for Penny more enjoyable...

 

[the_traveler]

Now if Penny could just schedule a FL mini-Gathering in WPK when it's not 59 degrees so we all can see it!

 

[pennyk]

Now if Penny could just schedule a FL mini-Gathering in WPK when it's not 59 degrees so we all can see it!

You do not want to come this weekend. We are having a cold front - predicted low in Orlando on Saturday and Sunday is 39 degrees. :help:

 

[the_traveler]

The new depot is not built yet.

 

[Scott Orlando]

Good to see that Winter Park is getting a nice new station. When we were there in January it was obvious that no more money would be spent on the old station. Now we know why? It looks like it will be real showcase and something that WPK can be proud of. Look forward to our next visit. Perhaps the new station will be completed by next January.

It will sure make those points runs for Penny more enjoyable...

The new WPK is long overdue. As a boy I rode my bike to see the trains at this station. Later, as I saw stations like Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville Terminal (without service of course), and much later Washington and Chicago....I realized my hometown station was pretty much a bomb shelter above ground. If you have ever been to WPK it is in an ideal spot. It is in the middle of a beautiful park, with trendy (cough cough) shopping and nice restaurants in short walking distance. A smaller version of Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. It really is one spot where spending some money on a nice little station makes sense. Sunrail should only add compliment to the overall picture. But, I am obviously biased, thrilled this little station is getting a new lease on life.

 

[the_traveler]

Good to see that Winter Park is getting a nice new station. When we were there in January it was obvious that no more money would be spent on the old station. Now we know why? It looks like it will be real showcase and something that WPK can be proud of. Look forward to our next visit. Perhaps the new station will be completed by next January.

It will sure make those points runs for Penny more enjoyable...

The new WPK is long overdue. As a boy I rode my bike to see the trains at this station. Later, as I saw stations like Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville Terminal (without service of course), and much later Washington and Chicago....I realized my hometown station was pretty much a bomb shelter above ground. If you have ever been to WPK it is in an ideal spot. It is in the middle of a beautiful park, with trendy (cough cough) shopping and nice restaurants in short walking distance. A smaller version of Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. It really is one spot where spending some money on a nice station makes sense. Sunrail should only add compliment to the overall picture. But, I am obviously biased, thrilled this little station is getting a new lease on life.

I completely agree with you on all points! I too am biased, but I think my home station of KIN and the location of WPK are the 2 best small(er) town stations on Amtrak!

 

[Caesar La Rock]

I have several images of the station's work in progress and it's coming together nicely. I will post them on here ASAP.

 

[Anderson]

Gov Scott is hard to figure out. I voted for him, because I liked his ideas. But like all politicians, what they say will do and actually do are completely different. To his credit, he has helped create non-service jobs and has cut unnecessary spending. But for transportation, he loves ships and hates rail. All for Panamax expansion in Florida, especially Miami. But Florida HSR and Sunrail he couldn't see the light. Luckily he spared at least one. But both Sunrail and HSR have faced long battles. HSR has been on-off-on-off. It pains me to hear people say "Who will ride a train from TPA to ORL?". Gee,...not that many... if thats where you stop building. How about "Who will ride TPA to ORL to MIA to JAX to ATL to ...". Its off topic so I will stop. But as I always say, "build it now or in 10 years for twice as much?"

He didn't have the capital to kill both. As it was, HSR caused his caucus to revolt right off the bat, and he got the message; I think had he gone for SunRail as well, on top of the report coming out in favor of HSR, he would have had a large portion of his caucus gunning for him and he knew it.

 

[AlanB]

Gov Scott is hard to figure out. I voted for him, because I liked his ideas. But like all politicians, what they say will do and actually do are completely different. To his credit, he has helped create non-service jobs and has cut unnecessary spending. But for transportation, he loves ships and hates rail. All for Panamax expansion in Florida, especially Miami. But Florida HSR and Sunrail he couldn't see the light. Luckily he spared at least one. But both Sunrail and HSR have faced long battles. HSR has been on-off-on-off. It pains me to hear people say "Who will ride a train from TPA to ORL?". Gee,...not that many... if thats where you stop building. How about "Who will ride TPA to ORL to MIA to JAX to ATL to ...". Its off topic so I will stop. But as I always say, "build it now or in 10 years for twice as much?"

He didn't have the capital to kill both. As it was, HSR caused his caucus to revolt right off the bat, and he got the message; I think had he gone for SunRail as well, on top of the report coming out in favor of HSR, he would have had a large portion of his caucus gunning for him and he knew it.

Agreed, he didn't have the capital to kill Sunrail after he knocked off HSR. In addition to the legislature taking him to court to try to force his hand, working with Ray Lahood to see if they could find away around his back to proceed, the State Senate also rebuked him. Sixteen Republican State Senators joined with ten Dem's to form a veto proof majority in rebuking him.

If he had tried to kill Sunrail after that, I think he'd have faced a recall, assuming Florida allows that.

 

[afigg]

Amtrak has cranked out a few press releases in the past 2 days including this one on the ground breaking for the Winter Park station.

WASHINGTON – Today, Amtrak joined the City of Winter Park, Florida Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration and community leaders for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Winter Park Train Station. The new 2,400 square-foot building will feature craftsman-style architecture and include ADA-compliant restrooms and a lobby to greet and welcome train visitors to Winter Park. The statement below is from Amtrak:“The Winter Park Station is an important part of the Amtrak national network. The Silver Meteor and Silver Star both serve this station, and will continue to do so during construction, providing convenient access south to Miami and north to New York. Since fiscal year 2002, this station has seen a 40 percent increase in passenger ons and offs with more than 33,400 last year. The new station will provide a long-term viable solution for continued growth in ridership and bring many benefits to the community including economic development and tourism growth.

“We applaud the City of Winter Park, Florida Department of Transportation and everyone in the community for their efforts to coordinate this new station and encourage passenger rail growth.”

Oops, hit post too soon. With regards to Gov. Scott, from what I have read, is considered to be facing an uphill re-election battle, mostly likely against former Gov. Crist, now a Democrat, in 2014, in large part because he has ticked a lot of people off, both Republicans and Democrats.