Bedford station was an

intercity rail Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...

station located in Bedford, Virginia. It was served by

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

passenger trains until 1971. It was later served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

'' from 1975 to 1977, then the '' Hilltopper'' until 1979. The station building remains extant and is used as a restaurant.

History

The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was built through Bedford in 1857; stations at Bedford were served for over a century. Even as local service petered out in the 1960s, the

(N&W) continued to run the crack Norfolk–Cincinnati '' Pocahontas'' and the local station counterpart on the same route, the ''

Powhatan Arrow The ''Powhatan Arrow'' was one of the named passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western. Its route ran from Norfolk, Virginia, to Cincinnati, Ohio. Train 25 left Norfolk at 7:00 am,N&W October 27, 1957 Timetable, p. 14 and made the 565 mile ru ...

.'' The N&W also operated the Birmingham–Washington ''

Birmingham Special The ''Birmingham Special'' was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after A ...

'' (unnamed after February 1970 and cut back to Bristol in August 1970), the New Orleans-Washington ''

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

'' (discontinued, 1970) and the Memphis-bound ''

Tennessean Tennessean refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the state of Tennessee, including: * ''The Tennessean'' newspaper * Tennessean (train) See also * List of people from Tennessee * Tennessine Tennessine is a synthetic chemica ...

.'' When

took over intercity passenger rail service on May 1, 1971, it chose not to continue service on these trains, thus ending service to Bedford.

Amtrak service

Service was restored on March 24, 1975, with the introduction of the ''

'' service between Norfolk and Chicago. The ''Mountaineer'' was replaced by the '' Hilltopper'' on June 1, 1977. The ''Hilltopper'' was discontinued on October 1, 1979, ending rail service to Bedford for the second time. The station building was later repurposed as a restaurant.

Proposed new service

Amtrak's ''

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busies ...

'' service was extended to Roanoke station on October 31, 2017. The town of Bedford requested an intermediate station stop, but this was denied because of low projected ridership. However, in 2016, the town hired a consultant to further study the potential for a station.

References

External links

Citizens For a Bedford Train StationLiberty Station Restaurant
Transportation in Bedford County, Virginia Buildings and structures in Bedford County, Virginia Former Amtrak stations in Virginia Former Norfolk and Western Railway stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1975 Repurposed railway stations in the United States Railway stations in the United States closed in 1971 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1979 {{Virginia-railstation-stub