Lancaster (Amtrak station)
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Lancaster station is an
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 ...
railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...
and a former
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
station in Lancaster, Lancaster County in the U.S. state of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Located on the Keystone Corridor, the station is served by the ''
Keystone Service Amtrak's ''Keystone Service'' provides frequent regional rail, regional passenger train service between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to ...
'' between
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...
, and by the ''
Pennsylvanian Pennsylvanian may refer to: * A person or thing from Pennsylvania * Pennsylvanian (geology) The Pennsylvanian ( , also known as Upper Carboniferous or Late Carboniferous) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS geologic timesca ...
'' between New York and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. Lancaster is the second busiest Amtrak station in Pennsylvania, and the twenty-first busiest in the United States. It is one of the busiest Amtrak stations serving a metropolitan area smaller than two million people, primarily because of the large number of passengers traveling to and from Philadelphia and points east. The first railroad station to be established in Lancaster was on the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad in 1834. The station was acquired by the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
in 1857 who replaced it with a new building. The current station building was constructed in 1929 north of the city by the Pennsylvania after a rail line bypassing the city was opened. Currently owned 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 ...
, the station is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
as part of the
Lancaster City Historic District The Lancaster City Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Lancaster and Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. History and architectu ...
.


Services and facilities

The Lancaster station is located on East McGovern Avenue, westbound
Pennsylvania Route 272 Pennsylvania Route 272 (PA 272) is a highway in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the Lancaster area. The southern terminus of the route is at the Mason–Dixon line southeast of Nottingham, where the road continues into Maryland as Maryland Route ...
and
U.S. Route 222 U.S. Route 222 (US 222) is a U.S. Highway that is a spur of US 22 in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. It runs for from US 1 in Conowingo, Maryland, north to Interstate 78 (I-78)/Pennsylvania Route 309 (PA 309) in Dorneyville, Pennsylvan ...
, between the northern ends of Queen and Duke Streets. It sees twenty-six arrivals by the ''Keystone Service'' on weekdays, thirteen from both Harrisburg and
New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main inter-city rail, intercity railroad station in New York City and the List of busiest railway stations in North America, busiest transportation facilit ...
, and seven from each on weekends. The ''Pennsylvanian'' arrives once daily from both New York City and
Pittsburgh Union Station Union Station (or Pennsylvania Station, commonly called Penn Station) is a historic train station in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It was one of several passenger rail stations that served Pittsburgh during the 20th century (ot ...
. The station is east of Harrisburg, west of
30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and from New York City. The station was second busiest in the state—behind only Philadelphia 30th Street—during
fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
2019 with a ridership of 577,305 passengers, an increase of 1.7 percent from the previous year. It is also the 21st busiest Amtrak station nationally. The Lancaster station is equipped with a ticket office, Amtrak's Quik-Trak ticket machines, vending, and public restrooms. The
Red Rose Transit Authority The Red Rose Transit Authority (RRTA) is a transit agency serving Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. RRTA is headquartered in downtown Lancaster. The South Central Transit Authority owns RRTA and the Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (B ...
provides local bus service to the station. Route 6 stops in front of the station and provides service to and from downtown Lancaster. Route 3 to the Park City Center shopping mall and Route 19 to Manheim stop along McGovern Avenue adjacent to the station; the closest stop for Route 3 and Route 19 heading toward downtown Lancaster is located at Prince Street and Liberty Street. Route 10 to
Lititz Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the city of Lancaster. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370. History Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756 and was named af ...
and Route 11 to
Ephrata Ephrata may refer to: Places * Ephrata, Suriname * Ephrata, Pennsylvania, U.S. *Ephrata, Washington, U.S. * Ephrata Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. Other uses *Ephrata Cloister, a religious community in Ephrata, Pennsylvania See also * * Efrata or E ...
stop along McGovern Avenue across the street from the station; the closest stop for Route 10 and Route 11 heading toward downtown Lancaster is located at Duke Street and Liberty Street.


History


Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad

One of the methods of long-distance transportation of
bulk good Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported packaging, unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ ...
s in the early-1800s were canals, while goods imported from Europe or manufactured on the
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were shipped overland by roads. With construction of the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
and the National Road, the citizens of Philadelphia became worried of the loss of trade to New York City and
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and persuaded the
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
to invest in a transportation network to travel west over the
Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
. The
Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...
authorized the construction of the
Main Line of Public Works The Main Line of Public Works was a package of legislation passed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826 to establish a means of transporting freight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It funded the construction of various long-proposed can ...
across the state in 1826. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1828 by a private company to divert downriver trade to Baltimore from the
Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
to Philadelphia via the Columbia, Lancaster and Philadelphia Railroad. The legislature revised its plan to include the failed attempt with a connection from the canal terminus in Columbia to Philadelphia. Engineers recommended that a rail route—the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad—be constructed with an
inclined plane An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...
at either end. The original route of the railroad was to pass north of Lancaster, but the city petitioned the state to alter it so that the railroad passed through downtown Lancaster. The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad opened in 1834, originally with a horse-drawn passenger cars before
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s replaced them as motive power. There are no photographs of the early Lancaster station, however the station would have most likely consisted of nothing more than an open-air, elevated platform, as was customary for train stations of that period. The station was located at North Queen and East Chestnut Street, with the platform possibly extending the length of the lot between Queen and Christian Streets.


Pennsylvania Railroad

In 1857, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sold the Main Line of Public Works to the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
. The station was rebuilt in 1859 with a structure supported by
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
columns. On April 28, 1929, the Pennsylvania Railroad completed a cutoff bypassing downtown Lancaster, closing the old station and opening the new depot.


Amtrak

Passenger rail was taken over 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 ...
in 1971. The former Pennsylvania Railroad train was continued by Amtrak ''Broadway Limited'', while the ''Duquesne'' was renamed the '' Keystone''. From 1971 to 1979, Amtrak's ''
National Limited The ''National Limited'' was the premier train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) on its route between Jersey City, New Jersey and St. Louis, Missouri, with major station stops in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio. (Buses took passenge ...
'' provided service from the station to New York and
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
,
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. Prior to the introduction of the ''Keystone Service'' in 1981, the Lancaster station was served by the ''
Silverliner Service Amtrak's ''Keystone Service'' provides frequent regional passenger train service between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Mai ...
''. From 1991 to 1995, the '' Atlantic City Express'' served the station on weekends. The ''Broadway Limited'' was discontinued in 1995 and replaced with the '' Three Rivers''. When the
Lancaster City Historic District The Lancaster City Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Lancaster and Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. History and architectu ...
was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, the Lancaster station was designated a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
to the district on September 7, 2001.


Renovations

After decades of
deferred maintenance Deferred maintenance is the practice of postponing maintenance activities such as repairs on both real property (i.e. infrastructure) and personal property (i.e. machinery) in order to save costs, meet budget funding levels, or realign available bud ...
, a complete station refurbishment was proposed in 1997, but it was not until June 2009 that a $12 million renovation of the station was initiated by Amtrak and Lancaster County. Plans included a new
HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
system, improved ticketing and waiting area for intercity buses, an expanded parking lot, landscaping, a taxi stand, and "a complete rehabilitation of the station's interior and exterior". However, the start of construction was delayed until October. By September 2011, the renovations were estimated to cost $2 million over the planned amount and were a year behind schedule. After being completed, it was discovered that the bus bays at the station could not accommodate the
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...
es used by
Bieber Transportation Group Bieber Transportation Group was an American bus company based in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, operating intercity commuter buses, charter buses, and tours. The company provided bus service from the Reading and Lehigh Valley regions of eastern Pennsylv ...
. The bays, which were being used as taxi stands instead, had been originally designed for the buses that had been used by the now-defunct Capital Trailways. The buses owned by Bieber, consequently, were unable to negotiate the turn in the parking lot leading to the bays. The curbs in the parking lots were eventually cut-back to allow more space for maneuvering.
Intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...
was run by Bieber Transportation Group from the station to
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, Philadelphia, and New York City until it was discontinued on April 1, 2018. In January 2012, a "capstone" project was announced with the intention of restoring the interior of the station including the restoration of waiting area benches, painting and repairing of plaster walls, as well as upgrading of station lighting and accessibility. By October 2013, most of the interior restoration work, including refurbishment of windows, re-plastering and repainting of walls, and the installation of a new
HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
system, was completed.


Station layout


See also

* List of Amtrak stations *
List of busiest Amtrak stations This is a list of the train stations with the highest Amtrak ridership the United States in the fiscal year 2020 (October 2019 to September 2020). Ridership figures from 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 have been provided for compar ...
*
Transportation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania has a long and variegated history. An early-settled part of the United States, and lying on the route between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, it has been the site of early experiments in canals, railroa ...


References


Sources

* * {{Cite journal , last=Hensel , first=W. U , title=How the Pennsylvania Railroad Came Through Lancaster , date=March 1, 1907 , journal=Papers Read Before the Lancaster County Historical Society , publisher=Lancaster County Historical Society , volume=XI , issue=3 , pages=75–113 * {{Cite book , last1=Schafer , first1=Mike , last2=Soloman , first2=Brian , title=Pennsylvania Railroad , year=2009 , publisher=
Voyageur Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...
, location=
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, isbn=978-0-7603-2930-6 * {{Cite web , last1=Cress , first1=George , last2=Eichinger , first2=Daniel , last3=Wuebber , first3=Ingrid , last4=White , first4=Rebecca , title=Phase IB/II and Data-Recovery Archaeological Excavation at Site 36LA1494 Queen Street Station Phase II (RRTA) North Queen Street and East Chestnut Street , date=September 2010 , id=ER 1997-1978-071 , publisher=
URS Corporation URS Corporation (formerly United Research Services) was an engineering, design, and construction firm and a U.S. federal government contractor. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, URS was a full-service, global organization with office ...
, location=
Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was r ...
, url=http://www.redrosetransit.com/wp-content/themes/redrose/pdf/Phase_IB-II_and_Data-Recovery_Red_Rose_Transit_36LA1494_Sept.compressed.pdf , access-date=November 25, 2016 {{Refend


External links

{{Commons category, Lancaster station (Pennsylvania) {{Amtrak web, LNC, Lancaster, PA {{Amtrak Pennsylvania stations {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania {{PRR Main Line stations Amtrak stations in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania Neoclassical architecture in Pennsylvania Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Railway stations in the United States opened in 1929 Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line Transportation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania