Train Stations of the Amtrak Cascades

I’m in Vancouver, BC once again visiting my immediate family but sadly also to attend a memorial service for an uncle (one of my father’s siblings) who passed away last month. As is now my custom when I travel to and from Vancouver, I made the trip by train, taking advantage of the Amtrak Cascades passenger service. As I mentioned on one of my previous trips, I simply find riding the rails to be the most pleasant way to go—less stress-inducing than driving or flying, and better for the environment. 

The Cascades line links communities along the 467-mile corridor between Eugene and Vancouver. According to Wikipedia, it is Amtrak's eighth-busiest route with a total annual ridership of over 810,000. (1) Train service between Seattle and Portland—which became the core of the Cascades route—was operated as a partnership by the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Union Pacific railways from 1925 to 1970, with the three railroads cross-honoring tickets on their Seattle-Portland routes. When Great Northern and Northern Pacific were folded into the Burlington Northern in 1970, the reconfigured partnership continued to operate the Seattle-Portland service until the creation of Amtrak in 1971. Service between Vancouver, BC and Seattle was provided via the Great Northern/Burlington Northern International, and between Portland and Eugene by Southern Pacific.

Today, there are 18 stops along the Cascades route. The rail companies built the now historic station buildings during the period when rail travel reigned supreme, between the late 1800s and the Great Depression. The buildings in the larger cities—Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver—are suitably grand and centrally located, serving as they did as a hub or terminus for several railroads. Though modest, the smaller stations possess ample character, and were equally anchors around which the towns grew during the first part of the 20^th century. The population of the town and projected ridership typically determined depot size, layout, and construction materials; detailing could be adjusted based on available materials and local preferences.

The point of this blog post is to feature the station buildings along the Cascades route; however, I’ll only describe the ones from Eugene to Seattle, as well as Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station. This is because I typically transfer to a “thruway” bus for the Seattle to Vancouver leg of my trips north and back. Amtrak limits the number of trainsets that travel the full distance, presumably because the demand doesn’t yet exist to warrant extending rail service for every scheduled Cascades run. Unfortunately for me, the scheduling of the trains that do make the full cross-border journey has never been as convenient as I’d prefer.

During this trip north, I came across the Great American Stations website. Amtrak established the Great American Stations project in 2006 to educate communities on the benefits of redeveloping train stations, offer tools to community leaders to preserve their depots, and provide the appropriate Amtrak resources. The website is a treasure trove of information about all the stations Amtrak serves today, regardless of whether they’re majestic and richly embellished or unpretentious and spare of trim. Unless noted otherwise, the images included here all come from Great American Stations. I heavily borrowed from the website’s written descriptions, only lightly paraphrasing or editing as suitable. I encourage you to check out Great American Stations if you’re at all a rail afficionado—it is an essential resource on the subject.

 

Eugene Station

Eugene

Eugene’s brick train station is the third built on the spot: in 1908, with the city booming, local business leaders lobbied Southern Pacific to build the current depot. It is an amalgam of several styles, though primarily consists of simple forms and designed for utility. Its low horizontal appearance, wide eave overhangs, large wooden brackets, tall double-hung windows and diamond-paned dormers are reminiscent of the Craftsman style. The red brick construction and semi-circular bay window facing the track are characteristic of the Richardsonian Romanesque aesthetic. The city and the railroad shared the $40,000 cost of this project. Both the depot and the park that originally surrounded it were part of the City Beautiful movement of the early 20^th century.

Southern Pacific sold the building to the Jenova Land Company in 1993. The city of Eugene bought the depot and the office/bunkhouse in 2003 as part of a plan to develop a regional transportation center, subsequently overseeing a $4.5 million restoration. Workers repaired the exterior brickwork and trim, and gutted and renovated the 5,346-square-foot interior, installing tile floors, oak and fir trim, covered ceilings, new wooden benches and expanded restrooms.

Albany Station

Albany

The Southern Pacific Railroad constructed the masonry Albany station 1909. It is one of the oldest continuously used passenger rail stations in the United States. After purchasing the building in 2003, the City of Albany restored and expanded the facility, removing vacant commercial buildings, installing landscaping, constructing a new parking lot, adding period lighting, and providing a plaza and waiting area. A combination of federal, state, local, and Amtrak funds covered the initial $11.3 million restoration cost. The City rededicated the building on April 18, 2006.

In December of 2006, construction began on a 60-foot clock tower in the center of the roundabout at the depot’s Lyon Street entrance. The tower spells out “Albany” in illuminated letters and features two clocks donated by the Greater Albany Rotary Club.  

Salem Station

Salem

The Southern Pacific Railroad built the Salem station, opening it in 1918 as a replacement for a wood- framed Queen Anne-style depot constructed in 1888. Southern Pacific architect J.H. Christie designed the station, and Stebbinger Brothers of Portland built it for $25,000. The Neoclassical masonry structure conveys the idea of a “gateway to the city” with its double-height Ionic columns framing large, arched Roman windows. The central pavilion dominates with its 1,500 square-foot main waiting room. Originally, smaller wings to both sides housed ticketing, baggage, and a women’s waiting room. Decorative plasterwork, coved corner entries, and terrazzo marble floor patterns add to the elegance of the structure.

Famous visitors to the station included presidents Woodrow Wilson and Warren G. Harding, future presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and former President Herbert Hoover. Many of these presidential visits occurred as part of whistle-stop campaigns during which the candidates traveled the country by train.

The 1999 Salem Depot Project—managed by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)—fully rehabilitated the 1918 depot. The project restored ceilings and architectural features, added a black marble ticket counter, and recreated two 30-inch globe chandeliers from drawings of the originals. Federal and State grants funded the $2.6 million renovation project. Later, in preparation for its centennial in 2018, the building received new paint inside and out; through paint analysis, ODOT determined the original color scheme.  

Oregon City Station

Oregon City

The Oregon City station opened on April 16, 2004. It is presently limited to a platform and shelter, though the city plans to move the old Southern Pacific depot building—currently used as offices—to the newer site to use once again as the passenger station.  

Portland Union Station

Portland, lobby view

Portland Union Station

Constructed in 1896, Portland Union Station has been in continuous operation since that time. Though originally built by the Northwest Pacific Terminal Company, the Northern Pacific, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific railroads jointly owned the facility. The centerpiece of the Romanesque and Queen Anne architecture is the landmark 150-foot-tall tower with its four-sided clock. By 1922, every railroad passenger train serving Portland utilized Union Station. Today, Portland Union Station is situated in an area that boasts a variety of businesses and attractions, making it an ideal arrival and departure point for people interested in what the “’Rose City” has to offer. Portland Union Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Between 1927 and 1930, the station’s interior received a major redesign. Eliminating an entire mezzanine level expanded the main waiting hall. Italian marble was added to the walls and the floor. Dormers were added to the exterior to permit more natural light to enter the station. In 1948, the blue and gold neon “Go by Train” and “Union Station” lights on the exterior were installed and remain operational today.

In 1987, the Portland Development Commission (PDC) purchased Union Station and 31 acres of former rail yards. A subsequent rehabilitation of the station restored the painted flower patterns of the waiting room’s ornate ceilings, reopened the 1920s era phone booths, and repaired the red metal tile roof. The most recent change in 2003 was the addition of a central plaza at the main entryway containing an island planted with local and native plants. The 2003 project changed access to the station, created a new street, and established a thruway bus boarding area. Union Station has anchored one end of the downtown Portland Transit Mall since 1994.

Vancouver, WA Station

Vancouver, WA

The Northern Pacific Railroad constructed the wood frame Vancouver, WA depot in 1907. It is rather unique in that passengers board north-south bound and east-west bound trains on different sides of the building. Passengers board the Empire Builder on the southeast side of the depot while the Coast Starlightand Amtrak Cascades trains are boarded on the northwest side of the facility.

Partial renovations of this facility were completed in 1988. Work resumed in 2008 when the Vancouver City Council contracted with Skyward Construction of Ridgefield, WA for an interior makeover, including electrical and mechanical upgrades and new finishes. The 2008 restorations repaired the existing wall plaster, refinished the original maple wood flooring, and provided custom-manufactured solid Douglas fir doors. The project also replicated the building’s interior wainscoting, bead board and trim patterns in the style of the early 1900s, down to the mortise & tenon joints.

Kelso-Longview Station

Kelso-Longview

The area that became Kelso, at the western foot of hills where the Cowlitz and Coweeman Rivers meet the Columbia River, was inhabited by people of the Cowlitz Tribe when European settlers arrived in 1855; members of that tribe still reside there today. In 1871-72, the Northern Pacific Railroad came to the Cowlitz Valley and built a short one-track line from Kalama to Commencement Bay that later became part of the transcontinental rail system. This line carried passengers and freight both ways on the east bank of the Cowlitz. At that time, the stop was called Crawfordville. In 1884, Peter Crawford, of Kelso, Scotland, officially founded the town of Kelso. It was a rowdy place at first, catering to local loggers and the lumber mills. In 1886, the Crawford family donated three and a half acres for a station house, and a small wooden structure was built.

The townspeople petitioned the Northern Pacific for a better passenger and freight depot in 1906. The company built the brick passenger and wooden freight depot, and the town held a grand opening reception on February 12, 1912. Although the interior of the building changed several times, the depot continues to serve the public under Amtrak’s banner.

Centralia Station

Centralia
The Northern Pacific Railroad opened Centralia depot in 1912. Spurred by the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad merger, the City of Centralia and the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) purchased the depot and began restorations in 1996.

The City hired an architectural firm experienced in historic restoration (Easters and Kittle of Issaquah, WA) to work on the deteriorated building, platform, and parking lot. The proposed improvements included seismic retrofits, HVAC upgrades, fire suppression, enhanced utilities, and better lighting. The first phase of construction consisted mainly of exterior work, and removed four tons of pigeon residue from the attic. Additionally, the project replaced dormers, installed a new tile roof, tuck-pointed the brick, and more.

The subsequent phase restored the interior, providing a new terrazzo floor, stripped and varnished woodwork, polished brass, and new tile. The restoration was completed in April 2002 amid celebrations of Centralia’s first annual Railroad Days event. The total project cost was $4.4 million with funding from the city of Centralia, the Washington State DOT (Rail Branch Division), the Washington State Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board, the Federal Highway Administration, and Amtrak.   

Centennial Station, Olympia-Lacey

Centennial Station, Olympia-Lacey
During the 1970s and 1980s, Amtrak passengers used a wooden shelter at East Olympia; however, this location was remote, lacked public transportation access, and only offered inadequate parking and no restroom facilities. The Amtrak Depot Committee formed in 1987 to search for a new site for the station, ultimately succeeding in securing the donation of a four-acre parcel in the Olympia suburb of Lacey from Thurston County.

The Amtrak Depot Committee built the Centennial Station in 1992. Architect Harold E. Dalke designed the building, donating his work. Though Dalke’s design for the 2,800 sf facility is reminiscent of a classic railway station, the Centennial Station features modern electronics and airline-style information signage, and monitors the platform and parking facility with video surveillance. It also features energy-conserving construction. The decorative corbels under the eaves, obtained from New Orleans, are 150-years old and made of solid cypress.

The station is currently operated by volunteers under the direction of the Amtrak Depot Committee. This dedicated group staffs the station for all trains, assists passengers with ground transportation, assists elderly and disabled patrons with train boarding and luggage, answers questions and resolves problems for travelers. A Thurston County Sherriff’s Office is also housed in the station.

 

Tacoma (current Amtrak station)

Tacoma Union Station

Photo by Steve Morgan [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Tacoma Union Station

Rather than describe the current Amtrak facility—a competent albeit uninspiring design—I’m choosing to focus on its predecessor, the much more impressive Tacoma Union Station. Though no longer a working railroad facility, Tacoma Union Station is a particularly fine example of Beaux-Arts architecture, rehabilitated from 1990 to 1992 after its purchase from the Union Pacific Railroad. The building’s focal point—its ninety-foot-high central dome—still stands out on the Tacoma skyline. Clad in copper and adorned with cartouches, the dome rests on a central pavilion with large arched openings on either side. The exterior reinforced concrete is faced with multi-colored red brick set in a Flemish-bond pattern with a limestone base and ornamental detail. The entrance doors, of stained oak with bronze hardware, are recessed within the arch on the western elevation. A large window fills the arch above the doors.

Today, the rotunda houses a collection of glass by renowned Tacoma artist Dale Chihuly. Suspended from the ceiling, a 20-foot blue chandelier hangs, consisting of over 2,700 hand-blown glass globes. The facility is now used, together with nearby wings, as the federal courthouse. The Tacoma Union Passenger Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The station and its surrounding historic district have served as a focus for downtown revitalization since the 1990s.

Tukwila Station

Tukwila

The present Tukwila station was dedicated on February 18, 2015 and is served by Sounder commuter rail, Amtrak Cascades trains, and Sounder Transit and Metro Transit buses. It includes two concrete platforms, covered waiting areas, pedestrian underpass, bus transfer plaza, 390 parking spaces and bicycle storage racks and lockers. Artwork by artist Sheila Klein, incorporating steel, lighting, mirrored panels and shrubbery, creates a beacon for approaching travelers.

The $46 million facility replaces temporary structures that opened in 2000 and remained in use while the cities of Tukwila and Renton determined how a permanent station complex would best fit into long-term transportation and development plans for the area. 

Sound Transit provided most of the funding, but the project also received federal transportation grants. These included $4.6 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds disbursed through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), $1.5 million in FTA Fixed Guideway funds, and $7.4 million from the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program.

Seattle King Street Station

Seattle King Street Station, waiting room

Photo by ZhengZhou [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

King Street Station, Seattle

King Street Station is a crossroads for important downtown neighborhoods, including the Commercial, International, and Stadium districts, as well as world-renowned Pioneer Square. The Great Northern Railway built the station in 1906, replacing an earlier station located on Railroad Avenue (today’s Alaskan Way). Designed by the firm of Reed and Stem of St. Paul, MN, which was later involved with the building of Grand Central Terminal in New York City, the station is composed of granite and red brick with terra cotta and cast stone ornamentation.

The building was part of a larger project that moved the railroad main line away from the waterfront and into a 5,245-foot long tunnel under downtown. Inspired by the bell tower of the Piazza San Marco in Venice, the distinctive clock tower is a Seattle landmark; it was the tallest structure in Seattle when it was built. In recognition of its design integrity and important role within local railroad history, the King Street Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Cosmetic renovations and modernization of services began in 2003. New platform and entrance canopies and brass fixtures were installed. Tall windows in the waiting room that were covered over in the 1960s were replaced by new wood frame windows, and now natural light floods the space. The interior makeover included the installation of new mahogany entrance doors and marble cladding, painting, and the restoration of its ornamental plasterwork.

In December of 2006, the Seattle City Council formalized an agreement to purchase the station from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway for $1. Later revised to $10, the City and the railway signed the contract on March 8, 2008. The purchase freed up funds for further restoration, and the city devised a four-phase rehabilitation plan to fully return the station to its original grandeur.

The multi-year station rehabilitation project cost approximately $56 million. Funding largely came through a diverse array of federal transportation grants obtained by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The project received $7.5 million in Bus and Bus Facilities grants from the Federal Transit Administration, $6 million in Transportation Enhancements grants through the Federal Highway Administration, and $16.7 million through the Federal Railroad Administration’s High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program to support the expanded passenger facilities and seismic retrofits. The balance of funding came from voter-backed bonds, the State of Washington, Amtrak, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Pacific Central Station, Vancouver, BC

Pacific Central Station, lobby (my photo)

Pacific Central Station, Vancouver, B.C.
Pacific Central Station is the northern terminus of the Amtrak Cascades route, for both its rail and thruway bus services. It is also the terminus for VIA Rail’s cross-country The Canadian. Designed by Pratt and Ross, the Neoclassical Revival design was completed in 1919 for the Canadian Northern Railway.

In 1993, the station was converted to a multi-modal transportation facility that includes intercity buses; it stands across Thornton Park from the Main Street/Science World Skytrain station. A bus concourse has been added in the rear of the building. Since the Amtrak Cascades crosses the border into the U.S., there is a customs area that passengers must pass through to board the train.

Pacific Central Station was dedicated on November 2, 1919, a day after the first trains began using the station. It was originally named False Creek Station and was designed by the architecture firm Pratt and Ross. The building was designated a heritage railway station in 1991.

Amtrak service to the terminal was originally offered on the Pacific International from 1972 to 1981, when it ceased due to budget cuts. Cross-border service returned in 1995 with the introduction of the Mount Baker International, which was later folded into the modern-day Cascades brand.

On November 8, 2010, the Canadian government announced a CA$5.1-million plan to rebuild parts of the station, including refurbishing windows, masonry, and the roof of the building.

*    *    *    *    *    *

I’m hopeful people will increasingly come to appreciate the benefits and appeal of traveling by rail. I’m likewise hopeful train stations will continue to assume a central role in the life of the communities they serve. I’m optimistic, but I expect reliable, high-speed service will soon become the norm along the Amtrak Cascades corridor. When that occurs, the historic stations along the route will be assured of their continued importance, life, and vibrancy.

The Great Depression brought a close to most notable rail depot construction, the golden age of passenger rail travel having passed with the rise of the automobile and airlines. Thankfully, many of the stations from this bygone era remain standing for us to appreciate. The monumental spaces and architectural flourishes of the major buildings still induce craned necks and awe. The simpler, humbler forms of the smaller stations similarly charm new generations of rail travelers. All offer unique opportunities for renewal in cities and towns where prime real estate is scarce. They are pieces of history, treasures we should not lose or forget.

(1)    I'm surprised the number isn't higher; the train is often full during each trip I've taken.