(rshsdepot) Elizabethtown, PA

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

From the Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, PA):

Bernie Wagenblast
Transportation Communications Newsletter
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/

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Full steam ahead?; E-town train station renovations could begin as early as
spring

8/8/03

Ken Shaffer grew up in Lancaster County, and when he'd go to visit his
grandparents in Elizabethtown, they often took the youngster to the town's
"jewel" of a train station.
"Back in those days it was a big deal" to come to the station at the western
edge of the borough, he recalls.

"There's a certain romanticism that trains bring to some people, including
me," says Shaffer, who grew up Manheim and now, living in West Donegal
Township, uses the E-town station each weekday to commute to Harrisburg.

"You know... the distant train whistle in the night, the clickety- clack of
the wheels on the rail," he adds. "Just peering down the tracks, and
imagining where the tracks lead, isn't something you get with planes or in a
car."

But for commuters like Shaffer who use the E-town station, on Wilson Avenue,
each weekday morning and afternoon they pass through they see a once-grand
dowager that has seen better days.

The station, built in 1915, has been abandoned for more than 20 years. The
canopies over the station platforms are sagging and leaking, there are
cracks in the shields where commuters wait, along with broken pieces of
concrete everywhere and crumbling steps leading up to the platform.

But Elizabethtown officials, who have been working nearly 20 years to
renovate the station, are now confident the project is about to take sail -- 
or rail.

They hope to launch the all-out $2.1 million renovation effort at the
station and its parking lot by next spring.

And that gets an enthusiastic endorsement from those like Shaffer, who uses
it every day. The station is used by some 30,000 riders a year.

The commuters who use the station endorse everything from fixing the leaks
to providing more of a covering to keep out the elements on cold winter
mornings.

If possible, they'd like to see a coffee or sandwich shop, someone to maybe
provide dry cleaning or pharmacy services. And when they go home for the
day, the refurbished station could be used by groups for business meetings.

In other words, with a little polish the jewel could shine again, the
commuters say.

Standing near Shaffer at the train station on a recent dreary summer
morning, fellow Harrisburg commuter Tyler Larsen relates how he grew up a
little further away from E-town than Shaffer -- Utah.

But also he could tell right away how special E-town's train station is.

When he moved to the area in January, Larsen says, he was "surprised to see
something like this," as he nods around the station, while waiting for the
7:46 a.m. train to the capital.

Someone mentions to him the improvements they're considering at the E-town
station, and the Rheems resident looks around and says, "That would be
great -- it's too bad the way it looks now."

There are no offices or ticket windows, and it's used only by the commuters
who wait up at the train platform.

E-town officials emphasize that the building itself is in pretty good shape
for its age.

Along with repairing the canopy, they aim to pave the parking lot and make
the station handicapped-acessible. Also, the station is to become a stop for
Red Rose Transit Authority buses.

Paving the parking lot "would be the biggest improvement I could think of,"
commuter Larsen says.

"And I'd love to see some kind of a shop in here -- maybe the historical
society could open an office, and a McDonald's would be excellent."

In surveys, commuters have cited some form of bakery/newsstand, dry-cleaning
or pharmacy services, even a florist, as things they'd like to see.

The station is very convenient, says Larsen, who works for the state
Department of Labor & Industry. When he drives to Harrisburg, he says, it
sometimes takes him 30 minutes just to get out of the capital.

Lynne Fitzwater of West Donegal Township has used the E-town station to get
to Harrisburg since 1994.

"Personally, I'd like to be able to have a really good cup of coffee!" says
Fitzwater, an attorney for the state Insurance Department. "That, or a good
muffin or a good New York-style bagel."

And in off-hours, she adds, different groups could rent the building -- 
which, despite its wear and tear, has great potential.

"The building itself is such a wonderful building, the architecture is so
unique, it could be restored as some sort of landmark. We've been waiting
for a long time, and it would be great to see it move forward."

Shaffer also agrees he'd like to see better parking, "a roof over your head
that doesn't leak, a place where you can go to stay warm. If they could do
that, address the comfort of the commuters... that's sort of the number-one
priority, I would think."

He'd also like to see the commuters have some sort of priority to use the
parking lot, which also is used by residents of adjoining apartments.
Borough officials say they reaize that additional off- site parking will
likely be needed as station ridership increases.

Overall, E-town officials are excited about the possibility of finally
getting the train station project rolling.

"Sometimes government has to put its money where its mouth is -- then
private investment sees we're serious," says Peter Whipple, the borough
manager, who sees the refurbished station as the springboard to a wide
series of improvements.

"All people have really heard has been talk about our plans -- but now, once
we get a shovel in the ground and they see that it's becoming a reality,
then I think that whole area will continue to improve," Whipple adds.

"It really could be a focal point for the western part of the borough."

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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