Re: (rshsdepot) St. Albans, NY

["Paul Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

I think the elevated spur inside the hospital grounds to the south is still
there....was this for coal, or maybe also for arriving military personnel at
one time?

Paul
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>
To: "Rail Depot List" <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 8:57 AM
Subject: (rshsdepot) St. Albans, NY


> Pol delights at station's $2.4M fixup
>
> By WARREN WOODBERRY Jr.
> DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
>
> A little more than three years ago, the Long Island Rail Road's St. Albans
> station was a decrepit eyesore. Yesterday, after a $2.4 million
renovation,
> it was a gleaming showpiece.
>
> Bright yellow edges gleamed in the sunlight along a newly installed
central
> concrete platform; when the sun sets, a row of new lights will make the
> platform brighter and safer.
>
> Proudly presiding at a small ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday was state
> Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans), who began calling for a major
renovation
> of the station just months after he was elected a little more than three
> years ago.
>
> Smith complained that conditions at the station, on Linden Blvd., west of
> Farmers Blvd., were so deplorable that the 200 daily riders who used it to
> catch LIRR trains to Jamaica, Brooklyn and Manhattan were actually in
danger
> of being hurt.
>
> Back then, Smith took a reporter on a tour that revealed gaping holes
along
> the platform, as well as a number of chipped edges. In fact, one hole in
the
> platform was so large an average-size office desk could fit through it.
>
> He blasted the LIRR's parent agency, the Metropolitan Transportation
> Authority, for neglecting stations like St. Albans in his district while
> spending millions to rehabilitate stations in other parts of the borough.
>
> Smith's criticism ultimately moved the MTA to invest $10 million in
> rehabilitation work at stations in his district.
>
> "Now that this is done, and that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
> has done its part, the neighborhood has to do its part in maintaining it
and
> keeping it clean," said Smith. "This is what happens when people come
> together and they cooperate. It was a very quick turnaround, and it shows
> how government works."
>
> LIRR President James Dermody said the St. Albans station renovation was
"No.
> 2 in the projects we took on with the senator - and we have one more to
take
> on, and that's Rosedale." Previously, the Hollis station was renovated.
>
> The rebirth of the St. Albans station has spawned other improvements; an
> LIRR right-of-way between Linden and Baisley Blvds., which had been used
as
> a construction storage lot, will soon be transformed into a parking area
for
> commuters.
>
> In addition, a second station entrance was constructed from the lot to the
> end of the platform, and a new sidewalk now runs through the parking lot
> from the boulevards to the station.
>
> Gwendolyn Anthony, a local senior citizen, said she usually travels to
> Manhattan by car, but said yesterday that the new parking lot looks so
> inviting that she'll now take the train.
>
> "Before, a lot of us would not ride the train because of the conditions,"
> said Anthony, a member of the St. Albans Civic Improvement Association.
"I'm
> sure now that the ridership will increase."
>
> =================================
> The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
> railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
>

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

------------------------------