Today we visit an absolute gem of a historic train station in Lancaster. The Lancaster Amtrak Station is a former Pennsylvania Railroad station that has been maintained, preserved, and restored to its original grandeur. It serves many travelers daily on daily trains between Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York City, with connecting trains to anywhere in the country. It is the second busiest train station in the state and the 21st busiest in the country. It hearkens back to the glamour of train travel of days gone by. It is an absolute treasure and the local government has worked to preserve it as an efficient and functional train station instead of just letting it sit and become abandoned or purchased by a private interest that would cut off public access to the building. Instead of going these routes, the community saw the value in this building, which has more than doubled in passenger traffic since the turn of the millennium in a rejuvenated city. This is a grand building that is absolutely stunning.
The train station was built during the heyday of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1929 when they built a cutoff to move the main line from the heart of the city. This classical-revival styled station was fully renovated and restored between 2009 and 2013.
The grand staircase that leads to the ticketing and waiting areas. Here you can see the characteristic use of natural light that was typical of Pennsylvania Railroad Stations.
This portion of the rail is part of the Keystone Corridor, which is continuously electrified through Harrisburg. Beyond that, the line continues on the old Pennsylvania Railroad line through Pittsburg, but joins with Norfolk Southern and utilizes diesel locomotives.
The beautiful main waiting area.
The steps down to the arrival and departure platforms. Elevators are also offered.
Looking towards the station from the platform.
Here comes the Amtrak Pennsylvanian. This daily westbound train continues on to Elizabethtown, Harrisburg, Lewistown, Huntingdon, Tyrone, Altoona, Johnstown, Latrobe, Greensburg, and Pittsburgh. Westbound Keystone Service trains have multiple daily runs between Lancaster, Elizabethtown, and Harrisburg. Eastbound service goes daily to the Philadelphia area, with trains connecting from Philadelphia's 30th Street Station to pretty much anywhere that Amtrak offers service. The Eastbound Pennsylvanian makes a direct daily eastbound run to New York City, via Philadelphia.
The Westbound Pennsylvanian has arrived!
Lancaster's train station is absolutely stunning and we highly recommend checking it out. For information on daily trains to the station and the area, check out www.amtrak.com
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