Randolph station (Vermont)

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Randolph, VT
Randolph station, July 2006.jpg
Randolph station in July 2006
General information
LocationSouth Main Street and Salisbury Street
Randolph, Vermont
United States
Coordinates43°55′22″N 72°39′57″W / 43.92278°N 72.66583°W / 43.92278; -72.66583Coordinates: 43°55′22″N 72°39′57″W / 43.92278°N 72.66583°W / 43.92278; -72.66583
Owned byRandolph Depot Restaurant
Line(s)New England Central Railroad
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
ConnectionsBus transport Stagecoach Transportation
Construction
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: RPH
History
OpenedJanuary 31, 1849 (Vermont Central Railroad)[1]
April 14, 1996 (Amtrak)[2]
Closed1966
Rebuilt1877
Passengers
FY 2021463[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg Amtrak Following station
White River Junction Vermonter Montpelier
toward St. Albans
Former services
Preceding station Central Vermont Railway Following station
Bethel
toward New London
Main Line Braintree
Central Vermont Railway depot
LocationSouth Main & Salisbury Streets
Depot Square
Randolph, Vermont
Area12 acres (4.9 ha)
Built1877
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Late Victorian, Second Empire
Part ofDepot Square Historic District (ID75000143[4])
Designated CPMay 29, 1975

Randolph station is an Amtrak train station in Randolph, Vermont, United States. The only train that serves the station is the Vermonter, which operates between St. Albans, Vermont and Washington, D.C.[5] The station also contains a local restaurant. On the other side of the tracks is the depot for a private bus company, Randolph Stagecoach Transportation,[6] essentially creating an unofficial intermodal transportation center. However, the schedules of the two systems are not aligned in any way.

History

The station, circa 1915

The Vermont Central Railroad was chartered to build a line along the Connecticut River to Lake Champlain, which was to include service to Randolph. The original station was not built until 1848, by which time the VCRR was acquired by the Central Vermont Railway. By the late-1870s (although signs on the depot suggest 1881), Central Vermont moved the original depot and built a new one, converting the VCRR station into a freight house. When Central Vermont was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1896, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway bought the railroad and the station out and kept it afloat throughout most of the 20th Century.

Both passenger and freight service ended in Randolph in 1966. A group of volunteers later restored the stations and the surrounding area, including converting the second station into a café and restaurant.

Randolph Station became a contributing property to the Depot Square Historic District since 1975. In the 1990s local leaders began lobbying Amtrak to make Randolph a new railroad stop, even going so far as to rebuild the original VCRR freight depot into a bus depot for Randolph Stagecoach Transportation. Amtrak began using the station as a stop on the Vermonter in 1996.

References

  1. ^ "Railroad Matters". The Vermont Watchman and State Journal. Montpelier, Vermont. February 8, 1849. p. 2. Retrieved July 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. ^ Francis, Eric (April 14, 1996). "Amtrak Rolls into Randolph". The Rutland Daily Herald. pp. 1–2. Retrieved July 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2021: State of Vermont" (PDF). Amtrak. August 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  5. ^ "Randolph Vermont (RPH)". TrainWeb. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  6. ^ Existing Railroad Stations in Orange County, Vermont

External links

Media related to Randolph station (Vermont) at Wikimedia Commons