Paradise Station: The Never-Built Connection Between Amtrak and the Strasburg Rail Road
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- čas přidán 6. 10. 2021
- Amtrak's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line is linked with the steam-powered Strasburg Rail Road in Paradise, Pennsylvania, but neither line has a station there. This is the story of how one was planned there for over 40 years - and why Amtrak's only direct connection to a steam railway still doesn't exist.
Extra special thanks to Tanager George, @citylandbooks on Instagram, for his Paradise Station concept art. citylandbooks?u...
All b-roll is mine. Kudos to the one photographer working with the railroad who let me film from the portable steps in between events with 611.
Sources:
Wikipedia (which I edited after making this video): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpo...
LNP Archives: lancasteronline.com/archives/
Southern Lancaster County Chronicle: www.solancochronicle.com/top-s...
Lancaster County Planning Department Connections 2040 Plan: lancastercountyplanning.org/1...
Classy Whale - at-least-weekly adventures, featuring trains and more! - Komedie
This was really well done. This station should be built!
Agreed!
Strasburgs proposed Quarryville extension would be a cool video.
Under consideration!
I have visited the Strasberg Railroad and other nearby attractions several times but as noted always have to drive there. It always amazes me that there is no station between Amtrak and Strasberg Railroad at Paridise. Every time I ride the train to Harrisburg I see how close the two lines are near each other. As mentioned it would also be a big benefit to the local Amish community reducing their need to travel farther by horse and buggy on heavenly used local roads. If we are serious about trying to get people to travel by train rather than drive, this project should get a high priority. One last note the highway traffic on Rt. 30 especially on weekends can be heavy and cause many slow areas which would make Amtrak even more attractive as an alternative to driving.
They could do it. The strauburg train stops at the train station Lincoln made his famous speech at in the 1860s it sits between the Amtrak line and the strausburg line. They could start a fund raiser restore the station in paradise where Lincoln was). It is located behind the granite counter shop at the bridge on rt30. Other then that it is surrounded by Amish owned land and it is doubt full they would sell they live off those fields. I live local Kinzer PA.
1:37 I lived in Lancaster for a year and took a trip to Strasburg RR with some friends, and before we got there, we faced car trouble (we needed two, so long story short one of us needed to take the bus to fit safely). I took the RRTA bus to Strasburg, and had to be picked up at a shopping lot (nice stores to walk around, don’t get me wrong), it would’ve saved us some trouble if we could’ve ridden to the station on the bus, proving at least one use, and connect ppl to the shops, which would prove the Strasburg’s benefit to the community further. Maybe someday….
I would love to see this happen. Now if only Amtrak could connect Columbus to Pittsburgh one day so I could ride it eastbound to Leaman Place.
Very interesting video! I would also recommend restoring the Keystone branch to 4 tracks for excess capacity, and have Strasburg stay on the far west end as it currently does. A good place for the station would be immediately after the bridge, otherwise known as the siding where Strasburg picks up freight, or at least before the Meadow Lane Bridge.
I think the freight siding was one of the spots they were looking at after the FRA ruling in 2007, but I walked over there and discovered it would require a TON of earth moving and probably the demolition of a small neighborhood
Do a pre tourist era Strasburg freight and passenger operations video. Love your work dude!
They are actually expanding and building a new short Line freight yard there right now. Apr/may 2022.
Yup, that’s what I heard!
why am i not surprised NIMBYS were involved? Hopefully itll happen in the near future, cuz that would mean i can finally visit without having to convince someone
there was a train station at Paradise, PA once 🚉
I love the idea of tourist railroads being used for actual transit. Just imagine living close to the Strasburg RR and telling people that part of your commute to work involves riding behind a steam engine.
That would be cool. Haveing real passengers getting from point a to point b using steam trains is my dream.
Thank you for posting this! I hope that this gains support. In the meantime, let's spread the word!!
There was the Leman Place Junction tiny station before Amtrak went on this route but an actual station would be impressive
What a wonderful idea! I would love it if this could happen, where the Paradise, PA station would be implemented so passengers can go from an Amtrak Keystone Corridor train to a Strasburg Railroad train or vice versa, even if it means extending the Strasburg Railroad Line so it could be on a straightaway for wheelchair accessibility. Even though I don't have all of the political details to have this idea happen, another place where this could (and should) happen where an Amtrak or commuter station connects with a preserved railroad would be Old Saybrook, CT where passengers can transfer from Amtrak or CT Rail to the Essex Steam Train or vice versa.
I always wondered why Strasburg trains didn’t just go all the way to Lancaster or Harrisburg, but building a transfer station for keystone and Pennsylvanian services at Paradise could help fix that
New Lancaster county lore just dropped
I remember going there for Thomas when I was little
There are stations on curves with high platforms. Lindenwold, NJ on the Atlantic City line is a fine example. But NIMBYS and the disabled.
Oh, throw in engine 475 hitting track maintenance equipment right at the planned station site.
Also, the 15 inch RH&DRR steam railroad is a tourist line, but also a functional transportation system connecting three towns, a toy railroad that has to operate under real signaling
Similar situation on the former Santa Fe in Perris, CA where Metrolink commuter trains only use their station, yet Orange Empire Railway Museum hasn't been able to extend to their side of the platform.
Also Amtrak's Southwest Chiefs and Santa Fe Southern/sky railway in Lamy, NM
I would LOVE an Amtrak station that interoperates with the SRR, our Government needs to get it's head out of it's butt and start building better rail access.
It’ll be awesome if they will do it!
0:24-0:28 I like how he didn’t even bother to mention the Pennsylvanian train.
If they were able to pull it off, I think Amtrak would earn more money!
Of course, but they have reservations now to keep people from standing in the aisles on the most popular name trains. Until Biden the plan was shut down most of the system. Trains are not added, extras and make up trains not run. Business is just turned away. 6 dollar gas has driven people back to the little limited train service. Not everywhere is the east coast. Most of the country has nothing or three days a week with four cars! Trump had plans to close most lines.
I would honestly like something like this to become reality. It would be cool being in 2032 and getting off a 21st century built train, onto a 19th century built one.
How about SEPTA extending into Lancaster, with a stop in Paradise and possibly Bird-in-Hand?
Some friends of mine on discord spotted them doing a test run through Paradise sooooo....
Im genuinly surprised this isnt a thing already! Also, I struggle to buy the fact they they couldnt build the station at the leaman's place curve due to the canted track, considering that a station like metropark is built on curves with super elevation and ada compliant. Unless they had plans to build an island platform and not two side platforms (on the keystone corridor line), I really dont understand why that station couldn't have been built
I think SEPTA should extend to Lancaster and connect with the Strasburg Railroad in the Paradise area.
1. Strasburg is making that extension for the first location for a station for a transload facility.
2. I thought the idea was for a SEPTA stop, once SEPTA gets monies to extend west from Thorndale to Lancaster?
It's absolutely bonkers that this hasn't been done. Two rail lines that get healthy ridership numbers in their own right already have a track junction but there's no way to transfer between the two?
Is is just one of the many issues across the country to limit demand and rail ridership. Amtrak zips by airports in Indianapolis, New Orleans and amusement parks like Six Flags in Missouri. Places thousands of people want and need to go. It's a Penn Central business plan of the 1970's. Biden is the first president that wanted serious investment in it. If Trump got back in most high performance, high revenue name trains would have been shut down Nov 2020. Just 15 trains provide 46 % of company ticket revenue and they are not Northeast Corridor operations. It's the name trains of the west. This video is excellent and should be seen by thousands. Thank you for your work. I hope you read Passenger Train Journal, Trains and other industry magazines . And join a state rail group. Like the one getting the second Pennsylvanian on from Pittsburgh. Your energy and knowledge is needed! I will help too if I find a way.
Would love to see more videos about Lancasters railroad history
I want to see ones on it's future.
I know this video is about Strasburg but. The Black River and Western Railroad in New Jersey is restoring the line between Ringoes and Lambertville. When completed you can take the trian from Lambertville to Flemington. Unfortunately they only run on the weekends and during the summer but it would be like here. Bording a steam train to go from point A to point B.
And where will your connection with NJT (CNJ) be? The point is not having to drive to get there. And to stop at amusement parks, stadiums and other place people want to go. By train again.
@@intercityrailpal Well. Lambertville is on the Delaware River and the D and R Canal toe path runs through it. People can ride there bike from Trenton and hop on the train. Also people who live in Lambertville, Flemington, New Hope(right across the river) will not have to walk faw to hop on the train. And if they extend the service to Three Bridges and some how Amtrak can get a train running on the NS line to Phillipsburg. You would not need a car to get to New York from where I live. But the end of my statement is more of a dreem than going from Lambertville to Flemington
@@stephenmccloughan7541 Not all Amtrak Connect will come to pass. The lawsuit in the Gulf for Mobile service will tell if the law and agreements can be enforced or Amtrak is shut out. It wasn't a issue until Biden gave Amtrak money to improve things. The were cut back time and time again over the years. Plus they did not spend all the money they got. Cause they kept jacking up the fares to control demand for the little limited train system.
@@intercityrailpal unfortunately there is other problems with Amtrak that money won't fix. There need to be better communication between Amtrak and freight lines.
@@stephenmccloughan7541 The communication would be funding so payments could be raised. Or track bought a leased back like on the Northeast Corridor bankrupt railroads right of ways. Freight at night Passenger daylight. Amtrak owns the corridor cause all the railroads there went bankrupt. Even on freight. It was a short haul system. CSX and NS pays a toll to ship long haul freight at night.
I see there is a fright siding being built just past the Rte. 30 underpass, I wonder if they could make a track for passenger service nearby. At that point the Amtrak rails would be on a straight section of track.
Strasburg track does go under Rt. 30 but the tourist trains don't use it because the runaround siding is south of Rt. 30. The track did end abruptly after the Amtrak connection north of Rt. 30 before they started building more tracks for the freight yard. There was a freight customer at one time where a spur track branched off to the left north of Rt. 30. Are Paradise and Leaman Place two separate things? I think Paradise is north of Rt. 30 and Leaman Place is just south of Rt. 30 where the Stock Lumber buildings are. Couldn't someone Uber to the East Strasburg station though? But the other railroad attractions like Choo Choo Barn and Toy Train Museum are a good walk from the SRR facilities although the RR Museum of PA is just across the street.
@@robkrasinski6217 I know Amish living closer to Strasburg would want an Amtrak station there. The Strasburg line just added freight sidings further down that way past Rte 30 overpass.
I hope that becomes a thing so that I can take the train over there
So that means a Possibility for TVRM and Amtrak or that to far
I feel like if they had stuck with the original plan of extending the railroad by 1/4 of a mile then the project easily could’ve been a success, plus if they had to extend the railroad by a quarter mile I’m sure it wouldn’t have costed much more to do honestly.
As a railfan without a car who just visited Strasburg for the final weekend of N&W #611's operations there, having a station already at Paradise would have been wonderful. I had to fly to Philadelphia, catch Amtrak to Lancaster, and then get a Lyft or Uber to actually get to Strasburg.
I hope someday that SRC, Amtrak and the surrounding communities can find a solution and actually have a station. Maybe Strasburg could even drop off guests at the Red Caboose Motel for those of us wanting to stay as close as possible? I'll keep dreaming...
That is all the way it should be. Except the issue is a national one. They go by amusement parks, airports and stadiums nationwide. It's not serious travel for the pay to play lobbyist on K street Washington. High fares and limited service on tiny trains control demand. Nationwide! The east coast corridors are even screwed up. It's set up for commuters, something Amtrak says the law forbids them from running! In the west they avoid whole cities like Phoenix, Des Moines, Fort Wayne for 50 years! Most of the time republicans were working to shut it down. Look at it today, the most popular trains (maybe it's the 6 dollar gas in places) are only three days a week and reservation only to keep you from standing in the aisles. The NEC is a money pit billed to the national system with allocated costs. Like snow removal to Florida Stations! No extra trains are run , no cars added (gee who scrapped all the extras?) Mail and packages that made the system profitable is now on trucks . Loss of this in Oct 1967 bankrupted the system. Shut down Amtrak was the result four years later in 1971
Hope the powers that be make this happen soon!
Only if we are heard in Harrisburg. Keystone Corridor is a state operation.
you know it’s very stupid that federal railroad administration thought that they were ever get wheelchair accessibility out of Paradise station the Strasbourg station doesn’t even have a higher level platform so how is that gonna be even more assessable to wheelchair if they can’t even ride the Strasbourg railroad because they can’t go into Strasbourg
still could happen
Here's hoping!
@@ClassyWhale If I lived out there. They would know my name and face in Harrisburg. Keystone is a state corridor You have lots to work with out there. Go, call , message the Strasburg RR and tell them of your interest in the project. Under President Biden there now is money for rail projects. GET YOUR PIECE. I will share this video to a friend who makes videos too and shares our ideas now.
Biden loves Amtrak so he supports new Amtrak routes, new locomotives and coaches, and new stations. There are a few new Amtrak routes proposed in PA on currently freight only routes from Philly to Reading and Allentown to NY.
Better to have no station than no wheelchair access. Thank you disabled activists!!