Kinda expected a photo/video tour of the station there... one picture of the facade isn't much of a tour.j32885 wrote:Tour Dearborn's New Train Station, Beth Dalbey, December 4, 2014
http://patch.com/michigan/dearborn/tour ... -station-0
I visited the station yesterday during its open house hours, and I must say, I agree with the dots being an annoyance. The only place to take good pictures from the bridge is at either end, and there's no trains at either. However, that's really the only drawback I've found with the station. It is very well-done, and I can't wait for the day when I can see two Amtrak trains there side-by-side. A gentleman was there describing their plans to get the second track in operation, and continue a second track all the way to Wayne, though he did not say when these would be completed. The MiTrain coach was also very impressive, I haven't yet seen one, and they did a beautiful job cleaning them up. The maps inside were handy too. Despite the fact that the MiTrain project has an infinite timeline and may still fall through, seeing the coach there I think gave everyone who visited a sense of hope.wagnew0923 wrote:The bridge over the tracks is nice but they have these dots on the widows that making it hard to look out and be able to focus, especially with a camera. Probably some stupid Homeland security thing to ruin our fun.
What do they plan on running down to Wayne? Is a Dearborn/Toledo train in the works?iandt wrote:I visited the station yesterday during its open house hours, and I must say, I agree with the dots being an annoyance. The only place to take good pictures from the bridge is at either end, and there's no trains at either. However, that's really the only drawback I've found with the station. It is very well-done, and I can't wait for the day when I can see two Amtrak trains there side-by-side. A gentleman was there describing their plans to get the second track in operation, and continue a second track all the way to Wayne, though he did not say when these would be completed. The MiTrain coach was also very impressive, I haven't yet seen one, and they did a beautiful job cleaning them up. The maps inside were handy too. Despite the fact that the MiTrain project has an infinite timeline and may still fall through, seeing the coach there I think gave everyone who visited a sense of hope.wagnew0923 wrote:The bridge over the tracks is nice but they have these dots on the widows that making it hard to look out and be able to focus, especially with a camera. Probably some stupid Homeland security thing to ruin our fun.
My two favorite parts of having visited the station: first, standing on the second platform right where a line of historic passenger cars and rusting Chessie System boxcars once sat (does anyone know what happened to these?), and second, waiting for a train on Thursday and realizing that the electronic voice that announces "now boarding" and "last call" is timed with the scheduled arrival for the train - so whenever Amtrak is late, the "last call" will sound before the train even gets there!
When you say committed to Pontiac do you mean passenger service returning to Pontiac?YpsiAmtrakBoy wrote:He's talking about re installing the double track from mort to wayne. That would give them double track basically from town line to Cp ypsi, about 25 miles. It could eliminate funny meets and allow a slight shave of time off the schedule. Not to mention rolling meets at speed on the Michigan line again. Amtrak is now committed to Pontiac, the bus makes more sense to run to toledo as it's cheaper and can go from Lansing to Ann arbor, dearborn, and detroit. We have taken it onice, it works well.
.....Amtrak currently goes to Pontiac, just finished a brand new station their last year. They are committed to Pontiac because they have stations north from Detroit to Pontiac. Trains will not be going down to Toledo again as the bus does that job just fine.MQT1223 wrote:When you say committed to Pontiac do you mean passenger service returning to Pontiac?YpsiAmtrakBoy wrote:He's talking about re installing the double track from mort to wayne. That would give them double track basically from town line to Cp ypsi, about 25 miles. It could eliminate funny meets and allow a slight shave of time off the schedule. Not to mention rolling meets at speed on the Michigan line again. Amtrak is now committed to Pontiac, the bus makes more sense to run to toledo as it's cheaper and can go from Lansing to Ann arbor, dearborn, and detroit. We have taken it onice, it works well.
Winter hasn't even started to take its grip yetTrainWatcher wrote:The new roadbed has been laid down for the #2 main if you look closely, I can tell especially near Merriman and the 13W signal. Should start with track as soon as winter breaks it's grip I would gather.
I would suspect work on actual track laying to start sooner then we think, but waiting until spring could also be an accurate assessment.
That's because it's a story about an upcoming tour the public can attend. (Which has now passed.)PerRock wrote:Kinda expected a photo/video tour of the station there... one picture of the facade isn't much of a tour.j32885 wrote:Tour Dearborn's New Train Station, Beth Dalbey, December 4, 2014
http://patch.com/michigan/dearborn/tour ... -station-0
the new station is sweet, the agents booth looks nicer, the parking lot is huge, and the waiting room is nice. The train info boards are really neat, along with the TV moniters with train numbers and times it's coming together. 
Glad they finally got it, it's been sitting there a while. And though I agree with you about the warming sheds (great when I got dropped off there one day at 5:30, before the waiting room opened, to catch 351), I do have one complaint about the parking lot, that it's hard to get back to downtown Dearborn from. Unless you leave from that one road next to Tim Horton's and do the turn around, you end up driving all the way down past Southfield to get back to DearbornYpsiAmtrakBoy wrote:Was there today to catch B17 running to get the MiTrain car from greenfield village, the shelters have warming lamps in them and are sweeeeeet. They kept the benches warm and us warm as we waited form the to pass a couple times. The parking also is a lot better then It was and the current situation in Ann Arbor
There are actually two downtown areas in Dearborn. The other one is further up Michigan Avenue at Schaefer.iandt wrote:Glad they finally got it, it's been sitting there a while. And though I agree with you about the warming sheds (great when I got dropped off there one day at 5:30, before the waiting room opened, to catch 351), I do have one complaint about the parking lot, that it's hard to get back to downtown Dearborn from. Unless you leave from that one road next to Tim Horton's and do the turn around, you end up driving all the way down past Southfield to get back to DearbornYpsiAmtrakBoy wrote:Was there today to catch B17 running to get the MiTrain car from greenfield village, the shelters have warming lamps in them and are sweeeeeet. They kept the benches warm and us warm as we waited form the to pass a couple times. The parking also is a lot better then It was and the current situation in Ann Arbor
That's very true, but growing up on the west side of Dearborn I tend to disregard that area. And, being an amateur historian, I still call that area Springwells anyway, haha... but speaking of that on a serious note, I welcome the new emphasis on west Dearborn by the City, embodied best by the new station. I only hope as many people as the city expects will visit Dearborn now with the convenience of the new station.Burb8145 wrote:There are actually two downtown areas in Dearborn. The other one is further up Michigan Avenue at Schaefer.
