Fremont-Centerville (Amtrak station)

Infobox Station
name=Centerville ACE / Amtrak Station
logo=Centerville Depot logo.png logo_size=


image_size=
image_caption=Amtrak platform, looking east.
address=37620 Fremont Blvd.
line="Capitol Corridor", Altamont Commuter Express
other=AC Transit, Thruway Motorcoach
platform=2 250 foot asphalt, side
tracks=one
parking=free
bicycle=
passengers=26,611
pass_year=2006
pass_percent=-4.8
pass_system=Amtrak
opened=September 1910
rebuilt=June 1999
ADA=yes
code=FMT
owned=City of Fremont
zone=
services=The Centerville Depot is a train station in Fremont, California.

History

Centerville's first Southern Pacific Railroad station was nothing more than a boxcar, functioning in that capacity from May of 1909 to September of 1910. In that month the current wooden structure was opened. It was one of sixty Type 23 stations built by Southern Pacific, and its cost was under $5,000 USD. The station was a busy one during its early years, handling both freight and passenger traffic, including two to three daily milk trains. By the mid-1920s, automobile traffic began to grow, and the milk trains were discontinued. Passenger service ended on March 29, 1940. The Railway Express Agency continued to ship to and from the station until 1958. The station was completely closed on September 30, 1961.

The station changed hands many times in the following decades, becoming a furniture store, a spice store, a toy store, and an electronics store at different times. Its condition deteriorated, however, and in 1991 it was abandoned.

On June 4, 1993, Amtrak restored service to the depot. In December of that year, it was acquired by the city.

On March 15, 1995, the station was moved from the south side of the tracks to the north side of the tracks; it was also rotated 180 degrees to allow for more parking space. The station was restored between October 1998 and June 12, 1999. The cost of these projects was over $900,000. The station now appears as it did in 1910. On November 23, 2002, a platform and shelter was built on the south side of the tracks. It is called the Bill Ball Plaza.

ervices

Amtrak serves the station daily; the Altamont Commuter Express only serves the station on weekdays. AC Transit has a bus stop across the street, but Thruway Motorcoach buses stop right at the station.

The station is not staffed by railroad agents, but does include a cafe called the Dirk's Depot Diner located in the west end of the Depot. Visit www.dirksdepotdiner.com or www.oiccam.com/depotdiner for live pictures from 3 webcams. The diner contains the historic "creamery" counter and chairs from Cloverdale Creamery, which closed in 2000. Fremont Flowers(which in 1956 opened in the Centerville Depot) remodeled the Creamery and moved the original diner chairs and counter to the Depot. (the owner of the flower shop also owns the Depot Diner)

The station's platform is too short for most trains, and Fremont Boulevard is often blocked by stopped trains. Some passengers even board from the road.

External links

* [http://centervilledepot.railfan.net/ Official site]
* [http://www.amtrakcalifornia.com/rail/go/amtrak/stations/f---k/fremont-centerville/index.cfm Amtrak California]
* [http://acerider.org/stations/fremont/index.html ACE]
* [http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/fremont.htm Amtrak Stations Database]

*Pictures at The Bus Stops Here: [http://www.the-bus-stops-here.org/NB_Fremont_Blvd_At_Fremont_Amtrak_Station-s.jpg] [http://www.the-bus-stops-here.org/Amtrak-Fremont_Platform-s.jpg]
* [http://www.oiccam.com/webcams/index.html?/depotdiner/north.html Webcam]