Prince station

Prince

Eastbound Cardinal stopped at Prince Amtrak station
Location
Coordinates 37°51′24″N 81°03′38″W / 37.85667°N 81.06056°W / 37.85667; -81.06056Coordinates: 37°51′24″N 81°03′38″W / 37.85667°N 81.06056°W / 37.85667; -81.06056
Owned by Fayette County Commission
Line(s)
  Cardinal
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 2
Construction
Parking Yes
Other information
Station code PRC
History
Opened 1946
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 3,406[1] Increase 9%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward Chicago
Cardinal

Prince is an Amtrak station in Prince, West Virginia, served by the Cardinal. Because it is on the CSX (originally Chesapeake & Ohio Railway) mainline while the unincorporated area of Prince itself is not, this station serves as the main depot for the Beckley area.

History

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway built the first facility in 1880 that was enlarged in 1891 to serve both freight and passengers.[2] In 1942, the C&O president, Robert R. Young, saw a need for "a stylish, streamlined, and efficient passenger rail system" that lead to the development of the current station.[2]

Design

The design of the Prince train station is Art Deco.[3] Built in 1946, the architectural firm was Garfield, Harris, Robinson, & Schafer that was headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.[4] The main terminal building is 125 by 22 feet (38.1 m × 6.7 m) and the waiting area features tall ceilings and large windows, as well as a large wall mural depicting mining and the importance of coal.[2]

The depot has a minimum of ornamentation. Each end of the 500-foot (152 m) canopy is rounded and topped with Streamline Moderne stainless steel lettering spelling out "Prince".[5] The canopy is oriented so that the sun would warm waiting passengers in the winter time, while shading them in the summer.[2]

Future

With an upsurge in activities in the New River Gorge National River, and the development of the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve that is located 7 miles (11 km) from the station, plans are underway for improvements to the passenger facility as of late-2013.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2013, State of West Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Prince, WV (PRC)". www.greatamericanstations.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Along the New River". Railfan & Railroad. 25: 5. 2006.
  4. ↑ Bittermann, Eleanor (1952). Art in modern architecture. Reinhold. p. 73.
  5. ↑ Chambers, S. Allen (2004). Buildings of West Virginia, Volume 9 of Buildings of the United States. Oxford University Press. pp. 111–112. ISBN 978-0-19-516548-7.
  6. ↑ Porterfield, Mannix (7 August 2013). "Prince train depot likely to have enhanced role in future Boy Scout functions". Register-Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
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