Passenger Trains > Worst "Amshack" in the system

Two of the worst I've ever visited were Winnemucka, NV and Benson, AZ. Any other nominations?

Lordsburg, NM is much worse than Benson. I had the misfortune of my truck breaking down in Lordsburg years ago and using the Amshack to watch trains while I waited for my dad and TucsonPete to drive out from Tucson to assist in the recovery. It wreaked of urine, had human excrement in one of the corners, and had about a years worth of trash built up in it. Back to Benson, it's a shame that Amtrak didn't make an effort to acquire space in the replica depot that serves as a visitors center.

Madera non exisiting Amshack get my prize for the worst one!

Chris

Yup, Madera, CA! The area, the surroundings, the remoteness, All makes Madera the worst.

Elyria, OH gets my vote. That ws in real bad shape a year ago.

Beaumont, Texas would be in the running if it hadn't been leveled a few years ago.
Do Amslabs count? No lights, no shelter.

RailNet802, over

Deming, NM? Its depot has been trucked away to become the town's annex and all there is now are 2 green benches. #s 1/2 use the road crossing to their station work.

kk5ol Wrote:
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> Do Amslabs count? No lights, no shelter.
>

Dude stop. Thanks to you, my screen is covered in Heineken. Send me a check for replacement.

If I look at an aerial of Medara, CA, where would I find this Amshack?

A couple of years ago I took the Hoosier State from Indy to Chicago. There were a couple of stops on that route that had Amshacks. Maybe one of you who is more familiar with that route would know the names of the Hoosier State Amshack stops.

P Wrote:
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> If I look at an aerial of Medara, CA, where would
> I find this Amshack?

http://tinyurl.com/46qxxu

The problem with AmShacks is they're unattended and therefore unmaintained.
The second problem is that if you build a shelter, vagrants and miscreants will use it for a toilet.
Lake City, FL was on this list, before they annulled the Sunset west of New Orleans. Now I'm sure it's just a shelter for bums and drug deals.

Regards,
Danny Harmon
Tampa

www.youtube.com/distantsignal

Thompson, UT at least has a station building -- sort of. It's an empty room with a pay phone and a leaking roof.

jd4amtrak Wrote:
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> A couple of years ago I took the Hoosier State
> from Indy to Chicago. There were a couple of
> stops on that route that had Amshacks. Maybe one
> of you who is more familiar with that route would
> know the names of the Hoosier State Amshack stops.

One of the Amhuts is at Dyer - it sits lonely on the platform, all of its plastic panels now either opaque with exposure or replaced with boards, a dismal place to wait. There is no phone nearby (in fact, if you come off the train and look around, it seems like nothing is nearby) and sometimes even with Julie's excellent advice one waits there for over an hour. (The south/east bound can be stopped less than 2 miles away for hours as it snakes its way out of Chicago.)

So, most of the waiting there is done in cars. A couple of times when people alighted and appeared to be pedestrian and surprised at the remoteness, I would offer a ride to either downtown Dyer (about a mile away) or a nearby supermarket (about half a mile away).

NO NO NO .......You ain't seen nothing until you've been to Alliance, OH
Rich S

"A couple of years ago I took the Hoosier State from Indy to Chicago. There were a couple of stops on that route that had Amshacks. Maybe one of you who is more familiar with that route would know the names of the Hoosier State Amshack stops."


The Amshacks on the Hoosier State/Cardinal route from Indianapolis to Chicago are Crawfordsville, In. , Rensaellaer, In, and Dyer In. The Amshack at Crawfordsville was recently redone by a local high school class and looks much better.

I'll take the "slab" any day to the Lordsburg situation that Sean described above. Lacking a shelter means that it won't be used for a toilet. If you know it's a slab beforehand you can take appropriate measures.

kk5ol Wrote:
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> Do Amslabs count? No lights, no shelter.

When the Pioneer used to run via Wyoming there was an
Amslab at Borie WY (for Cheyenne WY). The "slab" is
still there but no "Am" there anymore, except when
the Zephyr diverts via Wyoming occasionally. But even
on those occasions it does not stop at Borie.

Salt Lake City.

Yea, I agree. For the size of Salt Lake City, I would've expected a better train station. Awhile back, I think SLC used to have a nice station. Any plans for a nicer Amtrak station in SLC?