(The following story by Sarah Dulinsky appeared on the Sentinel-Times website on May 10.)
OSCEOLA, Fla. — It might be the landscape or the traveling across the Colorado River. Maybe it’s meeting new people or just the experience, but several thousand people each year choose Amtrak.
This year marks Osceola’s 36th year of Amtrak service.
The 100-year-old train depot was the site of an informal celebration May 1 to celebrate the milestone.
A few passengers and train lovers, including Gary Bilmeyer, vice president of the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers, or IARP, and depot operators Pat Green and J.R. Black, enjoyed cake, shrimp, cookies, lemonade and sparkling grape juice.
Amtrak service started in Osceola on May 1, 1971, and has continued to carry on ever since. Compared with the other five Amtrak sites in Iowa, Osceola has the highest number of passengers, Bilmeyer said.
According to Amtrak’s Web site, in 2006, Osceola had 16,437 passengers compared to Mount Pleasant’s 12,719, Ottumwa’s 11,190, Fort Madison’s 9,479, Burlington’s 6,550 and Creston’s 5,002.
Bilmeyer has been a member of the IARP since its start in 1981.
“The train is a great way to get around. It is fuel-efficient, environment-friendly, and you can see things that you can’t see in a car or a plane,” Bilmeyer said. “Going through the country that nothing else goes through but the train is a remarkable experience that everyone should do.”
Judy Lancaster of Norwalk drove down with her sister, Doris Parsons, and another family member, Ray Parsons, both of Des Moines, just for the celebration.
“I ride the train at least a couple times a year,” Lancaster said. “I love the whole experience of it and so does my family. Each year, my two sons and my grandkids travel by train to Winterpark, Colo., to go skiing. It is quite the experience!”
Denise Estman of Des Moines was boarding the train for the first time that day, heading to a funeral in Denver. She said she chose Amtrak because of the schedule and because it would take her downtown. She also thought the train would give her a chance to relax and decompress before she arrived.
Guests and waiting passengers anxiously awaited the evening train’s arrival. The celebration ended with everyone stepping onto the north platform at 8 p.m. and the train arrived 10 minutes later.
Janet Claire arrived in Osceola from Milwaukee. She was planning to take a taxi to Boone to meet her daughter. This is the second time she has taken the train and always loves the ride.
“This trip went extremely well,” Claire said. “It was right on time and the staff was very helpful and very professional.”
The city now has plans to renovate the train depot and hopes to make it more convenient for passengers.
City Administrator Ralph Lesko said the city is in the process of acquiring the train depot from BNSF and selecting architects for the depot renovation, tenatively set to start this fall.