Whitehall station

Whitehall station is an Amtrak intercity train station in the village of Whitehall, New York. It is served by the Adirondack. It has one low-level side platform with a small shelter on the east side of the track.

Not to be confused with Leeds Whitehall railway station or Whitehall Street-South Ferry (BMT Broadway Line).
Whitehall, NY
Whitehall station in July 2017
General information
Location154 Main Street
Whitehall, New York
United States
Coordinates43.5558°N 73.4033°W / 43.5558; -73.4033
Owned byAmtrak
Line(s)Canadian Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Construction
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: WHL
History
RebuiltApril–November 14, 1994[1][2]
2017
Key dates
April 30, 1971Delaware and Hudson Railroad service ends[3]
August 6, 1974Amtrak service begins[4]
Passengers
FY 2022Service suspended due to COVID-19[5] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Ticonderoga
toward Montreal
 Adirondack Fort Edward
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Delaware and Hudson Railway Following station
Dresden
toward Rouses Point
 Main Line Comstock
toward Albany
Fair Haven
toward Rutland
 Whitehall – Rutland Terminus

History

The Saratoga and Washington Railroad opened from Saratoga Springs, New York to Gansevoort on August 15, 1848, and on to Whitehall on December 10.[6] The original terminus was just north of the village center at a dock on the Poultney River - the southern tip of Lake Champlain - thus establishing the railroad as a competitor to the Champlain Canal. A 1-mile (1.6 km) extension north to Lake Station on October 1, 1851 eliminated the need for ships to round a dangerous bend in the river.[7][6]

Whitehall station in July 1975

On October 1, 1850, the railroad opened a branch from just south of Whitehall to the Vermont state line near Fair Haven.[6][8] Along with its Vermont subsidiary the Rutland and Whitehall Railroad (opened on November 1) and the Rutland and Washington Railroad (opened several weeks prior), this established a through rail route between Albany, New York and Rutland, Vermont.[6][8] The railroad built a brick freight house and station at the junction in 1850.[9]

After a "complicated series of bankruptcies, reorganizations, leases, and sales", the railroads were consolidated under the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad in 1865, which in turn became part of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad (D&H) on May 1, 1871.[8] D&H subsidiary New York and Canada Railroad opened from Lake Station to Rouses Point (where the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad connected to Montreal) on December 1, 1875, eliminating the need for Lake Station as a steamship terminal.[6] The D&H built a new station and freight house at Whitehall in 1892-93.[9]

In 1932, the D&H realigned its mainline through Whitehall, with a short tunnel under the village center. The relocated tracks were slightly farther from the station, and a staircase connected the platform to the building.[9] Passenger service on the Whitehall Branch to Rutland ended on June 24, 1934.[10][11] Passenger service to Whitehall ended on April 30, 1971, as Amtrak did not continue D&H passenger service when it took over intercity passenger trains the next day.

Service resumed with the introduction of the Adirondack on August 5, 1974.[12] The former station building was demolished by intentional burning on April 28, 1987.[13] The former freight house is in use by a local business. Construction on a new Amtrak station in the village center began in April 1994 and was completed that November 14.[1][2] Amtrak began operating the Ethan Allen Express over the Whitehall Branch on December 2, 1996; because the 1994-built station is north of the junction, the Ethan Allen Express does not stop at Whitehall.[14]

References
  1. Marchette, Darlene (April 4, 1994). "Work on New Whitehall Amtrak Station Finally Begins". The Post-Star. Glens Falls, New York. pp. 7-8. Retrieved August 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. Blow, David (November 15, 1994). "New Train Station Opens in Whitehall". The Post-Star. Retrieved August 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. Metivier, Don A. (June 10, 1972). "Hundreds Greet Amtrak's Arrival". The Post-Star. Glens Falls, New York. pp. 1, 13. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "Rail Bond Issue Campaign Begins". The Daily Messenger. Canandaigua, New York. August 5, 1974. p. 2. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of New York" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  6. Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Reports and Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Vol. 116. United States Interstate Commerce Commission. 1921. pp. 712, 749–751.
  7. "Whitehall Cliffs: A Historic Landscape". Lake Champlain Land Trust.
  8. Lindsell, Robert M. (2000). The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 36, 37. ISBN 0942147065.
  9. "Whitehall, New York (WHL)". Great American Stations. Amtrak.
  10. "D. & H. To Suspend Passenger Trains To And From City". Rutland Daily Herald. May 26, 1934. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Plan New Bus Lines". The Enterprise and Vermonter. June 15, 1934. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Montreal Train Run Commences Today". Schenectady Gazette. August 5, 1974 – via Google News.
  13. McIntire, Sandy (April 29, 1987). "Firefighters Burn Whitehall RR Station". The Post-Star. Glens Falls, New York. p. 9. Retrieved August 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  14. Lloyd, Barbara (December 19, 1996). "Train Trip to Vermont Offers Some of the Fun". The New York Times.
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