Huntingdon (Amtrak station)
Encyclopedia
Huntingdon Station is an Amtrak
railway station located approximately 95 miles northwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
and 30 miles east of Altoona, Pennsylvania
at 4th and Allegheny Streets in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
. The station is located at the south end of the borough, along one of the major streets into Huntingdon (4th Street), just north of the Juniata River
.
Huntingdon Station was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad
in 1872, and shared service with the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad
, which had a station across the tracks. The station house was closed by PRR in 1965, and is currently a local business. It also contained a signal house, which is now a local museum. Efforts to save the former H&BTM station failed when it was demolished in 2001.
Huntingdon Station is currently only served by Amtrak's Pennsylvanian
, which operates once per day in each direction. Until 2005, Huntingdon was served by a second daily train, the Three Rivers
(a replacement service for the legendary Broadway Limited
), an extended version of the Pennsylvanian that terminated in Chicago. Upon its cancellation, the sole Pennsylvanian marked the first time in Huntingdon's railway history that the town was served by just a single, daily passenger train.
The station is actually a shack
-like, but structurally sound building. There is no ticket office at this station. Though most of the Pennsylvanian route between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh
transverses through rural, sparsely populated areas, Huntingdon is the only stop between the two aforementioned cities that does not have bus service, either local or intercity, of any kind within one mile of the station.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
railway station located approximately 95 miles northwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
and 30 miles east of Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
at 4th and Allegheny Streets in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Huntingdon County. It is located along the Juniata River, west of Harrisburg, about halfway between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, in an agricultural and fruit-growing region, with valuable forests and deposits of...
. The station is located at the south end of the borough, along one of the major streets into Huntingdon (4th Street), just north of the Juniata River
Juniata River
The Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long, in central Pennsylvania in the United States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps...
.
Huntingdon Station was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
in 1872, and shared service with the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad
Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad
Huntington & Broad Top Mountain Railroad is a former short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in south central Pennsylvania....
, which had a station across the tracks. The station house was closed by PRR in 1965, and is currently a local business. It also contained a signal house, which is now a local museum. Efforts to save the former H&BTM station failed when it was demolished in 2001.
Huntingdon Station is currently only served by Amtrak's Pennsylvanian
Pennsylvanian (Amtrak)
The Pennsylvanian is a 444-mile daytime Amtrak train running between New York and Pittsburgh via Philadelphia. The trains travel through Pennsylvania's capital, the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, suburban and central Philadelphia, and pass through New Jersey up to New York. Trains run once daily in...
, which operates once per day in each direction. Until 2005, Huntingdon was served by a second daily train, the Three Rivers
Three Rivers (Amtrak)
The Three Rivers was a daily Amtrak train running between New York, New York and Chicago, Illinois. It operated via Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Akron, Ohio. The Three Rivers replaced the Broadway Limited in 1995...
(a replacement service for the legendary Broadway Limited
Broadway Limited
The Broadway Limited was the Pennsylvania Railroad's premier named passenger train, operating daily in each direction between New York City and Chicago, via North Philadelphia. It replaced its predecessors, the Pennsylvania Limited and the Pennsylvania Special...
), an extended version of the Pennsylvanian that terminated in Chicago. Upon its cancellation, the sole Pennsylvanian marked the first time in Huntingdon's railway history that the town was served by just a single, daily passenger train.
The station is actually a shack
Shack
A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...
-like, but structurally sound building. There is no ticket office at this station. Though most of the Pennsylvanian route between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
transverses through rural, sparsely populated areas, Huntingdon is the only stop between the two aforementioned cities that does not have bus service, either local or intercity, of any kind within one mile of the station.