Monday, April 02, 2001 4:54 AM MST
Ticket window reopens after 60 years
By Inga Miller
STAFF WRITER
SUNOL -- "All aboard" was the call that brought a steady stream of
travelers Sunday to old Southern Pacific Railroad depot, where they
lined up at a new ticket window -- the first to do so since passengers
stopped coming through there during World War II.
The depot reopened its original ticket window -- first built in the
1880s -- for the Southern Pacific Railroad for the first time since it
closed down as a depot in the 1940s.
--->But it was back Sunday, with its sliding glass frames and brick
chimney.
"We didn't know what to expect," said a jubilant Susan Kembell. The
Clayton resident had brought her aunt and 3-year-old cousin to see the
newly re-opened depot. "It's cute, it's really cute."
Painted yellow with a smart brown trim, the depot is probably in
better condition now than it ever was to begin with, said Doug
Campbell who has been in charge of the restoration work for the
Pacific Locomotive Association.
"Railroad companies were never big on taking care of things so long as
they functioned," said Campbell.
--->Built by the railroad company sometime between 1884 and 1887 to
serve riders between Sacramento and San Francisco, the depot was
crumbling by 1941.
Within several years it was moved off the railroad site and used for
dressing rooms and later was turned into a restaurant. In the 1960s it
was converted into a home.
But when Southern Pacific gave up the tracks and land in 1984, the
Pacific Locomotive Association started rehabilitating the site. By
1988, a few miles of tracks had been laid for train rides.
Since then, tickets were sold from a small kiosk. But several years
ago, the association moved the depot back to nearly the same spot
where it originally stood and started work restoring it.
Now, visitors can take the train on what has developed into a one-hour
tour.
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Tours on the Niles Canyon Railway are $7 for adults and $3 for
children ages 3 to 12. Trains currently depart on Sunday only at 10:30
a.m., 11:15 a.m., noon, 12:45 p.m. 1:30 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3 p.m. and
3:45 p.m.
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