Platform Canopy Work at Ottumwa

I stopped by the station at Ottumwa, Iowa last week. The roofs of the platform canopies are currently removed.




I haven't seen anything in the news lately, but (digging into an old 4-H project) I do have a newspaper article about the Make Ottumwa Shine committee discussing the need to renovate the canopies. The article mentions that any work is complicated because while Amtrak owns the station, the platforms themselves are owned by BNSF. The date of this article is September 8, 2005.

That's not the kicker. The kicker is the article states there were a couple previous city discussions about this, the oldest starting in 1999.

So, either those talks led to some work and now more work is being done, or this is a project fourteen years in the making.

Here are a few pictures that I have. These weren't taken the same day as the video.

Hopefully they will save the structure itself as it is classic! It looks like it just needs a good sandblasting and some touch up metal work here and there.

Structure looks solid, sandblasting - consider all the reports of dangers of sand blasting ancient paint with lead and chromates, not as cheap as it might appear - OHSA, if done right, not much problem, maybe some cost.

Ottumwa, 32pax/day, hope they get the canopy up, hope more pax - seems likely with new service enhancements - or not.

Hoping, sometimes, to visit most Iowa stations, may I live so long.

Keep up the good work.

Ohhh Man!!! My old home town station is getting a face lift....

this makes me super pleased . Good old OTM Ill miss your old face and looks but with old gone comes a new life in a station that I have spent many hours in .

Ya all want some kids to do the messy work , there are a ton of my fellow Indian Hills College students whom I know would love to make a few bucks to pay there way in college ....... come on Mr FDR put those boys( and girls) to work ! .....

( off to make a few calls to some alums )

Peter

Great video! Seems an odd time of year to start that type of work, unless there were concerns of it being able to handle snow.

Snow ? Iowa ? Never .. * rolls eyes *

OTM gets Feet at a time . * I kinda miss it !*

I mean who does not love snow days !

I traveled on the Burlington Route throughout the Midwest in the 1950s including through Ottumwa. The canopy was very similar to other Burlington station throughout the system. My Mother went to college in Ottumwa in the early 1930s and took the train from there many times.

Here's hoping new canopy roofing arrives sometime soon. I've seen some stations which have had "roofless canopies" for decades (the far end of the Rochester platform comes to mind).

jphjaxfl said:

I traveled on the Burlington Route throughout the Midwest in the 1950s including through Ottumwa. The canopy was very similar to other Burlington station throughout the system. My Mother went to college in Ottumwa in the early 1930s and took the train from there many times.

Click to expand...

Ha! Pre 50s * If I remember right *

IHCC was a all womens College ....