Creston station is an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

intercity

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

Creston, Iowa Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa. The population was 7,536 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 Census. History Creston was originally settled in 1868 as a survey camp for the Burlington and Missou ...

. The station is served by the Chicago–San Francisco Bay Area ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville station, Emeryville), via Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Denver, Sa ...

''. Constructed by the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of ...

(CB&Q) and opened in 1899, the station is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad-Creston Station. Amtrak moved to the historic station in 2019 from a small station immediately to its east that had been used since 1969. Creston station is also used by the city of Creston as a city hall and community center, known as the Creston Municipal Complex.

History

The station was built by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) in 1899 for $75,000. The

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

architectural firm of

Burnham and Root Burnham and Root was one of Chicago's most famous architectural companies of the nineteenth century. It was established by Daniel Hudson Burnham and John Wellborn Root. During their eighteen years of partnership, Burnham and Root designed and ...

, who designed many of the CB&Q's stations, designed this station as well. Creston was a division headquarters, therefore all of the railroad's business in southwest Iowa operated from here. It also housed the office of the Master Carpenter, who oversaw all section and bridge work for the division, and the office of the trainmaster, who oversaw the switching and forming of trains in the Creston yards. In addition to the CB&Q mainline, two branch lines originated from here, and another railroad operated from the depot as well. Creston also had various maintenance shops and contained a roundhouse; both have since been demolished or destroyed by a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

. With passenger rail service in the United States declining rapidly in the 1960s, the large Creston station was deemed too expensive to maintain. In 1969, the CB&Q built a small brick and steel depot to the east of the original station which was later used by

after its creation in 1971. The original station was sold to the city of Creston for $1. In 1970, Creston's mayor noted that the station would be a good site for a parking lot. Local residents launched a "Save the Depot Committee", gathering 700 letters of support, and voted for a bond to support its renovation. The station was also added to the

in 1973. With its future secure, the station was renovated and reopened in December 1978 with community rooms on the first floor and city government offices on the second floor. In 2017, Amtrak signed a 20-year lease with Creston for use of the historic station. Following $1.3 million in improvements including making its waiting room accessible, Amtrak relocated to it on August 1, 2019; the nearby platforms of the 1969 station remain in use.

References

External links

Creston Amtrak Stations (USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)
{{NRHP in Union County, Iowa Railway stations in the United States opened in 1899 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1969 Creston, Iowa City and town halls in Iowa Transportation buildings and structures in Union County, Iowa Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Amtrak stations in Iowa Former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad stations National Register of Historic Places in Union County, Iowa 1899 establishments in Iowa Railway stations in the United States opened in 2019