Fort Madison was 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 inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

train station in

Fort Madison Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, United States. The former Amtrak station was built in 1968 by the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

—commonly referred to as the "Santa Fe." Located at the east end of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF—successor to the Santa Fe) freight yard, it was about a half hour walk away from downtown. It replaced a downtown Santa Fe complex that included a 1910 depot, Railway Express Agency (REA) building, and freight office. On December 15, 2021, Amtrak moved its operations back to the historical Santa Fe Depot, located directly in downtown Fort Madison.

Original station restoration

The city, in collaboration with BNSF, Amtrak, the Iowa Department of Transportation, the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, and the North Lee County Historical Society (NLCHS), has worked since 2006 to restore the old Santa Fe station to accommodate an Amtrak waiting room and ticket office as well as exhibition and storage space for the NLCHS museum, which moved into the old depot in 1972. Unfortunately, the depot remained susceptible to high water and was flooded several times in the late 20th century. Eventually, the city decided to sponsor a project to lift the depot off of its foundation, construct a new five foot high concrete base, and lower the building back into place; this work occurred during 2011. The total cost of the depot raising and restoration project is estimated at $3.2 million, and the city obtained funds from a diverse array of grant programs, including $1.5 million through the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Enhancements program and $1.13 million through I-Jobs, a state investment program designed to renew Iowa’s infrastructure, promote long-term economic growth, and help create and retain jobs. Once the renovation is completed, Amtrak plans to move the Fort Madison stop to the depot, which will also continue to house the NLCHS museum.

References

External links

Fort Madison Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)Fort Madison receives $1.1 million for Santa Fe Rail DepotFort Madison (FMD)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Madison station (1968-2021) Former Amtrak stations in Iowa Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations Transportation buildings and structures in Lee County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Fort Madison, Iowa Railway stations in the United States opened in 1968 Railway stations closed in 2021