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Centralia, WA
Centralia Union Depot, 2011
General information
Location	210 Railroad Avenue Centralia, Washington United States
Coordinates	46°43′03″N 122°57′10″W / 46.7174°N 122.9529°W / 46.7174; -122.9529
Owned by	BNSF Railway & City of Centralia
Line(s)	BNSF Seattle Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	Lewis County Transit
Construction
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: CTL
History
Opened	1912; 112 years ago (1912)
Rebuilt	2002; 22 years ago (2002)
Passengers
FY 2023	19,730 (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Kelsotoward Eugene Amtrak Cascades Olympia–Laceytoward Vancouver, British Columbia Kelsotoward Los Angeles Coast Starlight Olympia–Laceytoward Seattle
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Olympia-Laceytoward Seattle PioneerDiscontinued in 1997 Kelsotoward Chicago Joint Great Northern/Northern Pacific/ Union Pacific service Preceding station Great Northern Railway Following station Chehalistoward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Bucodatoward Seattle Preceding station Northern Pacific Railway Following station Chehalistoward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Bucodatoward Seattle Preceding station Union Pacific Railroad Following station Chehalistoward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Bucodatoward Seattle
Centralia Union Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	210 Railroad Avenue Centralia, Washington
NRHP reference No.	88000608
Added to NRHP	1988
Location

The Centralia Union Depot is an Amtrak train station in Centralia, Washington, United States. It is served by the Cascades and Coast Starlight trains.

The track and platforms are owned by BNSF Railway. Local transit connections are provided by Lewis County Transit.

History

The station was constructed by the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) and opened in 1912. It is the third station to have been constructed in Centralia since rail service began in 1880.

The large brick structure was built to accommodate a 400% population boom in the area from 1900 to 1914. Only 2 years after its opening, Centralia Union Depot was being served by 44 passenger trains and 17 freight trains daily. The station faced 14 hotels along Tower Avenue, as well as 5 theaters and 8 banks in the downtown core.

NP later merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) in 1970, and Amtrak began operating passenger rail service on the Seattle–Portland route on May 1, 1971. Amtrak trains initially did not stop in Centralia, but were added during a service change on July 12, 1971. The demise of NP, coupled with increased automobile traffic on Interstate 5 saw the Centralia Union Depot deteriorate, much as the city's downtown core was experiencing economic decline. Local civic leaders recognized the problem during the mid-1980s and began a two-decade project that would see the structure acquired by the city and restored as part of a larger downtown revitalization project.

The 1996 merger of BN with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to form the BNSF Railway (BNSF) spurred both the city and the state Department of Transportation (Rail Branch) to negotiate with BNSF to acquire the depot. Following its purchase, the city began the design process for the historic restoration which took place as follows:

• Phase 1 (1996) consisted of exterior work. Stabilize structure deterioration, restore roof dormers that had been removed, install new tile roof, re-point brick exterior, new utilities, new parking lots at each end of the building.
• Phase 2 (2000) consisted of interior work. New floors, restored mill work and brass fittings, Amtrak ticket office, baggage room, freight room, express building, HVAC, elevator.

The restoration project was completed in April 2002 and celebrated in the city's "Railroad Days" festival.

The depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

1. "Centralia, WA (CTL)". amtrak.com. Amtrak. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
2. ^ "Great American Stations: Centralia, WA (CTL)". greatamericanstations.com. Amtrak. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
3. "Centralia". www.amtrakcascades.com. Amtrak. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
4. "Amtrak Cascades Ridership and Station On-Off Information" (PDF). www.wsdot.wa.gov. Washington State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
5. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Washington" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
6. "National Register of Historical Places: Listings in Lewis County". www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. American Dreams Inc. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
7. "Centralia Union Depot – Centralia, Washington". waymarking.com. Groundspeak, Inc. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
8. ^ "Restoration of the Historic Centralia Railroad Depot" (PDF). www.awcnet.org. City of Centralia Community Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2014.
9. "Amtrak adds stops on Portland trains". The Seattle Times. July 7, 1971. p. A18.
10. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.

External links

Media related to Centralia Union Depot at Wikimedia Commons

• Centralia, WA – Amtrak
• Centralia, WA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Twin Transit website
• waymarking.com - Centralia Union Depot
• Restoration report for Centralia Union Depot - archive.org

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Lewis County, Washington
Historic districts	Centralia Downtown Historic District Chehalis Downtown Historic District Hillside Historic District Longmire Historic District Pennsylvania Avenue-West Side Historic District
Historic properties	Ben Olsen House Boistfort High School Burlington Northern Depot Centralia Post Office Centralia Union Depot Chehalis Post Office Claquato Church George E. Birge House Grace Evangelical Church of Vader Holy Cross Polish National Catholic Church Hubbard Bungalow John R. Jackson House Joseph Borst House La Wis Wis Guard Station No. 1165 Lewis County Courthouse Longmire Buildings Longmire Campground Comfort Stations Mineral Log Lodge Narada Falls Comfort Station North Fork Guard Station No. 1142 O. B. McFadden House O. K. Palmer House Ohanapecosh Comfort Stations Olympic Club Saloon Randle Ranger Station-Work Center Troop 373 and 7373 Scout Lodge St. Helens Hotel Three Lakes Patrol Cabin Wesley Everest Gravesite Wolfenbarger Site
Historic objects	The Sentinel
Historic structures	Narada Falls Bridge
National Historic Landmarks	Mount Rainier National Park
Former listings	Doty Bridge Weyerhaeuser Pe Ell Bridge
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Lewis County, Washington and List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington

v t e National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington (state)
Lists by county	Adams Asotin Benton Chelan Clallam Clark Columbia Cowlitz Douglas Ferry Franklin Garfield Grant Grays Harbor Island Jefferson King Kitsap Kittitas Lewis Lincoln Mason Okanogan Pacific Pend Oreille Pierce San Juan Skagit Skamania Snohomish Spokane Stevens Thurston Wahkiakum Walla Walla Whatcom Whitman Yakima
Other lists	National Historic Landmarks Bridges and Tunnels
Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

• Amtrak stations in Washington (state)
• Former Northern Pacific Railway stations in Washington (state)
• Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1912
• Centralia, Washington
• Transportation buildings and structures in Lewis County, Washington
• 1912 establishments in Washington (state)
• National Register of Historic Places in Lewis County, Washington
• Buildings and structures in Lewis County, Washington
• Former Union Pacific Railroad stations
• Former Great Northern Railway (U.S.) stations