Whitefish station

Whitefish station is a stop on Amtrak's Empire Builder in Whitefish, Montana. In addition to the Empire Builder, a once-daily Greyhound Lines bus service also links the station to Kalispell and Missoula. A car rental agency operates a window within the station. The station and parking lot are owned by the Stumptown Historical Society. BNSF Railway leases office space on the upper floors of the station and owns the platform and track.[2][3]

For the community in Yukon, see Whitefish Station, Yukon.
Whitefish, MT
General information
Location500 Depot Street
Whitefish, Montana
United States
Coordinates48°24′49″N 114°20′08″W
Owned byStumptown Historical Society
Line(s)BNSF Hi Line Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Greyhound Lines
Construction
Parking20 short term, 40 long term spaces
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: WFH
History
OpenedJune 22, 1928
Passengers
FY 202237,597[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Libby
toward Seattle or Portland
 Empire Builder West Glacier
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station Great Northern Railway Following station
Vista
toward Seattle
 Main Line Half Moon
toward St. Paul
Great Northern Railway Passenger and Freight Depot and Division Office
LocationWhitefish, Montana
Area2.2 acres (0.89 ha)
ArchitectThomas D'Arcy McMahon
Architectural styleTudor Revival
NRHP reference No.02000766
Added to NRHPJuly 11, 2002

The Tudor Revival station building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and is known therein as the Great Northern Railway Passenger and Freight Depot and Division Office or as the Whitefish Depot.[4]

Of the 12 Montana stations served by Amtrak, Whitefish is by far the busiest, boarding or detraining an average of about 170 passengers daily. Whitefish typically handles more than four times as many passengers as the next-busiest Montana station, which varies from year to year between East Glacier Park, Havre, and Shelby. It is the busiest station stop between the Pacific Ocean and St. Paul Union Depot on the Empire Builder route.[5][6][7][8]

As of 2012, the Empire Builder stops at the station for 20 minutes. Whitefish marks the western end of the BNSF's Hi Line Subdivision and the eastern end of the Kootenai River Subdivision.

History
A trackside view of the depot.

The Great Northern Railway built the present Whitefish depot between September 10, 1927 and June 22, 1928.[9][10] Architect Thomas D'Arcy McMahon designed the structure in a Tudor Revival style reminiscent of the Alpine resort hotels built by the railroad in nearby Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park during that same era, some of which were also designed by McMahon. The upper floors of the depot housed the railway's division offices.[2][4]

By the 1980s the structure was deteriorating and the Burlington Northern Railroad (successor to the Great Northern) decided to vacate station in favor of a new building. After hearing the plan, Stumptown Historical Society approached the railroad and asked that the station be transferred for restoration. The transfer was completed in 1990 and Burlington Northern also donated money it had allocated for a new building to help fund the depot’s rehabilitation.[2]

The station was closed between June 24 and July 17, 1992 due to a mold outbreak.[11]

Stumptown started by renovating the upper stories of the depot and leased that space back to the BNSF Railway (successor to the Burlington Northern). Additional funding and the lease payments provided the money needed to renovate the first floor which is now leased to Amtrak and local vendors. The Historical Society also maintains a local history museum on the first floor adjacent to the waiting room.[2] A Kenwood bruck serving the local route from Kalispell between 1951 and 1971 is on display.[12] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.[4]

Recent additions include a baggage facility built in 1997 on the side of the station to better serve the large number of visitors during ski season.[4] In 2011, Amtrak designed and constructed a new 1,200 foot long concrete platform, which includes an electric snow-melting system and better lighting.[2]

References
  1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Montana" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  2. "Amtrak – Great American Stations". Amtrak. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  3. Grau, Kara; Bruns-Dubois, Melissa; Nickerson, Norma P. (December 2006). "The Economic Review of the Travel Industry in Montana" (PDF). Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  4. "National Register of Historic Places, Montana – Flathead County". National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved February 6, 2002.
  5. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, State of Montana" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  6. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2011, State of Montana" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  7. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2012, State of Montana" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  8. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2013, State of Montana" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  9. "Excavation Starts on Whitefish Depot". The Great Falls Tribune. September 11, 1927. p. 4. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. "$70,000 Whitefish Depot Opened by Great Northern". The Great Falls Tribune. June 23, 1928. p. 5. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  11. "Temporary Amtrak Station Opens". The Independent-Record. Helena, Montana. July 18, 1992. p. 7. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  12. LYNNETTE HINTZE, The Daily Inter Lake, October 27, 2005

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