Rhyl The La Plata station, built in its current state in 1945 by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway,
currently features wooden benches along its exterior. These benches have suffered decades of wear from weather and weary travelers alike and have become dilapidated, diminishing their usefulness for passengers and other visitors to the station. The benches have reached the end of their service life and are in urgent need of replacement.
APRHF has replaced the wooden benches with high-quality benches constructed of dense, recycled plastic, a
green solution to further enhance one of the most energy-efficient modes of transportation in existence, the passenger train. Each bench will be available for sponsorship by members of the public or
other entities for a contribution of $100 to APRHF, and will feature a plaque bearing the sponsor’s name and, if desired, a memorial/tribute message. APRHF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit; this and
other donations to APRHF are fully tax-deductible. Bench sponsorship’s will go to support the work of APRHF.
APRHF currently operates the Exhibition of Amtrak History and Silver Rails Gallery of railroad
art. Both attractions are located in La Plata and are open free to the public as a means to enhance visitors’ understanding of railroading history and culture. APRHF’s long-term mission is to
establish, expand, and maintain an educational exhibition in La Plata featuring the history of passenger rail in America. This much larger undertaking is slated to be contained within the privately planned,
all-weather Silver Rails Resort in La Plata in the coming years.
The campaign to replace the station benches dovetails with ongoing efforts by other community partners to
improve the La Plata Amtrak Station. The State of Missouri recently granted $3,000 to American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation (APRHF) for station maintenance projects. This
money will be combined with an outside donation of $500, to go towards repainting the entire station exterior and completing a project started in 2009 of sealing the windows and painting the trim.
There will also be new guttering installed. These new funds come on top of $90,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds that Amtrak plans to spend this year on station accessibility improvements. Last year, the nearby Silver Rails Depot Inn & Suites hotel installed equipment to provide complimentary wireless Internet access to all passengers and visitors at the station, making
it one of the very few Amtrak stations in the country to feature free wi-fi.
Bench sponsorship is $100.00. You may make your donation below. Please email what you would like to have on your plaque to info@aprhf.org. Thank you for your support.
