Ribbon cutting for the new Amtrak depot

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Amtrak building took place Tuesday at noon. Mayor Wood was master of ceremonies, and he had the members of the Rensselaer Central High School show choir introduce themselves. They sang three songs, finishing with the National Anthem.

 The main speaker was Marc Maglinai, an Amtrak official from Chicago. He mentioned that Rensselaer has had passenger rail service for 115 years, and that 30 years ago the city asked Amtrak if their trains that were traveling through Rensselaer could stop. Thus began local Amtrak service. He also mentioned that the government has spent a million dollars to build the platform and the depot. However, most of his talk was about why daily Amtrak service is a good thing for a community and should be preserved. The Hoosier State line that runs from Indianapolis to Chicago four days a week will not be able to continue if the State of Indiana does not subsidize it. (Three days a week the Cardinal line stops in Rensselaer. It originates on the East Coast.) After he talked, the official ribbon cutting took place.

 The sun was hot and the ceremony short. Afterwards a light lunch was served in the gas department building. Displayed next to the cake was the picture below, showing the Hosier [sic] Limited stopped at the old station. Based on the car, this photo must have been taken nearly a century ago.