Monday, July 16, 2012

Normal: Old Amtrak Station Memories

Now that Normal has a new Amtrak station, I thought it might be interesting to find out about the former station. The "old" Amtrak station opened June 11, 1990, after a delay required to finish the roof, lighting fixtures, the solar energy system, and landscaping. The energy-efficient design was supposed to save $20,000 a year (compared to similar stations without this design). The design included double-pane windows, a solar room to collect heat, dark flooring tiles, and foam insulation, in addition to the solar panels. The building cost $700,000 (too bad there weren't online comments available at that time; I'm sure there would have been many comments criticizing the cost). When this station opened, a round-trip ticket to Chicago cost $31.

The last Amtrak train was scheduled to leave the old Union Station in Bloomington at 9:16 p.m. June 10. Union Station opened in 1913 and cost $84,000. They were selling an average of 4,485 tickets a month when it closed.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Normal Street Statistics 2011


Some statistics from the Town of Normal Public Works 2011 Annual Report:

* 520 signs replaced/installed
*4,463 cubic yards of dirt and debris swept up
*11,205 cubic yards of leaves collected (a record!)
*4,259 tons of salt distributed
*8,779 tons of household waste collected
*4,150 tons of materials (most of it paper) collected from the recycling centers
*$670,783 spent on fuel
*2,850 gallons of paint to mark roadways

There are 426 lane miles of streets in Normal. Every one of those miles has a story...