Centennial Station

The Centennial Station (also known as Olympia–Lacey) is a train station located immediately south of Lacey, Washington, United States that also serves the capital city of Olympia. The station is served by Amtrak's (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight.

Olympia–Lacey, WA
Amtrak inter-city rail station
Waiting room at Centennial Station
Location	6600 Yelm Highway SE Lacey, Washington, U.S.[1]
Coordinates	46.99145°N 122.79403°W
Owned by	BNSF Railway and Intercity Transit[2]
Line(s)	BNSF Railway Seattle Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Intercity Transit
Construction
Parking	Free
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	OLW
History
Opened	May 1, 1993
Passengers
2018	66,442[3]  4.76%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Centralia toward Los Angeles Coast Starlight Tacoma toward Seattle Centralia toward Eugene–Springfield Amtrak Cascades Tacoma toward Vancouver, British Columbia Suspended services Centralia toward Los Angeles Coast Starlight Tacoma Dome toward Seattle Centralia toward Eugene–Springfield Amtrak Cascades Tacoma Dome toward Vancouver, British Columbia
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Tacoma toward Seattle Pioneer Discontinued in 1997 Centralia toward Chicago Joint Great Northern/Northern Pacific/ Union Pacific service at East Olympia Preceding station Great Northern Railway Following station Plumb toward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Kyro toward Seattle Preceding station Northern Pacific Railway Following station Plumb toward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Kryo toward Seattle Preceding station Union Pacific Railroad Following station Plumb toward Portland Portland–Seattle Line Kryo toward Seattle
Location
Olympia–Lacey, WA Location in Washington Olympia–Lacey, WA Location in the United States

Local transit connections are provided by Intercity Transit. Bus routes 64 and 94 connect to Lacey and Olympia Transit centers.[4][5]

History

The original Union Pacific East Olympia station in East Olympia was demolished in the late 1960s. It was used by the pool trains that ran between Seattle and Portland by all three railroads that used the line, Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Union Pacific. Northern Pacific also had a station at Kyro, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of the current station. Amtrak trains during the 1970s and 1980s used a wooden shelter as East Olympia's passenger train station. However, the station site was remote and had no public transport, no lighting and a pot-holed gravel parking lot with a public telephone that rarely worked.[6]

The stop was listed in the October 28, 1990 Coast Starlight timetable.[7][8] The new Centennial Station was built by the non-profit Amtrak Depot Committee, which began raising funds in 1987 and aimed to open a permanent station in time for the state centennial in 1989.[6] The committee raised $500,000 through government grants, business contributions, individual donations, and the sale of engraved bricks that were later laid in the station plaza.[9] Centennial Station opened to the public on May 1, 1993, following the delayed installation of a sewer system, and was added to the Amtrak system.[6][10]

It is believed to be the only Amtrak station in the nation both built and operated entirely by volunteers.[11] The train station was sold to Intercity Transit for $1 in September 1993, while the Amtrak Depot Committee remained the main operators of the facility.[12] The committee also raised $10,000 to install a 10-foot (3.0 m) clocktower in the courtyard, which was dedicated on November 14, 1994, as part of a ceremony for the Talgo trainsets entering service on the Seattle–Portland corridor.[13] The station's parking lot was expanded to 133 stalls as part of an improvement project that was completed in 2001.[14] A second improvement project, completed in 2003, included a rebuilt train platform for accessibility and the installation of an electronic information kiosk.[11][15]

References

1. "Lacey, WA – Olympia (OLW)". amtrak.com. Amtrak. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
2. "Great American Stations: Olympia-Lacey, WA (OLW)". amtrak.com. Amtrak. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
3. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2018, State of Washington" (PDF). amtrak.com. Amtrak. June 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
4. "Route 64". www.intercitytransit.com. Intercity Transit. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
5. "Route 94". www.intercitytransit.com. Intercity Transit. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
6. Hall, C.B. (February 21, 2012). "Amtrak finds it hard to take citizens' help, even when they build a station". Crosscut.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
7. "Amtrak National Train Timetables". The Museum of Railway Timetables. Amtrak. October 28, 1990. Olympia/Lacey, WA–Yelm Hwy. and Burlington Northern RR Tracks, Lacey 98503
8. "Amtrak National Train Timetables". The Museum of Railway Timetables. Amtrak. October 28, 1990. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
9. Satir, F.E. (March 9, 1997). "Volunteers transform 'Amshack' into showplace". The Olympian. p. D1.
10. Smith, Jeff (May 2, 1993). "At last, doors open to Amtrak depot". The Olympian. p. C1.
11. "Train Platform Improved at Olympia/Lacey Centennial Station". Washington State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
12. Coffidis, Joel (September 22, 1993). "Volunteers sell train station to IT for $1". The Olympian. p. C3.
13. Coffidis, Joel (November 13, 1994). "New courtyard clock to welcome Talgo's return to depot". The Olympian. p. C1.
14. "Amtrak station gets more parking". The Olympian. August 5, 2001. p. C1.
15. "Upgrades finished at Amtrak depot". The Olympian. August 5, 2003. p. B3.

External links

• Media related to Centennial Station at Wikimedia Commons

• Olympia, WA – Amtrak
• Olympia-Lacey, WA (OLW) (Amtrak's Great American Stations)