Group is closer to getting title to railroad station

Daily American Republic

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- It's taken nearly a year, but some progress is being made on saving the old Union Pacific Railroad Depot in downtown Poplar Bluff.

"We're beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel," said Dennis Glaze, chairman of the Committee to Save and Restore the Poplar Bluff Historic Train Depot.

Glaze said last week that as soon as the committee receives a 501-3 tax designation, Union Pacific will deed to the committee the depot, the land it sits on and the historic steps behind the depot that lead to Main Street.

"The parking lot is under waivers until we get the depot renovated and operational," Glaze said. "We'll go back and negotiate on the parking lot."

The depot has sat unused for several years except for a room that Amtrak passengers use as a waiting room. The waiting area had been unsafe and unsightly until the Committee to Save and Restore the Poplar Bluff Historic Train Depot began volunteering to clean it and maintain it with the help of Union Pacific employees and Amtrak.

Figures Glaze provided show that in 2001, 1,205 passengers boarded the Texas Eagle at Poplar Bluff, and 1,374 passengers arrived in Poplar Bluff -- a total of 2,579 people. That compares to 2,542 passengers who passed through the next nearest station in Walnut Ridge, Ark.