Grand Central Sanderson Station

[Northwestern]

Sanderson, Texas heads the list of the 10 loneliest Amtrak stations, based on passenger traffic.

https://is.gd/LbBYT0

I thought Browning, Montana would have a lower passenger count. I used to live in Browning, and took the Empire Builder out of Browning several times. It is a seasonal station, open during the late fall, winter, and early spring months, Oct through Apr. It was a godsend during those winter months as Highway 2 can be extremely hazardous during the winter.

 

[Willbridge]

Sanderson, Texas heads the list of the 10 loneliest Amtrak stations, based on passenger traffic.

https://is.gd/LbBYT0

I thought Browning, Montana would have a lower passenger count. I used to live in Browning, and took the Empire Builder out of Browning several times. It is a seasonal station, open during the late fall, winter, and early spring months, Oct through Apr. It was a godsend during those winter months as Highway 2 can be extremely hazardous during the winter.

When I was collaborating with a bus company on a Great Falls <> Cut Bank <> Banff Thruway bus proposal, more than one Amtrak employee Back East did not know about the seasonal Browning stop.

 

[Northwestern]

Is there a current bus service between East Glacier, Cut Bank, or Shelby across the border and up to Banff? I once thought of taking the Builder to East Glacier Park and head north to Waterton Park, but I didn't want to rent a car.
t

 

[Rasputin]

Is there a current bus service between East Glacier, Cut Bank, or Shelby across the border and up to Banff? I once thought of taking the Builder to East Glacier Park and head north to Waterton Park, but I didn't want to rent a car.
t

There used to be a bus service, but it was discontinued about 10 years ago. I can't recall where it originated, probably Great Falls. I believe it ran from Great Falls to Shelby to Coutts to Calgary. It was a Greyhound service, as I recall when I took it in 1972. I took the eastbound Empire Builder to Shelby, had an hour or so layover at Shelby, and then caught the bus. There was also about an hour layover at Coutts to clear customs.

 

[Rasputin]

Sanderson used to have a large station when it was a division point for the SP. The station was still standing in May 2012 when I went through but I believe it was demolished soon thereafter. There was an effort to preserve the station but it was not successful.

 

[railiner]

Sanderson, Texas heads the list of the 10 loneliest Amtrak stations, based on passenger traffic.

https://is.gd/

There used to be a bus service, but it was discontinued about 10 years ago. I can't recall where it originated, probably Great Falls. I believe it ran from Great Falls to Shelby to Coutts to Calgary. It was a Greyhound service, as I recall when I took it in 1972. I took the eastbound Empire Builder to Shelby, had an hour or so layover at Shelby, and then caught the bus. There was also about an hour layover at Coutts to clear customs.

I rode the bus on that route when I travelled from New York City to Fairbanks, AK on a memorable vacation trip in 1970. The portion in Montana was operated by the Intermountain Transportation Company over some former Northland Greyhound Lines routes. It terminated in Sweetgrass, MT, where you would walk across the border into adjacent Coutts, AB. Then a connecting Greyhound Lines of Canada bus would continue up to Calgary.

 

[caravanman]

We have Simon Calder, a well known travel writer here in the UK, who publishes tips once a week. This popped up today:

" In Amtrak data analysed by MailOnline, it was revealed that Sanderson, an area in Terrell County, Texas, with a population of only around 700 people, received 247 passengers at its station in 2023

Despite its low passenger use, the station got a $3m makeover in 2021, with a new open-air shelter, concrete platform and walkways to make the station more accessible.

The station is served six times a week, westbound and eastbound, by the long-distance Sunset Limited train that runs from New Orleans to San Antonio, then to Los Angeles for a 48-hour-long journey, as well as the 32-hour Texas Eagle, which departs from Chicago on its way to Los Angeles.

While only a small town, Sanderson has come to be known as the “Cactus Capital of Texas”, and is also an important livestock grazing center.

There has been a train stop at Sanderson since the 1880s, and despite its modern reconstruction over the years, the station is still without wifi or toilets.

Next on the list of the quietest stations is Montgomery, West Virginia, which only saw 266 passengers use the station in 2023 in this small community located next to the Kanawha River.

The station is served by the long-distance Cardinal train, which departs three days a week between New York and Chicago for a 26-and-a-half-hour journey.

Four stops down are Alderson, West Virginia, which the MailOnline’s data analysis has identified as the third least-used station in the US, with 399 passengers.

Fourth is Thurmond, West Virginia, which is only a stop away from Montogmery, serving only 466 passengers last year.

Changing states, the fifth-quietest station in the country can be found in Rensselaer, Indiana. While the town is much larger than the other stops on the list and close to Chicago in the neighbouring state, the station only received 509 passengers in 2023."

 

[Rasputin]

I rode the bus on that route when I travelled from New York City to Fairbanks, AK on a memorable vacation trip in 1970. The portion in Montana was operated by the Intermountain Transportation Company over some former Northland Greyhound Lines routes. It terminated in Sweetgrass, MT, where you would walk across the border into adjacent Coutts, AB. Then a connecting Greyhound Lines of Canada bus would continue up to Calgary.

Thanks for that information. I don't recall that we switched buses at Coutts in 1972 but we probably did. I recall that on arrival at Canada customs at Coutts everyone got off the bus and claimed their luggage from the baggage section of the bus. We then went through customs. After that, and after being assured that my suitcase would be reloaded onto the bus, I walked uptown where I went to a store and talked with a few people on the street. Once the departure time approached I went to the gas station which served as the Coutts bus stop and waited there for the bus to come up from customs. It was about that time that I spied the CP Coutts station a short distance away. I was tempted to go take a photo of it but I refrained as it was getting near bus time and I didn't want to be stranded in Coutts although I enjoyed my visit there.