Colfax station

Colfax, CA
The westbound California Zephyr at Colfax in 2019
General information
Location99 Railroad Street at Church Street
Colfax, California
United States
Coordinates39°05′58″N 120°57′11″W / 39.0994°N 120.9531°W / 39.0994; -120.9531
Line(s)Union Pacific Roseville Subdivision[1]
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Amtrak Thruway 20
Bus transport Placer County Transit 60[2]
Construction
ParkingFree
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: COX
History
Openedc. 1865
Rebuilt1905
Early 2000s
Original companyCentral Pacific Railroad
Passengers
FY 20235,214[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Roseville
toward Emeryville
California Zephyr Truckee
toward Chicago
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Auburn
toward San Jose
Capitol Corridor
1998–2000
Terminus
Preceding station Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Following station
Terminus Main Line Oilville
Colfax Passenger Station
NRHP reference No.98001605
Colfax Freight Station
NRHP reference No.99001564
Location
Map

Colfax station is an Amtrak train station in Colfax, California. Served by the California Zephyr, it is unstaffed. The station was built in 1905 by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was restored in the early 21st century; in addition to a waiting room, the building also houses the Colfax Heritage Museum.[4] The platform is movable to accommodate Union Pacific rotary snowplows, which are liable to scrape a platform eight inches above top of rail.[5]

History

[edit]

The first station built on the site opened around 1865.[4] The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad began service from here on April 11, 1876,[6] running until 1942.[4] The modern station was built in 1905.[4]

Between January 1, 1998, and February 13, 2000, a single round-trip of the Capitol Corridor terminated at Colfax. This service ended because of low ridership.

The station building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as Colfax Passenger Station, with the 1880-built freight depot listed separately as Colfax Freight Station.

As of 2024, Amtrak plans to modify the platform for accessibility later in the 2020s.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 2.
  2. ^ https://placercountytransit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Route60-Placer-Commuter-Express.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Colfax, CA (COX)". Great American Stations. Amtrak.
  5. ^ Glischinski, Steve (December 2010), "Where the Rotaries Roll On", Trains, 70 (12): 24, ISSN 0041-0934, When the rotaries move out of Roseville, workers have to pull up crossings, and remove the Amtrak station platforms at Rocklin and Colfax to accommodate the plows. The platforms were designed to be portable because of this.
  6. ^ Decisions. California Public Utilities Commission (4 ed.). Railroad Commission of the State of California. 1914. pp. 552–552. Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2023 State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. p. 7.
[edit]

Media related to Colfax station at Wikimedia Commons