RoadsideOnline

Washington – Amtrak carried nearly 27.2 million passengers in Fiscal Year 2009, marking the second highest ridership total since the National Railroad Passenger Corporation started operations in 1971.

The 27,167,014 total passengers for the 12 months ending September 30, 2009, fell short of the all-time record of 28.7 million for Fiscal Year 2008, but exceeded the Fiscal Year 2007 total by 5.1 percent. Total ticket revenue for the Fiscal Year 2009 reached $1.6 billion.

“In a difficult year for the economy – particularly in the travel industry – Amtrak ridership has remained strong albeit with some regional variation,” said Amtrak President and CEO Joseph H. Boardman.

The "new" Hollywood Diner is a big dope-slap at all of us who have worked so hard to spread the good word about the special place the diner has in our culture. (Photo by Ida Doolan)

Some people will look at these two photos and wonder why we picked the Hollywood Diner in Dover, Delaware and its owner for such ignobility. After all, the end result of this renovation produced a nice shiny diner, right?

No. The end result of this travesty produced a cheap, ridiculous cartoon of what a true diner should be. Bearing in mind that hardly anyone exists today that can fashion stainless steel panels in the fashion that Fodero once did, and you start to understand the grievious affront to our heritage that this diner now represents.

Yes, I know that highly polished stainless steel doesn't come cheap, but all that money might have gone to better use hiring an actual chef to turn out meals to truly remember. That's what packs in the customers. Instead, what I'm sure you will now find here is yet another pretense to diner traditions in meals served up more or less by Sysco or its ilk after a quick nuking or bag boiling. I would be very surprised to find anything better once this joke reopens. The fact that the owner would even consider doing something like this to such a gem indicates how little regard he has for his customers or his community.

The Hollywood Diner before: Note the curves and the subtle yet striking lines of the classic Fodero diner. No one living today can recreate this.

There was nothing wrong with the original Hollywood Diner. In fact, it was one of the best examples of a late-1950s Fodero diner still standing. Inside, about the only thing its former owner Bud Jarboe ever changed was the vinyl on the booths. Its degree of originality after more than fifty years in service stood as testament to Mr. Jarboe's good sense and Fodero's quality of workmanship.

The new owners could have simply had some better landscaping, a new sign, a good cleaning, and had replaced the Flexglass and could have easily had himself a near-showroom quality diner. These renovations were simply a waste of time, money, and regard for the greatness that is the great American diner.

Say good-bye to the Hollywood. Say good-bye, my baby.

See more interior photos at the Diner Finder and here.

In terms of its diners, Connecticut is a true study in contrasts. It hosts some of the oldest and newest operating diners in the country. Diner hunters will find two of the oldest at the northern end of the Naugatuck Valley, in Winsted and in Torrington.

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Both Skee's Diner and the Winsted Diner made news in the past few years. The Winsted, a 1920s era Tierney suffered a near catastrophic fire in December, 2005 while its owner Bob Radocchio had it on the market. Despite its condition, the property did attract Jean Bauer, who moved in and refurbished the diner's severely damaged interior, replacing many of the surfaces with tongue-in-groove paneling, which actually enhances its Jazz Age charm. Jean tells Roadside that despite the economy and the competition, she's holding her own and she still sees Bob come in for a meal on a regular basis. And yes, she still makes the ra doc a doodle sandwich.

The Albany Times-Union reports that the gloriously restored New York Central train station in downtown Albany will soon lose its major tenant casting doubt on its future. No, the tenant was not Amtrak, but a bank, and the tracks that once coursed beside it have been long-since lifted. We predict (with tongue firmly in cheek) that a high end steak house might takes its place.

Union Station, Albany. Photo courtesy of the Times-Union.

ALBANY -- The only occupant of Albany's landmark former train station will move its employees elsewhere, leaving the building vacant for the first time since its celebrated restoration 23 years ago.

Kiernan Plaza was once Union Station, a grand and impressive gateway to the city. The train station closed in 1968 and sat empty and decaying until it was reopened as a bank headquarters and office building.

Bank of America now occupies the building. But a company spokesperson on Tuesday said the bank is consolidating its Albany operations to cut costs and will move all its Kiernan Plaza workers to a State Street building.

The consolidation, expected to occur early next year, will not involve job losses, the bank said.

Mayor Jerry Jennings said he recently was notified by Bank of America of the impending move. He said he has since toured the building to assess its condition and has asked his economic development department to aggressively market and promote the soon-to-be-vacant property.