Quaker Square was a shopping and dining complex located in downtown Akron, Ohio which is now used by the University of Akron . Quaker Square was the original Quaker Oats factory; the complex consists of the former mill, factory, and silos. The buildings were bought in the early 1970s by developers who sought to create a unique, useful home for shops and restaurants. The buildings were bought by the University of Akron in 2007. The hotel has been converted to a residence hall. The retail space consisted of dozens of small shops and restaurants, and there were large areas of historic exhibits on such areas as the local Quaker industry and history of radio in Akron, while offices were on the floors above. Quaker Square was open to the general public until September 18, 2015. After that, the hotel no longer accepted reservations as the former hotel rooms and the entire complex began to be operated exclusively for student and university use. The University fully vacated the facility by 2022.
38-640: The Quaker Oats company was formed by the merger of several businesses, one was the Akron-based German Mills American Oatmeal Company founded by Ferdinand Schumacher . Schumacher's facility, first built in 1872, was destroyed by fire in 1886, then was rebuilt at the same location. Those buildings formed the basis of the Quaker Oats Cereal Factory. The complex consisted of cereal production facilities, warehouses, and rail-siding sheds. Quaker Oats built 36 grain silos on
76-561: A locomotive , a Viewliner baggage car, an Amfleet Business Class coach, Amfleet Café car, and four or five Amfleet coaches. Between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, trains are pulled by a GE Genesis diesel locomotive at speeds up to 110 mph (177 km/h). Between Philadelphia and New York, the service operates over the Northeast Corridor which has overhead electric wires and trains are pulled by Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotives at speeds up to 125 mph (201 km/h) In
114-475: A $ 200 million capacity improvement, with a second Pennsylvanian round trip to be added by 2025. By August 2023, the opening date had slipped to 2026, with construction on the necessary infrastructure planned to start in 2024. In September 2023, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Norfolk Southern reached an agreement on making the necessary $ 200 million worth of improvements to
152-546: A grocery trade in Akron, Ohio in 1852. Remembering that back in Germany he used to grind oats and sell them as breakfast food, he decided to do the same in Akron, Ohio and in 1854. In the beginning, he encountered difficulty selling oatmeal because locals were used to oats as feed for livestock. He then found a new way of processing whole oats that involved an easy way to prepare and use oats as
190-487: A modular station building at Quaker Square. The New York-Chicago Broadway Limited was replaced with the New York-Pittsburgh Three Rivers on September 10, 1995, ending service to Akron. The Three Rivers was extended to Chicago through Akron on November 10, 1996; however, Amtrak and the city disagreed over who would pay for necessary repairs to the station. Akron station reopened on August 10, 1998 –
228-455: A restaurant themed with railroads which run parallel to the building, also provided a narrative of Akron's history. The Trackside Dining Room was constructed with the beams and columns of the factory building. (Source: "Quaker Chronicle" promotional sheet available at the hotel.) The Quaker Square General Store offered oatmeal cookies, pie-baking classes for children, and "nostalgic" candy. (Source: "Quaker Chronicle" promotional sheet available at
266-460: A second round-trip Amtrak train between Pittsburgh and New York City, with one trip beginning and terminating in Cleveland . The second trip was then projected to begin during the fiscal year running from October 2023 to September 2024. The feasibility, schedule, and cost of adding a second train were underway as of November 2020. In June 2022, the state and Norfolk Southern announced an agreement for
304-704: A specialized "Auxiliary Power Vehicle" which will include a pantograph to collect power from overhead lines and will feed it to four traction motors in the car, and via a DC link cable, to the four traction motors in the locomotive. The arrangement will offer a near seamless transition between power sources, a process that currently requires a time-consuming locomotive change in Philadelphia. All classes of service include complimentary WiFi, an electric outlet (120 V, 60 Hz AC) at each seat, reading lamps, fold-out tray tables. Reservations are required on all trains, tickets may be purchased online, from an agent at some stations,
342-611: A table food. Ferdinand Schumacher started selling his oatmeal, and from there it branched out to the rest of the United States. In 1857, he rented water power on the Ohio Canal in northwest Akron to power a mill for production of oatmeal . In 1858 he added equipment for pearling barley . He continued adding to his plant, and introduced steam power in 1875. Ferdinand Schumacher married his cousin, Hermine Schumacher, in 1851. They had seven children, three of whom survived to adulthood. He
380-445: A ticketing machine at most stations, or, at a higher cost, from the conductor on the train. Over fiscal years 2009–2016, ridership grew from 199,484 to 223,114, an increase of 10.6%. Ridership peaked at 231,720 in FY 2015. Ticket revenue grew from $ 7,819,404 to $ 11,555,451, an increase of 47.8%. Starting in 2017 Amtrak stopped reporting their revenue data alongside ridership data. as such it
418-792: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pennsylvanian (train) The Pennsylvanian is a 444-mile (715 km) daily daytime Amtrak train running between New York City and Pittsburgh via Philadelphia . The trains travel across the Appalachian Mountains , through Pennsylvania 's capital Harrisburg , the Pennsylvania Dutch Country , suburban and central Philadelphia, and New Jersey en route to New York. The entire train ride takes about 9 hours total: 1.5 hours between New York and Philadelphia, 2 hours between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and 5.5 hours between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvanian uses
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#1733084634349456-595: The Floridian continues to provide service to Chicago. As part of its federally mandated analysis of the worst-performing long-distance routes, Amtrak determined that reinstating a through-car connection with the Pennsylvanian would result in the highest gain in monetary and customer service measurements of possible options. To implement this, Amtrak plans to operate a Viewliner sleeper car, an Amfleet cafe car and two Amfleet coaches between Chicago and New York approximating
494-593: The National Limited , a New York–Kansas City train which had provided service over the corridor. That train, in turn, was the successor of the famed Spirit of St Louis . The Pennsylvanian began on April 27, 1980, as a state-supported daylight train between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with connecting service to New York City via the Philadelphian , a Clocker train westbound and the Montrealer eastbound. At
532-604: The Broadway Limited , with a new stop in New Castle, Pennsylvania . On November 7, 1998, Amtrak extended the Pennsylvanian through to Chicago along the route of the Capitol Limited via Toledo, finally bringing a daylight connection to Cleveland . The Three Rivers continued to run over a different schedule via Akron, Ohio and Fostoria. As part of the change Amtrak truncated the eastern end to Philadelphia, enabling
570-827: The Pennsylvanian route was covered by the Duquesne , named after Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh , and by the Juniata . Both trains operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad and from 1968 to 1971 by the PRR's successor, the Penn Central . The Duquesne had a long history, finally becoming a daily New York–Pittsburgh train on October 25, 1959, numbered 16 eastbound and 25 westbound. When the Pennsylvania Railroad's successor, Penn Central ,
608-418: The coming years all equipment will be replaced with Amtrak Airo trainsets, the railroad's branding of its combination of Siemens Venture passenger cars and a Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotive. The trainsets for the Pennsylvanian will have six passenger cars, which will include a food service area and a mix of 2x2 Coach Class and 2x1 Business Class seating. The car closest to the locomotive will be
646-427: The four bottom floors of the silos for the following two years. The university agreed to keep those rooms available to the public for that period to give the city an opportunity to secure more hotel space for downtown visitors and tourists. On June 30, 2013 the hotel was closed and converted entirely into student housing. The last of the shops at Quaker Square, as well as Trackside, closed in 2016. The only remaining store
684-511: The historic Broadway Limited , via the Capitol Limited and Pennsylvanian . This would begin when funding and equipment is available. On January 28, 2011, it was announced that Pennsylvania had received a $ 750,000 grant from the federal government to study expanding service westwards from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh along the route of the Pennsylvanian , including higher speeds and additional frequencies. A typical Pennsylvanian consists of
722-501: The hotel.) In mid-June 2007 the University of Akron bought the complex for $ 22,679,000 with plans to convert it into student housing and office space. The university planned to house more than 400 students in the converted hotel starting with the 2008 spring semester. In January 2008, the university began to use the upper floors of the hotel as a residence hall. Under contract with UA, RDA Management of Fairlawn operated 95 hotel rooms on
760-538: The last of several ex- Broadway stops to be restored. The Three Rivers was cut back to Pittsburgh as the Pennsylvanian on March 7, 2005, ending service to Akron again. Ferdinand Schumacher Ferdinand Schumacher (1822–1908), also known as The Oatmeal King , was an American entrepreneur and one of the founders of companies which merged to become the Quaker Oats Company . Ferdinand Schumacher
798-763: The latter name with a western terminus in Chicago. Amtrak had sought $ 2.5 million in assistance from Pennsylvania to keep both trains running. On March 8, 2005, Amtrak truncated service to Pittsburgh-New York City, and restored the Pennsylvanian name to the route. The train has been primarily financed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation since October 1, 2013, when the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 took effect. This federal law eliminated federal subsidies for Amtrak routes less than 750 miles (1,210 km) in length. In late 2019,
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#1733084634349836-547: The line for a second daily service. In December 2023, the project was awarded $ 143.6 million from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) with PennDOT providing 20% in matching funds. The Pennsylvanian route was also selected into the FRA's Corridor Identification and Development Program , granting $ 500,000 to study further service increases. There is currently no through service west of Pittsburgh, though
874-526: The onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic in March 2020, the former dormitory was used to quarantine students that were unable to leave campus if infected. By the end of the pandemic in 2022, the remaining rooms were no longer used, leaving the facility empty. Akron station , located at Quaker Square, was served by Amtrak passenger trains during the 1990s and 2000s. The former Akron Union Station , slightly to
912-571: The re-routing of the Broadway Limited and Capitol Limited over that same route as part of a restructuring of routes in Indiana. As part of this change, the Capitol Limited began serving the Cleveland–Pittsburgh route, albeit in the middle of the night. Amtrak and PennDOT considered two routes for an extended Pennsylvanian : one via Alliance, Ohio , following the route of the Capitol Limited , and one via Youngstown, Ohio , partially following
950-753: The same Amtrak-owned Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line as the Keystone Service trains, but continues further west via the Pittsburgh Line through Altoona and the Allegheny Mountains , eventually terminating its run in Pittsburgh. The Main Line and Pittsburgh Line collectively make up the Keystone Corridor , a federally-designated corridor for high-speed rail service. Prior to Amtrak 's founding,
988-463: The site in 1932. Each silo was 120 feet tall and 24 feet in diameter, and together they housed 1,500,000 US bushels (53,000,000 L) of grain. The complex is now the only remaining visual reminder of what was once Akron's largest single employer. Quaker Oats terminated production in Akron in 1970. The entire complex was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The facility
1026-530: The south, was closed in 1971 when Amtrak did not include a Washington-Chicago train on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) as part of its initial route structure. On November 10, 1990, the Broadway Limited was rerouted from the ex- Pennsylvania Railroad Fort Wayne Line to the ex-B&O. Union Station had been reused by the University of Akron ; Amtrak used part of the former platform and constructed
1064-421: The time the Pennsylvanian was inaugurated, the Broadway Limited was departing Pittsburgh at an inconvenient early morning hour. The new train ran with Amfleet equipment, including a cafe car. Pennsylvania agreed to pay 20% of the train's costs for the first year, or $ 580,000, with the state and Amtrak eventually splitting the costs 50/50 by the third year. Between 1981 and 1983, Pennsylvanian equipment
1102-416: The train began operating with a baggage car for checked baggage and bicycle handling at New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Altoona, Johnstown and Pittsburgh. In March 2020, service on the Pennsylvanian was suspended as part of a round of service reduction in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic . Service resumed on June 1, 2020. The Pennsylvania State Rail Plan 2020 called for
1140-491: The train to complete the run within a single day. The change was driven by Amtrak's growing mail and express business; Pittsburgh–Philadelphia ridership suffered. Amtrak returned the Pennsylvanian to the New York–Pittsburgh route on January 27, 2003, citing low ridership and Amtrak's withdrawal from the express freight business. On November 1, 2004, Amtrak merged the Pennsylvanian and Three Rivers , keeping
1178-537: The transfer at Philadelphia. After significant ridership gains in 1984, PennDOT proposed that a second train be added to the route. PennDOT and Amtrak would have split the costs evenly. Amtrak officials were favorable, but budget problems stalled the plan. In the late 1980s, passenger rail groups urged Amtrak to extend the Pennsylvanian to Cleveland , Ohio. Proposals included new stations in Sewickley and Beaver Falls . Pressure increased in 1989 when Amtrak announced
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1216-403: Was a Zee's store which is a convenience store for students to buy groceries and snacks. In August 2018, Zee's moved to the lobby of UA's Quaker Hall, leaving the retail portion empty. That side of the complex housed offices on the second, third, and fourth floors. After the 2018 spring semester, the dorimtory was closed after it was discovered that the rooms had fallen into significant disrepair. At
1254-403: Was active in the temperance movement, and was strongly for prohibition . His wife was also a leader of temperance and benevolent women's organizations. Schumacher supported the erection of many churches. Schumacher ran unsuccessfully for Ohio Secretary of State in 1872 and 1882, and Ohio Governor in 1883 as Prohibition Party nominee. This business-related biographical article
1292-462: Was born in Celle , Kingdom of Hanover on March 30, 1822, the son of a merchant. He completed high school locally. He then apprenticed in the grocery business and learned how to make oatmeal using medieval milling technology. He pursued this, and clerked in a manufacturing business until age 28, when he and his brother Otto emigrated to the United States . Schumacher farmed for two years and established
1330-459: Was excluded. Starting in fiscal year 2020, Amtrak revised how it calculates ridership, causing a small but noticeable drop in the 2019 numbers. It was chosen to report the revised metrics below. The impact of COVID-19 was split across FY2020 and FY2021, as reflected in the lower than average passenger numbers across those two years. The pandemic caused an initial drop of ridership in FY2020 of 39% on
1368-449: Was formed in 1968, it continued to operate the Duquesne and the Juniata. With the start of Amtrak operations on May 1, 1971, the Duquesne was renamed the Keystone and renumbered 42 westbound and 43 eastbound with the first Amtrak timetable on November 14, 1971. The Keystone was discontinued on April 30, 1972. The immediate impetus for the Pennsylvanian was the discontinuance of
1406-415: Was repurposed in March 1973, and reopened 1 April 1975 with four shops and an ice cream parlor. The silos were converted into a Hilton Hotel which opened in 1980. Later it became a Crowne Plaza hotel. The hotel is built into the suite of silos and is famed for its 196 completely round rooms. (Source: "Quaker Chronicle" promotional sheet available at the hotel.) The Trackside Grille & Ice Cream Parlor,
1444-533: Was turned every night to operate a second state-supported train, the Fort Pitt , which ran from Pittsburgh to Altoona . Amtrak withdrew this train in early 1983 after the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) declined to continue subsidizing the increased operation. At the time the Fort Pitt carried 30 passengers per day. On October 30, 1983, the Pennsylvanian was extended to New York City, eliminating
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