In September 1987, and largely through the efforts of ARPA, Amtrak returned passenger rail service to Tempe Arizona. Prior to this, Amtrak had only stopped in Tucson, Phoenix, and Yuma, Arizona. Southern Pacific had not served Tempe since at least the late 1960s.
ARPA Members at Tempe Amtrak Service Inauguration, 1987.
Left
to right: Dr. Richard Malcolm, Bob Katz, ?, Betty Loulan, Betty Nelson, ?, Liz
Garey, Rob Bohannan, ?, George Loulan, ?, ?,
Marylouise Barnes, Nancy Crosby and daughter, ?, ?.
George and Betty Loulan with commemorative plaque.
The Tempe Station as it appeared before redevelopment. Foreground: Betty and
George Loulan.