He Found a Ticket to Satisfaction at the Depot : People: The Amtrak ticket agent makes the Glendale train station his special labor of love.

To all the train-crazy people of the world, Bruce Gaughan’s job with the railroad might seem a step down from the glory of being an engineer.

But as an Amtrak ticket agent in the Glendale train station, Gaughan has satisfied his love of trains and found a way to distinguish himself.

Gaughan’s dedication to the depot has brought recognition from the Glendale Historical Society, which in 1988 gave him a special award for “his unflagging attention to the upkeep of the interior and exterior of the station.”

For the last 14 years he has kept the historic landmark clean and painted. Now the city of Glendale, which purchased the depot in December for $3.3 million from the Southern Pacific Railroad, plans to make it a busy transportation complex for shuttle buses, van pools and a light-rail commuter system--in addition to continuing its service as the town’s Amtrak station.

When Gaughan came to work at the depot in 1976, the job seemed to be pretty dull. “It was a mausoleum,” he said.

His 12-hour shift included selling tickets, handling the day’s accounts, putting the baggage carts in place and cleaning bathrooms. With only a single train stopping at the station each day, Gaughan had a lot of time on his hands.

Now four trains and 19 buses use the facility daily. Gaughan leads a three-man crew of ticket agents. He estimates that about 1,100 pieces of baggage and 2,500 passengers pass through the facility each month.

Gaughan still works more than the 40 hours he is scheduled each week. A bachelor, he usually arrives at the depot two hours early to get the gardening and cleaning done before the hectic day begins.

The picturesque facility inspired him to give it his meticulous attention. But, he said, Southern Pacific did not do much to keep the place up. “I guess to the railroad it was just another piece of property,” he said.

Early on, Gaughan began to take on most of the maintenance himself. He planted rose bushes on the west side of the building. He began fixing up and painting the interior.

“We used to close down at night when we painted the inside,” he said. Gaughan enlisted several friends who came in, set up scaffolding and helped him paint the interior walls and the ceiling. He also repainted the “Glendale” signs next to the tracks.

Today the interior is an eclectic blend of old and new. Above the ticket window is a large clock face with Roman numerals, and below that the Amtrak emblem. Massive wooden beams span the 20-foot-high ceiling. Ficus trees in terra-cotta pots sit before the sunny windows.

Gaughan has worked to upgrade the depot’s interior by trading furniture with other train stations. Two antique ceiling lamp fixtures came from a station in Alhambra. A long, wooden bench came from a terminal in San Fernando.

He takes pride in the way the facility looks and identifies with it. It shows in his face as he walks through the passenger waiting room, picking up pieces of lint from the floor and poking them into a trash can.

Gaughan’s family moved to California from Wisconsin in 1961. He graduated from high school in Glendale, then spent three years in the Army. Upon his discharge, Gaughan worked at a couple of odd jobs for a year or so. He hired on with Southern Pacific as a ticket agent in 1974.

Today Gaughan, 42, is a stout man with sandy blond hair and a beaming grin. Wearing a blue vest and Amtrak logo tie, he looks right at home behind the ticket counter. He pulls out several black-and-white photographs taken in the early years of the depot’s history.

As train ridership has increased, the pace of Gaughan’s daily routine has quickened, making it difficult for him to do as much as he would like to keep the station groomed.

Even Gaughan draws the line on certain types of maintenance. He said he does not do windows. And he leaves the “heavy stuff” to the railroad. Instead of roses he now plants gardenias, palm trees and yuccas, which require less upkeep.

The historic Spanish Colonial Revival style station at 400 W. Cerritos Ave. was built in 1924. The original wrought-iron grillwork and ornate exterior facade give the structure a look of old California.

Even with Gaughan’s close attention to the station, the need for repair is evident. The 1987 Whittier earthquake damaged part of the scrollwork on the exterior facade. Cracks are apparent in the outside wall. The paint on the doors is peeling.

“I’m really glad the city has it,” he said. The depot needs more than a simple handyman, Gaughan said with some regret. “It needs a full-time maintenance crew on the building.”

Gaughan said the city will begin repairing the leaky roof, replacing the aging electrical wiring, sandblasting the exterior and refurbishing the breezeway waiting area. The city also plans to construct a multilevel parking structure on the north side of the depot to complement the 70 existing spaces.

Gaughan seems to have found a perfect professional niche, and said he has no plans to change his job with Amtrak now that the city owns the station. He said the best aspect of his work is the contact with people.

He also enjoys riding the train, even when he vacations. Last year, he took the train to Houston.

“You get on the train and just kick back,” he said. “No telephones or anything. You just relax.”