(rshsdepot) Howell, MI

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Links:
http://www.detnews.com/pix/2002/03/13/c05ldepot22.jpg  (historic photo of
depot)
http://www.detnews.com/pix/2002/03/13/c05ldepot1.jpg  (site of old depot
with photo of old depot being held)
http://www.lantrak.org/images/clubhouse2.jpg  (depot in its current location
as museum)
http://www.lantrak.org/images/clubhouse1.jpg  (depot in its current location
as museum)

New Howell station may rise where old depot stood
Site could be used for commuter rail line

By Karen Bouffard / Special to The Detroit News

Proposed Train Station

   City officials are thinking about building a new train station on the
site of the former Pere Marquette depot located east of Pinckney Road. The
depot was moved about four years ago to the Livingston Center, a historic
village at the Fowlerville Fair Grounds. Local preservationists regret the
city didn't hold onto the historic treasure:
   * The all-wood depot was built in 1872.
   * It transported Livingston County soldiers in World War I.
   * It was sold to C & O Railroad in 1947.
   * Passenger service ended in 1969.
   * It closed in 1972.


  HOWELL -- Supporters of the proposed Lansing to Detroit Regional Commuter
Rail Project are considering building a Howell train station on the very
site where an 1872 Pere Marquette Railroad depot stood before it was moved
to Fowlerville about four years ago.
   The proposed site, east of Pinckney Road and north of the CSX railroad
tracks at the bottom of Fleming Street, is now a vacant field. Schroeder's
Body Shop owner Kam Schroeder bought the property from the railroad after
the depot was moved, and says the city has approached him about leasing the
half-acre lot for a train station.
   A new station could breath new life into the city, attracting increased
tourism, creating jobs and providing a new source energy efficient
transportation, city officials said.
   Members of the Howell Historical Society say they find it ironic.
   "We preservationists think it's hysterical," said Howell Depot Museum
Director Judy Burns, a member of the society. "They couldn't wait to get rid
of the old depot, and whoops, now they want to build a new one.
   "There just isn't a good preservation effort in Howell. The old station
was sent out to Fowlerville, and it's kind of ironic that now they want to
build a new one on the same site."
   Burns said the former garage-sized wooden structure "could have been
restored -- it's just a question of how much money, time and effort you
would have had to put into it."
   The old depot was purchased for $1 by the Livingston Center, a historic
village at the Fowlerville Fairgrounds. Doug Burnie, a Fowlerville
businessman who was director of the center when the depot was purchased, was
thrilled to add the station to the center's collection. It now stands
alongside a cobbler's shop, church, barber shop, schoolhouse and other
historic building acquired from communities throughout the county.
   "Most of those buildings would have been destroyed had we not moved them
onto the grounds," he said. "The railroad wanted it off their property
because it was wasting space. It's a good feeling to know you're saving
buildings that were due for demolition."
   According to Burnie, the Pere Marquette Railroad built its stations from
a single set of plans, so each of it's depots throughout the county --
including a Fowlerville station that no longer stands -- were identical. The
30-foot by 50-foot building was made of wood, inside and out, and was built
without a foundation.
   "They took railroad ties, put them on the ground and built it," Burnie
said. "It was kind of falling down on one side when we moved it, but we put
it on a block foundation and amazingly it was put right back into shape.
   "The building is an excellent, all-wood structure," he added. "It's
pretty close to the original. It has a bay window right inside the building
where the controls for the tracks used to be. It also had the communication
control board, where they'd have to pull pegs to communicate from station to
station along the route. It's like the old telephone systems where the
operator would have to get you to the next community to talk."
   Burnie said the C&O railroad bought the rail line in 1947, and the last
passenger train to ride the rails was in 1969. The depot closed in 1972.
   "All the county's draftees for World War I left from that depot in
Howell," he said. "In the archives we have pictures showing hundreds of
people crowded around the depot when the inductees were sent off to fight in
the war."
   Schroeder said he thinks the station will encourage tourism in the city,
and perhaps bring in more workers. As the owner of a body shop, he's found
it difficult to find qualified workers in the area.
   "They're interested in locating it in Howell so it will funnel people
into town," he said. "They don't want it outside. They're redoing the opera
house, and there's a lot of things here people would like to see. There's
also a lot of things to do here in the summer.
   "It's hard to find workers in Howell. Most of the houses around here are
$180,000 and up -- so it makes it tough for the average Joe to work here. If
they can ride the train, it makes it easier for people to get in and out."
   Howell Downtown Development Authority Director Camille Lievense agrees.
She believes the proposed commuter line, with a station in Howell, will
boost the city's economy by attracting tourists, new businesses, and the
workers they bring.
   "I think it would be phenomenal for the downtown area," Lievense said. "I
see that in the long term, when the opera house and movie theater open, it
would help tourism. I can see people hopping on a train and walking downtown
to go to the opera house, go to the movie theater, to eat, to shop.
   "I think you have to be visionary and think of it in 50 years: Where are
all these cars going to go? If commuter rails are something that will be
utilized in the future, it's time to think about it now. In 50 years it will
be too late because all the right-of-ways will be gone"
   That's small consolation for Burns, who still mourns the loss of a local
treasure. A new station will become a part of the city's history, she said,
but will never have the significance of a station, such as the Pere
Marquette, that existed in the heyday of rail travel.
   "It's a pity you can't find a spot here for a wonderful 130-year-old
depot," she said. "A building loses its context when it's moved out of
place."

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

------------------------------