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(rshsdepot) Alderson, WV
Photo link:
http://members.aol.com/ahsawv/adepot.jpg
Alderson C&O railroad depot to get makeover
By: Joe Myers, Register-Herald Reporter April 01, 2002
ALDERSON - The town of Alderson has been awarded a $40,000 grant to complete
the restoration of the old C&O rail depot.
The depot will house a visitor center and railroad museum, Mayor Harryette
Williams said.
The project was begun in 1993 as part of the town's Main Street program,
said Tom Roush, volunteer coordinator for the project. Under a previous
grant, workers shored up the foundation, replaced flooring, installed new
windows and doors, renovated the bathrooms, painted the exterior and put on
a new roof, he said.
With the new funding, Roush said he plans to restore interior walls, add
insulation, upgrade the electrical system and install a new heating and air
conditioning system and a security alarm.
"We'll try to keep as much of the original material as we can," he said.
"I'm hoping this fall we can get everything done. It'll be really nice when
we get it finished. I think it'll be good for the town.
"My grandfather was the station master here," Roush said, explaining his
attachment to the building. "He worked for the C&O for 50 years. My uncle
was the station master after him."
The depot, built in 1896, is the largest of the original "standard stations"
on the C&O line, Roush said.
The depot changed colors four times over the years, he said. During the
earlier renovation, volunteers decided to return the structure to its
original C&O orange, with white trim and burgundy window frames, he said.
"Some people thought we should paint it yellow," he said. "But we voted to
go back to orange to make it authentic.
"A lot of volunteers have been involved in it," Roush said. "There were many
others who worked on the depot and gave many hours of time and money to
renovate this station.
"We will still need volunteer workers and donations."
Williams said she would also like to use the depot's waiting room for Amtrak
passengers.
Until recently, Alderson was a flag stop for passenger service between
Chicago and Washington. The mayor said she is working with Rep. Nick Rahall,
D-W.Va., to get the stop restored.
The funding came from the federal TEA-21 transportation grant program.
For more information and a photo of the depot, see Alderson's home page at
www.angelfire.com/wv2/alderson.
- - E-mail Joe Myers at jmyers_@_register-herald.com
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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