(rshsdepot) Old Fort, NC

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Links:
http://www.oldfort.org/Depot%20Renovation.htm  (information on renovation)
http://home.wnclink.com/depot/images/1940_Depot_with_tag.jpg  (circa 1940)
http://www.itpi.dpi.state.nc.us/counties/mcdowell/mcdowell/station.JPG
(recent photo)
http://www.bytrain.org/passenger/future/wncpax/graphics/pic5.JPG  (Black
Mountain station - recent)

Old Fort chugs along in passenger rail effort

By MIKE CONLEY
Staff Writer - Marion McDowell News

The Old Fort Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Monday to approve a
contract with the architectural firm selected to oversee the renovation of
the depot for passenger rail station.

The regular April meeting of the Board of Aldermen was held in the Town
Hall.

The aldermen voted to approve the contract with Harris Architects of
Brevard. This firm has worked on the restoration of Fort Hill, the John C.
Calhoun home on the campus of Clemson University. The firm also worked on
the restoration of the roof on the Asheville City Building and oversaw the
raising of the Zachary-Tolbert House in Cashiers.

Under the contract, Harris Architects will be paid $117,585 for their
services. The town will have to pay 10 percent of this.

Mayor Wayne Stafford said he discussed this amount for the architectural
services with Craig Newton, senior project engineer-operations with the N.C.
Department of Transportation's Rail Division, and it is comparable with the
prices for the other depots.

The aldermen also voted to add Sam Gray, curator of the Mountain Gateway
Museum, to the Passenger Rail Committee. A meeting about passenger rail
service for western North Carolina will be held today in Asheville.

Black Mountain officials are looking at the possibility of either moving
their old depot building to another location or constructing a new station
and leaving the old depot where it is. Norfolk Southern Corp. owns the depot
building and the right of way along the railroad track.

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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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