(rshsdepot) Bowling Green, KY

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Photo link:
http://www.burgoo.com/tl&ncard.jpg  (old postcard view)


Rail heritage gets its stage
Railfest 2002 begins Friday at former depot
By Scott Sisco, ssisco_@_bgdailynews.com -- 270-783-3256
Daily News




Bowling Green's railroad heritage will be on display this weekend at the
former L&N Depot.
Railfest will be a "celebration of all things rail," according to Historic
Railroad Committee member Rick Williams.

The event begins with a luncheon Friday aboard one of the railroad cars that
will be on permanent display outside the depot. The meal, served on the
dining car, will be prepared with authentic railroad recipes. Tickets are
$50 and Williams said there were about a dozen left Wednesday.

"It's going to be very, very nice," Williams said.

Proceeds will help restore the railroad cars, committee member Dorian Walker
said. The rest of the events are free to the public.

"We're going to need lots of volunteers to bring this dream to life," he
said. "We want these things to look like, when they're finished, like they
just rolled off the assembly line."

The dining car that was used on the Southern Pacific Railroad will be
repainted in official L&N colors and renamed "Duncan Hines" in honor of the
famous former Bowling Green resident.

Other rail cars in the display will include a caboose, L&N Presidential Car
No. 353 and the "Towering Pine" - a former L&N Railroad Sleeper.

"You can actually experience living history," Walker said.

Activities begin at 2 p.m. Friday and will include games, face painting,
clowns and food. Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances will be on display
for children to see. A model railroad and information booths will be set up
in the lobby.

Williams said it will be like a street festival, only centered on the rail.

There also will be rail car tours.

"We've gotten a little paint on some of them and cleaned them up a little,
but we've got a long way to go," Williams said.

At 4 p.m. Friday, the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce will drive the
ceremonial Golden Spike on the project.

Bluegrass bands will take the stage after the ceremony. The Blue Stone
Mountain Band, Joe Marshall & Rovin Ramblers and Logan County Grass will
perform.

Williams said the former depot, which opened a year ago as Kentucky's first
digital library, will be developed as a tourist stop.

"We envision this as a link to the past as well as the future," Williams
said.


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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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