(rshsdepot) Milton, FL

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

West Florida Railroad Museum, Depot worth the trip

Claudine Kriss
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Very few people decide one day they are going to collect M&M's memorabilia,
lizards or model railroad cars.

Instead, as in the case of a friend who collects model railroad cars, the
collection "just happens.`

He was at a friend's garage sale, saw a set of model trolley cars and
purchased them just for fun. Now, several years and hundreds of dollars
later, he hears the words "model railroad swap meet" and off he goes. This
time he asked me to go to the meet at the West Florida Railroad Museum in
Milton.

Even if you don`t collect model trains, a visit to the old L&N Depot, home
of the West Florida Railroad Museum, is worth the trip. The depot on Henry
Street was built in 1907. It closed in 1973 and shortly after that, the
Santa Rosa Historical Society was established to purchase the depot
building.

The society did some restoration as its bicentennial project in 1976, but it
wasn't until 1992 that Florida's Bureau of Historic Preservation gave the
West Florida Railroad Museum a grant and major restoration was started. I
moved to this area about the same time and have watched over the past decade
as the museum has grown from a ramshackle building with just a few exhibits
to a large complex complete with a number of old railroad cars including a
dining car that has been restored and is available to rent.

I knew the West Florida Model Railroad Club had a working model railroad
layout set up somewhere on the grounds, but somehow in previous visits, I
had missed it. Saturday, I saw it and met some of the members. My friend
with his few dozen cars is a rank amateur compared to these people.

The layout is set up in the old bridge tender's house, which was moved from
the track over the Escambia Bay when the wooden trestle was replaced with a
swing span type draw bridge. It was the fourth known house to be on the
bridge in the more than 100 years the railroad has crossed the bay. The
first three were destroyed by hurricanes.

According to information compiled by members of the West Florida Railroad
Museum, the bridge tender's wife and two children were killed in the 1906
hurricane that destroyed the house.

The last bridge tender's house was used as a storage building at the museum
after being donated by Johnson Construction Co. of Minneapolis, the
contractor that replaced the old bridge. Several years ago, a group of model
train enthusiasts asked the museum to set up a layout in the old building.

"We ran our first train here in 1995," said Keith Rapley. "No detail, just
rail.

Seven years later, the detail is what makes the layout worth a visit. A
large portion of the layout was built to look like Milton in the 1940s. Both
Rapley and his wife, Bobbie, have been instrumental in bringing the layout
to life. He handmade the 529 trees in the layout; she painted the people in
the display.

B.W. Laurance is another club member who usually works on the layout on
Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. While the display is not officially
open to the public except on special occasions such as the swap meet or
Depot Days in November, club members are happy to show off their work
whenever they are there.

The museum and gift shop are open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays. During the swap meet, the gift shop was manned by Art Tuttle, a
retired Navy commander and museum member. He was assisted by retired Adm.
Pete Booth.

Museum members point out the museum receives no governmental funding, so
donations - monetary or governmental - are appreciated and tax deductible.
If you want more information about the museum or how to become a part of it,
call 623-3645.

Claudine Kriss is the Neighbors page editor. Contact her at 435-8546 or
ClaudineKriss_@_PensacolaNewsJournal.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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