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(rshsdepot) Chatham, IL
From WAND TV=2E=2E=2E
TOWN TEAM: CHATHAM RAILROAD DEPOT
(WAND) Years ago, almost every community had a train depot, Now, most of
those are just a memory, but one very special depot has survived in
Sangamon County=2E
This week, the Chatham Railroad Depot will celebrate a triple anniversary=2E=
Bill Shannon of the National Railway Historical Society explains, "In 1852=
,
the first train came through Chatham=2E In 1902 this building was built so=
it's a hundred years old=2E And in 1952, the last scheduled passenger trai=
n
stopped here at this building=2E"
After the trains stopped coming, the Chatham Depot sat vacant, but in the
late 1980's, a group called Friends of the Depot helped restore the
building=2E Earlier this year, the Chicago and Illinois midland chapter of=
the national railway historical society began turning the depot into a
railroad museum=2E
The depot still has the original phone and telegraph, and the original
tobacco that came with the telegraph=2E "They used these tobacco cans as a=
n
amplifier=2E The can would vibrate and amplify the sound of the telegraph,=
"
says Shannon=2E
The Depot's original wall phone still hangs on the wall where it was used
many decades ago, and while the trains have not stopped at the depot for
years, they still pass by at an alarming speed=2E Bill Shannon says, "We f=
eel
we can give the adults of today a glimpse into the past that they remember=
=2E
And also give the children of today an idea of what it was like when their=
parents and grandparents were growing up=2E"
The Railroad Museum Grand Opening will be at 10am Saturday=2E The same day=
,
the Chatham Post Office will also offer a postal cancellation that will
depict the historic depot=2E
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web=2Ecom/ =2E
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
------------------------------