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(rshsdepot) Marion, IL
BACK TO THE PAST: MARION WANTS TO RESTORE DEPOTS 1913 APPEARANCE =20
BY TIM PETROWICH=20
From THE SOUTHERN=20
[Thu Sep 26 2002]=20
MARION -- Jo Loomis remembers when 30,000 people used to come to Marion,
just to ride the tourist train that traveled the Crab Orchard and Egyptian=
Railroad back in the 1970s=2E=20
=20
Loomis wants to get them back=2E=20
That's why Loomis and the Marion Main Street have decided to tackle the
chore of bringing back the old CO & E depot on Market Street=2E The depot =
is
still there, but Loomis wants it restored back to its original 1913
appearance=2E=20
"Our plans are to have the railroad station back to its historical being i=
n
1913," Loomis said=2E=20
The train station was built by the Illinois Central Railroad back in 1913,=
and was eventually taken over by the CO & E=2E=20
However, according to CO & E president Hugh Crane, the building wasn't eve=
n
supposed to be there=2E=20
"The building was supposed to go to Marion, Indiana, but some of the
employees at Illinois Central got confused," Crane said=2E "They put it he=
re
by mistake=2E They tore down a perfectly good building and built this depo=
t=2E"=20
The large brick building also housed an ice cream parlor and a gift shop o=
f
crafts and art work rendered by local artists and craftsmen=2E The CO & E
began running a tourist train in 1973 that drew passengers from around the=
state, the rest of the country and even visitors from Europe, according to=
Loomis=2E=20
The train drew 13,000 passengers in its first year, and built its way up t=
o
30,000 in 1977 before fire destroyed the depot that year=2E The building w=
as
partially rebuilt to its present state in 1983=2E=20
Now, Loomis thinks its time to bring back the depot, the tourist train and=
the visitors=2E=20
"Obviously, the freight takes precedent over the tourist train because
people like Maytag and others use those tracks all the time to deliver
freight," Loomis said=2E "I'm assuming we can (have a tourist train) again=
=2E
They did it before=2E"=20
Plans for restoring the depot are in the early stages=2E In fact, Loomis s=
aid
that there aren't even any estimates to the cost=2E=20
"This is going to take 3-5 years at least," he said=2E "We have to get gra=
nt
money and then start on the contracts=2E"=20
Loomis said Main Street had a meeting Friday afternoon where 15 people
volunteered to serve on five committees to put together the plans=2E=20
"We had a very successful meeting and got a lot of things accomplished," h=
e
said=2E "We walked away with a lot of enthusiasm=2E We have a lot of prima=
ry
work to be done though before we can even get out for bids=2E"=20
The plan is to start with restoring the depot, then possibly bringing back=
the train that carried tourists on the rail=2E=20
"The engine we used to have was a coal-fired steam engine," Loomis said=2E=
"We sold it after the depot burned down to Jackson, Mo=2E We went down to
Jackson and looked at it and it's still sitting there=2E I don't know if i=
t's
being used so we may make an offer to buy it back=2E"=20
Loomis then said Main Street would seek to buy cars to build a tourist
train=2E=20
"Maybe we can have a dinner car," Loomis said=2E "The train could host
special events like New Year's Eve parties or something=2E Maybe groups co=
uld
rent a car and have gatherings on the train=2E"=20
Main Street has the backing of the city for the project=2E Mayor Bob Butle=
r
says he feels restoring the depot will add to the city=2E=20
"I think that is certainly is a part of the historical tradition of this
community and I think that anything that can be done to get it restored to=
its original grandeur would be a good thing," Butler said=2E=20
Crane is looking forward to seeing the depot restored as well=2E=20
"This was one of the best depots in all of Southern Illinois," he said=2E =
"We
had people come here from all over the world=2E Quite a few thousand peopl=
e
came month after month=2E People signed in to let us know where they were
from=2E Only about 25 percent were local and another 20 percent came from
foreign countries=2E"=20
Building the depot back to its original state shouldn't be that difficult=2E=
The group has the original blueprints from when the building was built in
1913=2E=20
"Illinois Central had some of their people come to us after the building
burned and had the actual blueprints of the building," Crane said=2E "We a=
re
keeping those safe in case the building does rebuilt, it can be exactly th=
e
way it was=2E"=20
tim=2Epetrowich_@_thesouthern=2Ecom / 618-997-3356 x15812=20
=20
=20
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=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
------------------------------