Fw: Fw: (rshsdepot) Historic rail tower imperiled (San Jose, CA)

["fred fep" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Rodenburger" <mrodenburger_@_prodigy.net>
To: "fred fep" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>
Cc: "Craig Kerr" <ckerr_@_craigkerr.com>; "Jon Watson"
<JonWWatson_@_email.msn.com>; "Floyd Miņana" <fmdc8@tcsn.net>; "Craig Parada"
<cparada_@_ix.netcom.com>; "Vicki" <vgaia@cox.net>; "97"
<cindular_@_hotmail.com>; "Geordie Burdick" <fredocal@computune.com>; "Derek
Hoyle" <helios_@_saber.net>
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 11:26 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: (rshsdepot) Historic rail tower imperiled (San Jose, CA)


> I am very familiar with the water tower in question.  Last year I had to
visit
> the site to view a set of potential easments for a transit-oriented
residential
> project immedialy to the west of the wtaer tower.  The tower is just to
the
> south of where the Vasona Light Rail tunnel will comes up on the west side
of
> the RR tracks.  I couldn't help but notice it.  It is not pretty, but
> definetely a classic piece of the steam era.  Before the VTA budget crunch
> (Remember, California and Santa Clara County in particular have had the
bottom
> drop out of sales tax revenues.) VTA had plans to move the tower and
restore
> it, but now it is scrambling to get enough revenue for transit operations.
> That is the real reason why the tower won't be saved. If I get a chance I
willt
> take a picture of it before it goes.  Is anybody interested in taking up a
> collection to move the tower?
>
> P.S. I wish had taken a photo of the famous Marlboroman billboard in
Hollywood
> before it came down in the beginning of 1999.  I saw it on January 2,
1999,
> about three weeks before it came down, and could have (should have) take a
> photo.
>
> fred fep wrote:
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>
> > To: "Rail Depot List" <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
> > Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 12:32 PM
> > Subject: (rshsdepot) Historic rail tower imperiled (San Jose, CA)
> >
> > > Historic rail tower imperiled
> > >
> > > By Michael Cronk
> > > San Jose Mercury News
> > >
> > > A relic of American rail travel in the steam age soon may vanish from
the
> > > horizon in San Jose -- and the prospect saddens some rail buffs.
> > >
> > > The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority plans to demolish the
> > > historic Southern Pacific water tower at Diridon Station on Cahill
Street.
> > A
> > > public meeting on the plan is scheduled for Tuesday.
> > >
> > > The tower, capped with a 55,000-gallon-capacity steel tank, was built
in
> > > 1935 and is a ``contributing'' structure of the old railroad depot,
which
> > is
> > > listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
> > >
> > > The 48-foot-tall, steel-legged tower-tank, a standard design once used
by
> > > Southern Pacific throughout its rail system, stands on the future
tracks
> > of
> > > the Vasona Light Rail Project, which is on budget and scheduled for
> > > completion in 2006.
> > >
> > > The tank, which is 19 1/2 feet tall and 24 feet in diameter, has been
out
> > of
> > > service for many years. Water towers once refreshed steam locomotives,
but
> > > when diesel-power engines took over, they were no longer needed.
> > >
> > > Earlier plans to disassemble the tower-tank and eventually rebuild it
> > > nearby -- agreed to by VTA, the Federal Transit Administration and the
> > > California Office of Historic Preservation -- changed after the tower
and
> > > tank were inspected. A VTA feasibility study determined that
considerable
> > > repair and strengthening would be needed on the corroding structure
and
> > > estimated the cost at between $235,000 and $250,000.
> > >
> > > Some rail buffs are likely to call for the tower's preservation.
> > >
> > > Clarence Caesar of the state historic preservation office said Friday
that
> > > the agency won't comment on the issue until after the public meeting
is
> > held
> > > in San Jose.
> > >
> > > But Kyle Williams Wyatt, curator of technology for the California
State
> > > Railroad Museum in Sacramento, said towers like the Diridon structure
are
> > a
> > > vanishing breed.
> > >
> > > Half a century ago, water towers dotted train tracks up and down
> > California.
> > >
> > > ``At one time they were very common,'' he said. ``But most, over the
> > years,
> > > have been removed. There are a few other examples of steel-legged
towers,
> > a
> > > handful perhaps, along the former Southern Pacific lines.
> > >
> > > ``There are two reasons things get saved,'' Williams Wyatt said. ``The
> > most
> > > common reason is that they're not common; they're unique, an
exception.
> > The
> > > other reason is that they were very common at one time and no longer
> > are.''
> > >
> > > IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
> > >
> > > The public hearing is scheduled Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the San
> > Jose
> > > Fire Training Center, North-South Classroom, at 255 S. Montgomery St.
For
> > > more information, call VTA Community Outreach at (408) 321-7575 or
e-mail
> > > community.outreach_@_vta.org, or log on to www.vta.org.
> > >
> > >
> > > =================================
> > > The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of
existing
> > > railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
> > >
>

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #563
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=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org