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(rshsdepot) Minersville, PA
From the Pottsville Republican=2E=2E=2E
Tuesday, January 14, 2003=20
Locomotive, depot project gain support in Minersville=20
BY LISA PRICE=20
Staff Writer=20
lprice_@_republicanherald=2Ecom <mailto:lprice@republicanherald=2Ecom>=20
MINERSVILLE - Support can come in varied guises=2E=20
Monetary donations are easy to measure, but other contributions are=20
intrinsic=2E=20
The Minersville Railway Restoration Project is fortunate to have=20
received both kinds recently=2E=20
State grants totaling $120,000 will help propel the locomotive=20
restoration, and the donation of original prints of mining scenes done=20
by a Minersville native will enhance the ambiance of a restored train=20
depot=2E=20
Robert E=2E Kimmel Jr=2E, chairman of the restoration effort, said it had=20=
recently been cleared for two amounts, including a $90,000 state=20
Keystone Historic Preservation grant and a $30,000 state Heritage Parks=20=
grant=2E=20
The mining scene prints, however, came out of the blue, he said=2E=20
Kimmel said the train enthusiasts who make up the restoration committee=20=
received a letter from John Dimiterchek, Gretna, La=2E=20
A Minersville native, Dimiterchek subscribes to this newspaper, read=20
stories about the restoration project "and liked what we are doing,"=20
Kimmel said=2E=20
A 1936 graduate of Minersville High School, Dimiterchek joined the Army=20=
after graduation and his lived out of the area since=2E However, his=20
father, the late Michael, and three brothers, George, Mickey and Wally,=20=
worked in the mines in Minersville and Saint Clair=2E=20
"Although I have lived elsewhere I have a great love of Minersville,"=20
Dimiterchek wrote=2E "My wife and I have been ill but hope to make one=20
more trip to Minersville=2E"=20
His fascination with the restoration project was such that Dimiterchek=20
donated seven original prints by artist Nicholas Bervinchak, who was=20
born in Minersville in 1903=2E The prints are of scenes that include=20
miners, their wives and children and other mining scenes=2E=20
Bervinchak's works have been exhibited throughout the world, including=20
at world's fairs in Chicago and New York, Kimmel said=2E=20
Dimiterchek also donated an original work, depicting a mining boy, done=20=
by Joseph Evanousky, Hometown, an art educator=2E=20
The works will be displayed in the Minersville train station when=20
remodeling work there is completed, Kimmel said=2E=20
As for the grant money, it will be used for repairs on CNJ 113, a rare=20
anthracite steam locomotive that rests under a tarp at the Minersville=20
train station=2E=20
Kimmel said the larger grant will be used for repairs on the=20
locomotive's boiler; the smaller grant is earmarked for its tender, a=20
section behind the engine that holds coal and water=2E Water is heated in=20=
the boiler to make steam=2E=20
"They are both essential parts of the engine," Kimmel said=2E "If either=20=
one isn't working, the train doesn't move=2E"=20
In describing the project's goal last year, Kimmel said, "The engine's=20
going to become mobile and it's going to run all over Schuylkill=20
County=2E"=20
Kimmel said the engine restoration effort is named after the locomotive=20=
- - Project 113=2E=20
Boiler repairs will include removing and replacing bolts, patching the=20
firebox, riveting, replacing studs and redoing the heater units and=20
other items=2E=20
When the work is completed, Kimmel said, the system will undergo a=20
hydrostatic test that will prove whether or not it can withstand=20
pressure=2E If it passes, the next step will be to build a coal fire and=20=
do a steam test, he continued=2E=20
"That's giving you the easy version; it's really very technical," he=20
said=2E "But once it's finished, we hope to run the train, along with our=20=
new passenger cars, which will also be refinished=2E"=20
The tender repairs involve replacing its floor and sides and installing=20=
a new coal bunker=2E=20
The paintings donated by Dimiterchek will be the perfect accents for the=20=
interior of the train station=2E=20
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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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