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(rshsdepot) Hampstead, Md. (WM)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.station20dec20,1,1125903.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Train station renovation back on track

Mayor, council donate $15,000 to close shortfall for Hampstead project

By Sheridan Lyons
Sun Staff

December 20, 2004

Hampstead Mayor Haven N. Shoemaker Jr. and the Town Council played Santa at
their last meeting with a gift to push the restoration of the historic
Western Maryland Railroad train station over a $15,000 shortfall.

The money puts the project back on track for a grand reopening in April,
with the 1912 building transformed into a town museum and visitors center,
said Councilman Wayne H. Thomas, who began working on it about a dozen years
ago.

"This is terrific," Thomas said of the unexpected action last week at a
council meeting. "I was just telling them what the situation was, where we
were at. ... We found ourselves about $15,000 short of being able to
complete the project.

Thomas, a councilman since 1993, did not vote on the action because he is
president of the nonprofit Hampstead Train Station Committee, which he
incorporated in September 1997 to restore the building. The station was a
stop for passengers on the railroad's Old Dutch Line from Glyndon to
Hanover, Pa.

In the past, Thomas has run for mayor against Shoemaker and Councilman
Christopher M. Nevin, a former mayor. All have the best interest of the town
at heart, Decker said.

"The mayor put on his Santa hat and suggested it," Town Manager Ken Decker
said, explaining that the town has money for Main Street projects but can't
do any work on Main Street while waiting for a bypass to be built by the
state. The train station, a block off Main Street, is in the plan.

"The train station committee came up short, and we decided to step in" with
a transfer from the capital budget to the Main Street project, Shoemaker
said.

"It just goes to show you that politics is politics, and what's best for
Hampstead is best for Hampstead," Thomas said.

About a year after he moved to town in 1991, Thomas began the drive to save
the train station after finding it so decrepit that it was in danger of
being demolished. There was a two-year delay for the acquisition of the
building from CSX Corp. with the participation of the state attorney
general's office, he said.

Thomas has been working with volunteers since March 1998, after acquiring
the building from the town for $9,200 at 5 percent interest over 10 years.

Much work remains to be done, but Thomas hopes the restoration will be
completed by the end of February so that the station can reopen in April.

The train station committee has ordered new doors, expected in about six
weeks, because the original doors had deteriorated beyond restoration,
Thomas said. Other work remaining includes finishing the floors, plumbing
and electrical work, more exterior lighting and a ramp for the disabled.

The plywood is off the windows, and the chimney has been rebuilt.
Tongue-and-groove wainscoting and period glass from the old Hampstead bank
building have been installed, as has a $44,000 slate roof replacing the
original, which had fallen in along with the underlying trusses and boards.
The red and gray paint is new.

Local merchants including Reisterstown Lumber Co. and Martin's Sheet Metal
Inc. of Hampstead have been helpful with their prices and patient about the
bills that need paying, Thomas said.

The town's action means even more money coming in, he said. The Maryland
Historical Trust granted the project $49,000 - with 10 percent of it due
upon completion - and another $5,000 grant from Preservation Maryland is to
be paid then.

Thomas said he personally guaranteed a $35,000 bank loan and has put $4,000
to $5,000 of his money into the project.

The town's $15,000 will enable the committee to use and occupy the building,
and pay the bills, Thomas said. The committee will continue to seek
donations to pay off the loan and for things such as refinishing the old
ticket counter and creating display space for memorabilia.

"They just needed some help getting over the finish line," said Decker, a
train enthusiast who has contributed to the project. "They've been working
six, seven years, working weekends," Decker said. "It is in everybody's
interest to get this thing done. It is a municipal landmark - it's on the
town seal - and we felt we should help."


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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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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1049
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org