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RE: (rshsdepot) Potlatch, ID
good news, but i would say great news is when they write that a depot will
be used for passengers on passenger trains again, no?...
> [Original Message]
> From: <I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com>
> To: <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
> Date: 7/7/2006 12:52:46 PM
> Subject: (rshsdepot) Potlatch, ID
>
> From today's Lewiston Morning Tribune.
>
> Bernie Wagenblast
> Transportation Communications Newsletter
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> Depot Project Back on Track
>
>
> POTLATCH - For those like Don Somers and Jack Coyner who fancy anything
> connected to railroading, the latest news about the 100-year-old
Washington,
> Idaho & Montana Railway depot here is well worth a celebration.
>
> "As of last Friday," Somers announced, "we received a quit-claim deed
from
> Watco."
>
> Watco is the short-line railroad parent company that owned the depot.
The
> deed, which erases a snafu over a 25-foot setback requirement, means the
old
> depot won't have to be moved before it's restored.
>
> "Moving it would have taken it out of context," not to mention cost a
lot of
> money, said Somers, who is president of the WI&M Railway History
> Preservation Group.
>
> The historic context of the two-story building, said Somers and Coyner,
is
> that it was built in 1906 with lumber from the original Potlatch white
pine
> mill. It became the first commercial structure in what became known as
the
> "company town" around which Potlatch Corp. got its start. The company's
first
> business officers were located on the second floor of the depot.
>
> For the past several years, the depot has sat vacant with its roof
shrouded
> in protective tarps pending the start of restoration. While securing a
> $500,000 federal grant administered through the Idaho Transportation
Enhancement
> Program, the preservation group bought the depot building and three
acres in
> 2001 for $1,000.
>
> But soon after, Somers and Coyner said, a problem arose. The sale
included a
> 25-foot setback requirement from the railroad tracks outside the depot.
The
> distance, said Somers, cut into the building about five feet along its
entire
> western front. At first, the plan was to move the depot about 300 feet
to
> the north. Then the possibility of lifting it and moving it back the
required
> distance was explored.
>
> In the meantime, the clock was ticking on a deadline for use of the
grant
> money. The amount had also been matched by $57,000 worth of community
> contributions. Attempts to clear up the setback requirement became
stalled, Somers
> said.
>
> "But then we really got a lot of help from the Latah County
commissioners,"
> Coyner said, "in particular Paul Kimmell.
>
> "Paul just got on board with us and said we will be persistent until we
make
> this happen," Somers said. Many phone calls, e-mails and discussions
later,
> the setback requirement was waived and depot restoration is back on
track,
> with initial work tentatively set for late summer or early fall.
>
> "We're having a celebration Saturday to celebrate it all," Somers said.
>
> The festivities, with tours of the depot, live music from a boxcar stage
and
> rides along the tracks on old speeder cars east and west of town, begin
at
> 10 a.m. and go through 5 p.m.
>
> "We will be charging for the speeder rides," Somers said. But the rest
of
> the event is free to the public. Cost of the rides is $5 for adults and
$3 for
> children 12 and under. Longer round-trip rides will be offered later in
the
> day to Harvard and Palouse, if there's a demand. Cost of those, Somers
> estimated, will be $20 for adults and $10 for children.
>
> About a dozen speeder cars, which were used for rail maintenance in the
> past, will be provided by members of the Pacific Railcar Operators. The
cars were
> a big hit last year when the town of Potlatch celebrated its centennial.
>
> The music, which begins at noon, will be bluegrass, country and fiddling
> with groups like the Potlatch Junior Jammers, Two Dollar Bills, Steptoe,
Little
> Red and the Criminals, and others performing.
>
> The depot, along with the newly-restored Potlatch City Hall building,
are
> both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
>
> "It's a railroad building," Somers said, when asked why the depot has
become
> such a focus of attention for him. "No other reason."
>
> Coyner agreed. Neither worked for railroads. But both are into model
> railroad and have been key to construction and maintenance of the
permanent HO-gauge
> model railroad setup at the Latah County Fairgrounds.
>
> Restoration planning and design for the depot is being done through
> Castellaw-Kom Architects of Lewiston. Now that the depot can remain in
its original
> location, money set aside for the move can be put back into the
building, said
> Coyner, who coordinated the original grant application. But the dollars
will
> fall short of a complete restoration.
>
> "Preserve the shell," is how Somers described the restoration goal at
this
> point. He said the money should pay for lifting the depot onto a new
> foundation, construction of a new roof, renovation of the exterior and
perhaps new
> windows.
>
> "Probably nothing on the interior," Somers said. He and Coyner, however,
> said members of the preservation group will continue to seek the funding
needed,
> not to just restore the entire depot, but to perhaps make it available
for
> office and retail space.
>
> "What it amounts to," said Somers, "is that as time goes on, things
change."
>
>
> =================================
> The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
> railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
>
>
>
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=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
------------------------------
End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1391
********************************
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org