(rshsdepot) Dunsmuir, CA Engine House

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From the Mt. Shasta News.
Link to photo:  
_http://www.mtshastanews.com/content/articles/2007/02/21/news/02enginehouse.jpg_ 
(http://www.mtshastanews.com/content/articles/2007/02/21/news/02enginehouse.jpg) 
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Dunsmuir engine house may be  demolished


By Earl Bolender  
The engine house in Dunsmuir`s railroad yard may soon join the roundhouse and 
 machine shop and old wooden rail station as only a memory of the days of the 
 steam locomotive.  
That was the news given to the Dunsmuir City Council Friday by Bruce Petty of 
 the Dunsmuir Steam Engine Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to  
preservation of historic equipment from the steam locomotive era.  
“Union Pacific has stated if the building is given back to them, it will be  
torn down,” Petty said.  
Petty said the reason for returning the structure to the railroad is a lack  
of both manpower and funding for needed major repairs. The engine house was  
originally leased to the city of Dunsmuir in 1990 by then Southern Pacific for  
$1 a year. The city turned it over to the steam engine institute for possible 
 future use as a museum.  
“We started out with the idea of preserving the round house, which was built  
in 1939 and is one of the last engine houses still standing,” he said. “We 
just  don`t have the resources available so let`s give it to UP and let them 
tear it  down. We gave it a try. That`s it.”  
Petty said railroad artifacts in the building would be properly disposed of  
including giving them to museums.  
Rita Green, president of the Dunsmuir Railroad Depot Historical Society,  
asked if some of the artifacts could be donated to the society for placement at  
the Dunsmuir Amtrak Depot.  
“I don`t see a problem,” Petty said.  
In response to Petty`s comment that the building is one of the last engine  
houses left in the United States, a question was raised as to why UP wanted to  
tear the structure down rather than attempt to make repairs.  
“I think it has a lot to do with the hazardous condition it poses,” Dunsmuir 
 finance director Keith Anderson said.  
He said there is also the issue of liability if it was to be opened to the  
public in the future because of its location in the midst of the rail yard.  
Council member Tim Padula said there is also the issue of asbestos in the  
building.  
“I think the reason the railroad gave you the building in the first place is  
because they didn`t want the liability involved in asbestos removal,” Padula  
told Petty.  
Petty said because of the presence of asbestos in the building it is going to 
 cost UP a lot more to tear it down than to renovate it.  
“They`re probably looking at millions of dollars to tear it down and haul the 
 asbestos off,” he said. “It would probably cost about $100,000 to fix it up.
”  
Before making any decision on giving the engine house to UP, Anderson  
requested the issue be placed on the council`s next agenda for formal action  since 
the building lease is with the city.  
The engine house, a two-track building, was constructed to work on the mallet 
 steam locomotives, which were essentially two steam engines mounted under 
the  same boiler. These engines were too long for the roundhouse.  
As the diesel locomotive, which required less maintenance than the steam  
engine, became prominent, the roundhouse was reduced to about six stalls in the  
1950s and used to store city equipment. The stalls were destroyed in a 
snowstorm  in 1964. The engine machine shop was torn down in 1969, along with the old 
 Dunsmuir train station. 
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