(rshsdepot) Barberton, OH (Erie)

["J. Henry Priebe Jr." <root_@_bluemoon.net>]

An update on the Barberton Erie station move from the Akron Beacon Journal.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/17480388.htm

Henry

J. Henry Priebe Jr.    Blue Moon Internet Corp Network Administrator
www.bluemoon.net       Internet Access & Web Hosting
www.railfan.net        Railfan Network Services

Historic building gets a new home in Barberton
Depot moves down the road
Crowds gather to watch effort
By Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal staff writer

BARBERTON - Frank Sacramone only wishes he was paid the big bucks entertainers
command.

But he says he doesn't mind performing practically every day in front of
crowds for the salary he earns as a crew foreman for Klier Structural Movers
of Wellington.

``We should be in the circus,'' Sacramone said. ``People love watching us at
work. Any time we're out on the road, it attracts quite a few people.''

Instead of daring high-wire acts, Sacramone and his three young male workers
wisely leave the work on wires to Ohio Edison.

And instead of balancing tricks based on skill, Sacramone relies on the
science of engineering to move 100-ton buildings from one foundation to
another.

Such was the case Tuesday morning when the Klier truck inched its way from the
west side to the east side of Fourth Street while carrying a 117-year-old
train depot.

A couple of hundred Barberton citizens, officials and curious onlookers
congregated on closed-down Fourth Street to watch.

``It's amazing, simply amazing,'' said Larry Lallo, executive director of the
Barberton Community Development Corp. ``The preparation that went into this
move is overwhelming. And the move itself is a once-in-a-lifetime event.''

The effort was spurred by a sense of history. Thousands of Barberton's boys
left and returned from World War I and World War II from the depot.

The Neighborhood Conservation Service acquired the depot in a swap of property
with the city five years ago and wanted to preserve it.

The project also was spurred by a sense of business. Blind and Sons Heating
and Cooling is preparing for a $600,000 expansion that will mean more jobs and
tax money to Barberton. But the company needed the land next door, where the
depot sat, to expand.

More than $90,000 was raised to help the move, which required $30,000 for the
purchase of five lots on which the depot would be replanted and $60,000 for
the move and the new foundation. A $55,000 grant from a city of Barberton
Community Block Grant led the way. The Barberton Community Foundation stepped
up to provide $30,000. The community development group added $6,000.

The Klier crew did the prep work in May, jacking the depot off its foundation
and inserting 12 steel beams beneath it. Barberton native Jim Adkins'
construction company put a new foundation on the new property.

Barberton Safety Director Ricks closed Fourth Street at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Crew chief Ed Pancoast and his four Ohio Edison workers had power cut at 9
a.m. and dropped five lines on the east side of the street so the depot's
steeple could cross under without incident.

It took nearly an hour for the truck to crawl the structure across the street
and into the parking lot at Angie's Italian Restaurant. Power to 200 residents
was returned at 11:10 a.m.

The truck made a wide sweep at the east end of the parking lot and began the
treacherous crossing of the railroad tracks that host the thrice-weekly
running of the Akron Barberton Cluster Railway train to and from Rittman.

It took an hour of small moves over planking that was constantly repositioned
by the crew to steady the bed and its load across the tracks.

The truck then completed its turn and the depot was facing south, 180 degrees
opposite where it started three hours before, in front of its new foundation,
at noon.

The crew used the afternoon to install the two beams on which the depot was
rolled down and positioned three feet above its new mooring. The depot is to
be lowered onto the foundation today.

``Everything really went well today,'' Sacramone said. ``We weren't sure how
it was going to go when we started moving it, but the depot turned out to be
very structurally sound.

``We're anticipating that everything will go smoothly tomorrow (Wednesday) and
we'll have everything done by the end of the day.''


- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley_@_thebeaconjournal.com. 


=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
To Unsubscribe: http://lists.railfan.net/rshsdepot-photo/unsub.html

------------------------------