(rshsdepot) Roanoke, VA

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From the Roanoke Times.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
 
Train Group Engineering Site's Revival: A Fire-Damaged Former  Train Station 
is on Track to Be Turned into a Leasable Business Site.
 
The Roanoke Times, 2007-11-15
 
By Jeff Sturgeon, The Roanoke Times, Va.
 
Nov. 15--Railroad buffs have garnered more than $500,000 of  the $2.2 million 
needed to renovate the fire-damaged former Virginian Railway  train station 
property in Roanoke.  
The Roanoke chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and Roanoke  
Valley Preservation Foundation hope to reopen the registered landmark in the  
fall of 2009, providing leased space for a business or organization and 
displays  about Roanoke's rich railroading history. The former station was hit by 
fire  nearly seven years ago and later donated by _Norfolk  Southern Corp._ 
(http://www.industrywatch.com/pages/iw2/coOverview.nsp?coID=730&ID=iw&scategory=Tran
sportation&P=&F=&R=&VNC=hnall)  to historians.  
Two one-story brick buildings stand side-by-side with a common orange-tiled  
roof and breezeway, less than 50 yards from tracks that now carry mainly  
freight. One building sheltered departing rail passengers and the other held  
baggage and package express; both date to 1909. The station closed in 1956 as  
construction began on the national highway system, a project that, along with  
the rise of air travel, ultimately reduced demand for passenger rail service  
nationwide. The facility was converted into offices and later a country store.  
But fire damage and deterioration have taken their toll, leaving part of the  
roof open, roof tiles in disarray and the flared eaves in tatters. It is  
encircled by a fence, creating an eyesore a few blocks north along Jefferson  
Street from Carilion Clinic's expanding medical campus and adjacent to the Mill  
Mountain Greenway with its growing bicycle and pedestrian traffic. It 
frequently  makes various lists of endangered, important structures.  
After years of planning, lobbying and fundraising, those who want the old  
station saved say they are almost ready to begin construction. Last week the  
chapter distributed a request for proposals from architects and engineering  
firms to draw renovation plans. The chapter's goal is to hire an architect by  
mid-January and finish in October 2009, the year of the building's 100th  
anniversary.  
"We'll be trying to get it as close as possible to the way it was," said  
Alison Blanton, committee chairwoman and an architectural historian.  
Project backers are accepting donations and applying for more grants to  
supplement support already won from the Virginia Department of Transportation  and 
the federal government. They plan to launch a fundraising campaign on a date  
not yet announced.  
When the project is complete, plans are for the 2,720-square-foot former  
passenger building to be leased. The renovation team's first choice would be a  
not-for-profit organization as a tenant. But the backers will consider leasing  
to a business, said James Cosby, chapter treasurer.  
"It's possible that it could be a restaurant," Cosby said. But he noted that  
any future tenant would have to be aware that the property is in a flood 
plain.  
Cosby said his team has obtained two grants: $260,486 from the federal  
government and $267,000 from VDOT.  
Both require project backers to use a substantial part of the property for a  
not-for-profit use. To that end, the railroad group plans historical displays 
in  the former baggage building to highlight the impact of the Virginian 
Railway on  the development of the Roanoke Valley and the state's train industry. 
Also  envisioned is a rest stop with public toilets for bicyclists and hikers, 
Cosby  said.  
The Virginian Railway, formed in 1907 from the Tidewater Railway and  
Deepwater Railway, merged with Norfolk & Western Railway in 1959. N&W  merged with 
Southern Railway in 1982 to create Norfolk  Southern.





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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1632
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org