(rshsdepot) Duluth, MN

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From WCCO-TV.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Finding Minnesota: Defunct Depot Turned Museum

Bill Hudson (WCCO) 
 
On a crisp fall day in Duluth, a cavernous cream brick building on the  
corner of Michigan and 5th beckons the tourists.
 
"The building was built in 1892 by the Northern Pacific Railway," said Ken  
Buehler with the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. 
 
It's known simply as, "The Depot," where faded photos reveal a time when it  
was the hub of the north's transportation wheel. It was a time when railroads  
were king. 
 
"This was all ticket booths for the five different railroads," said  Buehler. 
 
Downstairs tells yet another story, one of immigration. One room in the  
Depot's basement was like the Ellis Island of the Midwest. 
 
"If your grandparents came to America, and immigrated to the Iron Range  
during the peak of the mining and the peak of the lumbering, they sat in here,"  
said Buehler. 
 
And waited for their ride to a new life... 
 
"It was just a mess," said Buehler. "$7.8 million was actually the original  
cost of restoration." 
 
When trains stopped running, the Depot fell into disrepair. It was slated  
for demolition. 
 
Renovated space is now the centerpiece for Duluth's arts, culture and  
historical venues, including the Lake Superior Railway museum. 
 
"They used this to build the Northern Pacific Railway from just outside of  
Duluth at Carleton all the way out to Tacoma and Seattle Washington," said  
Buehler. 
 
Under the train shed, along cobbled streets are 100 rare engines and unique  
rail cars. 
 
"This is known as the American Prairie Class," said Buehler. 
 
It's the first engine owned by railroad magnate, James J. Hill. 
 
"This is the car, Northland. It's probably the crown jewel in our  
collection," said Buehler. 
 
When U.S. Steel ordered a luxury pullman to haul around executives and  
investors, it demanded it be made entirely out of steel. They got a warm, rich  
wood look by painting the steel using a turkey feather. 
 
From delicate luxuries of a dining car filled with china, to massive coal  
burning beasts. 
 
It's a museum that begs you to stop, climb up and listen to a time when the  
rails ruled the day. 
 
"Once the train stories start to come out, that's when the real thrill of  
being here comes out. 'Your grandfather worked on one of these. We used to take  
this to go to your aunt's house. We used to travel by railroad when we went  
across country to see your cousins'. Those kinds of train stories are what our 
 museum is about," said Buehler. 
 
A leading railway magazine has called the Duluth Depot one of the nation's  
10 best railroad museums. 
**************Plan your next getaway with AOL Travel.  Check out Today's Hot 
5 Travel Deals! 
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212416248x1200771803/aol?redir=http://travel.aol.com/discount-travel?ncid=emlcntustrav00000001)

=================================
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

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