(rshsdepot) Globe, AZ

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

From the Casa Grande Valley Newspapers.

Happy New Year!

Bernie Wagenblast

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Community renovation brings Globe railroad depot back to life in 3 years

GLOBE - Little more than three years ago, the old Southern Pacific Railroad
depot in Globe was a mess. 
 
The two-story brick structure on South Broad Street in downtown Globe had
been a laundromat for 36 years. The freight office next door had been vacant
for years, and a former matching restaurant building that subsequently
housed the YWCA already had been torn down.
 
Enter Kip Culver, director of Globe Main Street.

"This began in 2005 when we were first given the keys to the historic
freight office," he said of the one-story building just south of the depot.
"We restored that (it now houses a small museum of Globe and railroad
artifacts) for the test run of this (Copper Spike Excursion Train) concept."

That test run consisted of a one-car locomotive-railcar that ran for a short
time in 2006 between the depot and Apache Gold Casino and Resort on the
nearby San Carlos Apache Reservation.

Globe Main Street won a Governor's Heritage Award for the freight office
project, but Culver wasn't ready to stop.

"That was the initiative for us to do the work on the building next door,"
he said of the depot.

"We've just addressed the lobby. There's a whole upstairs that we'll be
chasing grant money for."

Work to restore the ground floor is virtually complete - and decidedly
stunning. Old photos and marks left in the building were used to recreate a
wooden ticket office with a railroad clock above it. A small display to the
side of the ticket window recreates the station master's office. Before and
after photos adorn the walls. Clean restrooms with period appointments
beckon to travelers. The work to date was honored recently with a state Main
Street award.

Volunteers hauled out 14 tons of trash just to get to the building's shell.
Donors helped finance the work.

"The structures we have were independently designed by Trost and Trost of El
Paso," Culver said. "The upper floor was all upper management for the
Arizona Eastern before it was absorbed by Southern Pacific."

The depot was a busy place in its heyday. Southern Pacific ran trains from
its mainline connection at Bowie, hauling passengers to Globe for bus or
auto tours of area mining operations and Roosevelt Dam, at the time of its
completion in 1911 the largest masonry dam in the world. Construction of the
depot began in 1911, though it wasn't completed until 1916. The passenger
service by Southern Pacific was similar to the concept Santa Fe used on its
branch line to the Grand Canyon.

The two buildings continue under railroad ownership. Main Street simply
acquired the lease to the depot building from the family that had operated
the laundromat, which has moved to a different location.

The depot and freight office are just the beginning for those who love
historic buildings. A map of about 50 historic downtown buildings is
available in the depot, complete with brief historical explanations.
Beginning last weekend, walking tours of the downtown area depart the depot
weekends at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

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

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