Erie Railroad Jamestown Passenger Station Restoration

Interesting topic, one that's of great interest to me.

My maternal grandparents lived in Jamestown, my grandfather served on the Jamestown Police Department for over 40 years. During prohibition one of his duties was to meet the passenger train that ran between Jamestown and Buffalo to watch for bootleggers bringing in bootleg liquor that had been smuggled in from Canada. In later years, we met my grandmother coming back from many functions that she used to attend in far-off places like Hornell or Elmira.

I did manage to ride the last eastbound Lake Cities onto Jamestown on Jan. 6, 1970 having ridden the next-to-last westbound as far as Greenville, PA and spending a VERY cold day killing time in Greenville waiting for the last train to Jamestown.

Having left the area about 30 years ago, I only return about once a year to visit my father in Sugar Grove, PA, about 12 miles south of Jamestown but remain interested in what's going on in the area. The planned renovation of the Jamestown Station has been discussed and rehashed for years but the depot (or what remains of it) still sits, subject to ravages of vandals and the elements.

I truly hope that something will FINALLY be done but I'm not holding my breath.

Here's a link to Brian F. Case's Erie-Lackawanna page (some of these photos appear in the link provided by Mr. Norman). These photos are from both Jamestown and Salamanca but the Jamestown photos show the walkway over the tracks with the steps/escalator leading down to the platform.

http://bfcase.railfan.net/cgi/pframe/el_page.cgi

Taken sometime in the last 10 years on one of my visits home.

I actually found one of the Jamestown station clocks at an auction in Georgia and purchased it back in the early 90s. I sent the guys who were coordinating the station restoration an email saying it was available if they wanted it and they said they were interested but I never heard back. It's very cool looking with a pedestal and a face on each side. From the sounds of things I am not too confident that it would ever return to its rightful place.

just curious..
what kind of stone is the exterior?
and what causes it to turn black?

Scot

I believe it is limestone. Someone, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Dave Becker

The challenge with the Jamestown station, like many projects that require public support, is that without someone to "champion" the project, it will continue to languish.

It's the person that has a great emotional attachment to the project, who'll cut through the "red tape" and organize the masses to see that things get done.

Without that person, you'll have groups of people that will get together once in a while to discuss getting things done, but other than meeting a few minor goals, most in the group will be waiting for the "other person" to do the really hard work-- the work that will really make a difference.

It all comes down to having an emotional attachment to the project.

From the Jamestown Post-Journal, US Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) visited Jamestown on Friday (Mar. 21st) and called for federal transportation officials to stop holding up funds needed for renovation of the Jamestown Station.

http://www.post-journal.com/articles.as ... leID=26037

Surprised the re-opening of Jamestown Station got little to no mention on this web site. Anyone get photos?

"Fortunately, many civic leaders were not content to let the train station stand empty and unused , gradually deteriorating to an inevitable demise. A number of possibilities were discussed and explored. However, the neglected train station, built in 1932, was in great need of repair and cosmetic revitalization. This required lots of those pesky dollars which are so hard to come by. Undaunted, those civic leaders and others pursued and ultimately succeeded in acquiring a sufficient number of those pesky dollars to restore the railroad station to a useful entity in the community's daily life."

read more: http://post-journal.com/page/content.de ... l?nav=5006

"Lee Harkness of Jamestown Redevelopment said, "Everything is done. The main lobby and so forth is exactly as it was originally. It's been under the guidance of SHIPBO and National Parks. Can't change much when it comes to that, so you're pretty much going to see the original building.""

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/southern_t ... -jamestown

"JAMESTOWN – A historic landmark in downtown Jamestown is once again open to the public. On Friday morning, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-Brooklyn) and Congressman Brian Higgins (D-South Buffalo) joined Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi and other local officials to mark the completion of the historic Erie-Lackawanna Train Depot restoration in Jamestown. Hundreds of people attended the grand opening to hear the dignitaries speak and tour the facility, which saw more than $11 million in renovations during the past four years."

http://wrfalp.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/ ... n-station/

-otto-

Glad to see it is all restored. I hope someone post pictures.

scottychaos wrote:just curious..
what kind of stone is the exterior?
and what causes it to turn black?
Scot

If it is limestone as was noted earlier, the usual problem is air pollution (acid rain from sulfur dioxide, usually from coal power plants) causes a chemical reaction to the surface which makes it prone to capturing dirt and pollution particles, which make it black. I've also seen it can be caused by some kind of mold. Hopefully they cleaned it up.
JS

Also not mentioned was the use of steam power at the ceremony. Pix of Viscose Company #6 on the Facebook link provided on the last link in Otto's post. Nice to have Chuck Schumer show up...

I was at the grand opening ceremony and I really have to say what phenomenal job everyone did in restoring this important piece of Jamestown and Erie Railroad history! It's a true testament to what can happen when all levels of government work together to achieve a common goal. I visited it last fall when they were still working on it and even from then they made a lot of head way. Everyone who was there was able to walk through the station freely without having any part or room off limits. A lot of rooms in the building had the garbage building materials cleaned up but other than that those areas were still original and still need to be redone. Aside from that that all I can say is wow! The marble floors and the marble on the walls in the main hall were cleaned up and they look absolutely beautiful.I'm not sure if the benches in there are original or if they are restored, but they are of a dark finish and they really look good in there. In the basement there is a state of the art ventilation system that I believe provides heating and cooling throughout the entire building. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of pictures of the station and what ones I did have didn't turn out so well. There were several model train exhibits in one room, several authors, and booths from other vendors and historical societies in the baggage room. I did find it quite interesting that they had the original blue prints and building contract there on hand. I have also heard a couple people ask why they never rebuilt the stairway that led down to track level, and I believe Lee said some time ago this is because either WNYP, or NS did not want it there. Is this for insurance reasons clearance reasons? After that I followed Viscose co. 6 down to WNYP's yard in Falconer. Much to my surprise the guys there were gracious enough to let everyone come down and take a look at their equipment and snap some pictures. I took some pictures of their locomotives and they had one in the shop that was in primer that I haven't seen before. From looking in another post I think it might be ex CP MLW RS-18 1811. I don't have my camera with me but I will post any and all pictures I have tomorrow. Thank you all, and if you ever are passing through Jamestown make sure to check out their beautiful train station. The city has made great strides in recent years in cleaning up and revitalizing downtown Jamestown, it isn't the city people remember seeing 15 years ago when they were there last there. Their future is bright, and so is the future of the train station, no matter what its uses will be for.

Kuyahoora Valley wrote:Also not mentioned was the use of steam power at the ceremony. Pix of Viscose Company #6 on the Facebook link provided on the last link in Otto's post. Nice to have Chuck Schumer show up...

Yes, Viscose 6 pulled a coach and the LAL's "Traveller" business car. That must have been quite the sight!

-otto-

map193 wrote: I have also heard a couple people ask why they never rebuilt the stairway that led down to track level, and I believe Lee said some time ago this is because either WNYP, or NS did not want it there. Is this for insurance reasons clearance reasons?

Why do you need a stairway down to track level?

-otto-

Otto Vondrak wrote:

map193 wrote: I have also heard a couple people ask why they never rebuilt the stairway that led down to track level, and I believe Lee said some time ago this is because either WNYP, or NS did not want it there. Is this for insurance reasons clearance reasons?

Why do you need a stairway down to track level?

-otto-

There is no need for one. But from the way Mr. Harkness made it sound last fall when he gave us a tour there was one point in time when rebuilding the stairway was in the plans.

Here's a Youtube video of the train coming from the east (Falconer) and passing under the Washington Street bridge as it pulls up to the station in Jamestown:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyps88kPT3I

Otto, You're correct, there is no need for access to the track level at present. However, there has been some discussion, (Some may refer to it as wild-eyed speculation) about operating some type of excursion service out of Jamestown, possibly to the casino in Salamanca.