East Brookfield Station Fire

Looks like we lost a little more Boston & Albany history.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20100919/NEWS/100919568

EAST BROOKFIELD — The historic train depot at Depot Square was heavily damaged in a Saturday night fire and officials are now working to determine the cause. Fire Chief Peter Livermore said a report of smoke in the area was called in around 10:30 p.m. Saturday and while heading to the scene firefighters found heavy smoke blanketing the area. The smoke made it into nearby neighborhoods and all the way to Route 9. Firefighters arrived to find fire coming from one side of the building, but it was near the CSX Corp. railroad tracks making the fire difficult to attack at first.

[You must include a brief quote of the news story you are linking to! -omv]

Photographer Brian Solomon asked me to share these photos and a message with fans interested in saving the historic station at East Brookfield.

On Saturday evening (September 18 2010) the former Boston & Albany Railroad station at East Brookfield, Massachusetts was badly damaged by fire. This was a significant example of a Richardson Romanesque architectural design as executed by Shepley, Rutan, & Coolidge. Dennis LeBeau of the East Brookfield Historical commission has asked me to help with his effort to have the station restored. Dennis has been in contact with local government and Massachusetts Lt Governor Tim Murray.

http://www.eastbrookfieldma.us/Historic ... ission.htm

Wasn't CSX trying to sell the station a while back? Real shame it's been ruined, Richardson style stations are some of the finest examples of his architectural style. The one in North Easton is one of the best preserved ones.

J

"Saving" the station is a bit of an understatement. Rebuilding it is a more appropriate term. Looks like 100% of the wooden structure is gone.

Back in the '80s Conrail reportedly offered the building as a donation as long as it was moved off their property.

CVRA7 wrote:Back in the '80s Conrail reportedly offered the building as a donation as long as it was moved off their property.

Moving it would be quite a task, considering it's mostly stone work. I recall Preservation Massachusetts had the station on their "10 most endangered historic properties" a while back. My bet it was arson that caused the fire.

J

FWIW, a number of other stations of similar construction survived serious fires to live another day. Two that come to mind are Hartford and Palmer - Hartford's was a near total burnout, but I think Palmer's may have been less serious.

Until the fire CSX's signal dept. was still using the building for tool and parts storage. I don't think that there will be a whole lot of incentive to rebuild the structure though. The company will probably subsitute a modified shipping container like those they use in West Springfield and Framingham. The depot's fate is a bit dark.

pharmerphil54 wrote:The depot's fate is a bit dark.

That does not appear to be the opinion of Dennis LeBeau, of the East Brookfield Historical Commission. Contact him if you want to help save the structure.

-otto-

There is a growing grassroots effort to "save" the East Brookfield Depot. This Depot means a lot to the youngest town in Massachusetts and we are gathering a lot of passionate people from in town as well as all over the country that want to help.

You can follow the progress by visiting the Facebook page.. "Save the East Brookfield Depot". We can use all your help and the advice of anyone that has gone through something similar with their station. The goal is to move the remaining structure back about 50 feet and rebuild however we need the help of the railroad community. Here is the link to our Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-the- ... 9949670829

Thanks.

The Historic Train Depot in East Brookfield was severely damaged by arson this past Saturday night (09-18-2010). The Depot is privately owned by the Railroad (CSX) and they may being forced to demolish the remaining structure for safety reasons. A passionate grassroots effort has launched to try to keep CSX from removing the building remains altogether. We understand they may have to dismantle it for safety concerns, however our goal is reach out to CSX and make them aware of the groundswell of support to preserve the Depot. Now, what would Depot Square be without a Depot? We cannot do it alone. We need your help asking CSX to halt any removal of the remaining structure. They need to hear how important the Train Depot is to all of us. Please make your voices heard. We are in the process of setting up a 501c3 non-profit foundation to support this effort. If you are interested in contributing please contact us using the appropriate method below:

See also: http://eastbrookfielddepot.com/

ladys and germs, Dylan "NorthShore" Lambert is on the case!

daylight4449 wrote:ladys and germs, Dylan "NorthShore" Lambert is on the case!

Huh? What case? The building is being demolished...

Cadet57 wrote:

daylight4449 wrote:ladys and germs, Dylan "NorthShore" Lambert is on the case!

Huh? What case? The building is being demolished...

we have a chance to save it. with people putting pressure on csx about the yard in worcester, this could be an opportunity for both sides, CSX gets rid of a liable structure, and thhe community gets a chance to rebuild and preserve the depot. even if it cant be saved, than we should construct a replica, i know a museum in california made a replica of the B&Ms wakefield depot, so its possible.

besides, senator brewer is lobbying to save the depot, so we may have a chance yet. NorthShore away!