Hopewell Depot Restoration

The weather has turned colder and we had snow flurries today. Despite the cold and wind, our volunteers continued work on the switch tower. The frame is in place for the top floor and the roof. The scaffolding is in place for the roof work and upper floor windows. On the ground floor there is a new door to the restroom area. You may note the small tree attached to the roof. This is the traditional construction topping off tree, Wr should have the roof covered and the widows in before the winter snows. There is a lot of interior work to be done. We expect to have a grand opening some time around May.

The Depot will be open on Saturdays from 10:00 till 4:00.

Despite the grey drizzly weather we had quite a few visitors from the Rail Trail today.
Among the recent donations were a RR check embossing machine, two lanterns and a Bordens Milk carrier.

Tower construction has added vapor barrier to the lower floor walls If the weather holds out, we expect to enclose the top story and install the windows on Wednesday.

The Depot will be open on winter hours of 10:00 till 4:00 on Saturdays..

Winter weather arrived with 2016 but our volunteers still are working to install windows on the top floor of our replica switch tower. Our local town highway crew found an abandoned railroad crossing gate and dropped it off at our depot.

We are producing a series of short videos starring "Mr Conductor" to tell the story of Hopewell Junction railroading. We have completed the first five videos and they are available on You Tube at the following link.

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The new series of short videos is also available on the Depot Web Site at the following link.
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There will be several more in the series as we get them recorded.


Stop by the Depot on a Saturday and check out our progress. There is plenty of room for "Sidewalk Superintendents".

Despite the nippy winter weather, our volunteers have been working on the exterior siding of the new signal tower. They are making it look as close as possible to the photos of the original tower which was torn down in 1938.. The "scalloped" siding is very visible in the old photos. We expect to have the tower and restrooms open in the spring.

The Depot is running on winter hours and is open on Saturdays from 10:00 till 4:00. Stop around and chat for a while.

CNE SPRING TOUR 2016
This is a heads up for those planning to join us for the 2016 segment of the annual bus tour along various portions of the former Central New England Railway.
Our trip will take place on Sunday April 3 starting at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie. There is a parking lot on Water street just across from the Metro North parking garage. within sight of the Hudson River and the Walkway Bridge. The buses cost less on Sunday and traffic is less at least in the morning. It seems like the weather is better the first weeks of April than March and that is another factor. Please notify your friends so that everyone who wants to go has a chance. The price will be $55 per person again.
This years trip will include the former railroad bridge ( now a Walkway) in Poughkeepsie, The line from Highland to Maybrook and Campbell Hall. After lunch one of the stops will be the restored Hopewell Junction Depot and Museum. and the newly built replica of the New Haven Switch Tower ss 196. Then return to Poughkeepsie. As usual lunch will be provided.
We have planned this trip to reach as many of the remaining historical spots as our intrepid scouts could locate. In many cases we have had to rely on photographs, new and old, to fill in
parts of the puzzle. We hope that you will gain a better understanding of the part that the railroads played in the history and development of New York. As usual, everybody will get a copy of the 2016 CNE Tour guide book. We have a lot of ground to cover so we will have coffee and buses will roll at 9:00. Try to get there by 8:30 or earlier.

The cost of this year's tour will be $55.00 per person and payment should be made out to:
Joseph Mato CNE 2016
Joe Mato
62 Wood RD CNE 2016
Redding, CT 06896
(home): 203 938-9992 e-mail: [email protected]
Be sure to include your E-Mail address so we can contact you if we need to. If you don't have
E-Mail then include your phone number.
Any money that is left after expenses will be used as "seed money" for next years trip.
As we did last year, we have two buses with 47 seats each. In past years we sold all seats and had a waiting list so don't wait too long to send in your reservation. Please note that any request for refunds must be received thirty (30) or more days in advance of the tour date. If you can find a replacement to take your bus seat, that's OK just let us know who it is. We have to know who to let onto the bus when the tour starts. If you can't find a replacement then we may have somebody on the waiting list to suggest but we can't refund money that has already been spent on tour expenses.
Bernie Rudberg
7 Marion Ave.
Wappingers Falls, NY Phone 845 221-9330
12590-6017 E-Mail [email protected]

In warm sunny weather we had six volunteers cutting, painting and installing scallop siding on the new switch tower. It is actually beginning to look like the original tower that was torn down in 1938. There is still a lot of interior work like sheet rock and plumbing to be done inside. The electrical inspection went with flying colors. We are shooting for a grand opening in May.

On a sunny day, we had quite a few visitors from the Rail Trail. The Depot is on winter hours so we will be open Saturdays from 10:00 till 4:00. Stop around and check out our progress and chat a while. There is plenty of room for sidewalk superintendents.

Sunny weather has helped our volunteers in cutting, painting and installing siding on the switch tower replica. When the exterior is done we can remove the scaffolding and work on the inside walls and plumbing.

Meanwhile, we have added new chapters to the Mr Conductor short video series. We now have 9 short videos about Hopewell Junction railroading available on our Depot web site. Take a look at the following link and click on Mr Conductor on the right side of the screen.

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When you have a chance, stop around at the Depot on a Saturday and see for yourself what we are doing. The Depot is open from 10:00 till 4:00 on Saturdays.

Here is a sneak peek at the cover of the guide book for the CNE Rwy historical tour starting at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie on 3 April. Buses will roll about 9:00 AM. The book contains 234 pages of photos and stories about the Maybrook Line from Poughkeepsie to Maybrook. After lunch we will come back across the river to Hopewell Junction to explore the restored Depot and the new replica of switch tower ss 196. Lunch is included and everybody gets a copy of the guide book.

There are still seats available for this all-day trip. If you are interested you can send a check for $55 to Joe Mato.

Joseph Mato CNE 2016

Joe Mato
62 Wood RD CNE 2016
Redding, CT 06896

(home): 203 938-9992 e-mail: [email protected]

Be sure to include your E-Mail address so we can contact you if we need to. If you don't have

E-Mail then include your phone number

Sunny weather brought out quite a few visitors from the Trail today. Also, our children's play locomotive has come out of the winter coverings.
The switch tower is looking more like a real tower since the scaffolding is down. Work on the interior comes next.

The Depot is open Saturdays from 19:00 to 4:00..

Sunny but chilly weather today with a few visitors from the Rail Trail. Also some new donations for our museum exhibits including a New Haven RR 48 star American flag that was actually used at the Depot many moons ago.

The attachment is your chance to get your name on our new switch tower. Take a look. Maybe you could sponsor part of the construction. Stop around and check out our progress. We will have the ribbon cutting in May.

The latest donations of railroad documents has now been framed and hung in the Depot ticket office.

These were the personal documents of a man who worked for the railroad.

Work continues on the interior of the new switch tower. Ribbon cutting in May

Cold rainy weather kept most of the visitors away today. We did have a couple high school kids working on an essay contest and asking a lot of questions. Meanwhile our volunteers were working on the interior of the new switch tower.

For those of you who are interested in the big Walkway bridge in Poughkeepsie, there is a video about the bridge. It covers early history up to opening the Walkway in 2009. It is worth a look at the following You Tube link.
Check out this video on YouTube:

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Work continues on the interior of the new switch Tower. You can get your name on the Tower if you sponsor a door or other part. Send your check to the Depot Restoration. P. O. Box 1044, Hopewell Junction, NY, 12533. We expect to have the grand opening ribbon cutting on 20 May.

The Depot is still running on winter hours so we are open on Saturdays from 10:00 till 4:00

Outstanding work as usual guys

Bright sunny weather brought out the traffic on the Rail Trail and also made good conditions for working on the interior of the Switch Tower. The restroom areas now have tile on the flooor.

The Depot is open on Saturdays from 10 till 4..