Hopewell Junction depot restoration thread

[Bernard Rudberg]

Wednesday 10-19 was a rainy day so we worked inside. The west door got some attention and some of the scorched paint was scraped off the walls. Also the boarded up ticket window was opened to be restored.

One of the volunteers brought a crock pot of chili for lunch. Good on a cold day.

The weather forecast looks much better for the next work session on Saturday 10-22-2011. There is plenty of work to do both inside and out. Stop around and join the fun.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Opening the boarded up ticket window for restoration.

[Bernard Rudberg]

In perfect October weather we got a lot done. The concrete truck arrived before 7:00 AM to pour the new sidewalk. A broom makes a very good non-slip surface on the walk. Later in the day the top of the chimney was rebuilt. A very productive day at the depot.

The next work sessions will be Wednesday 10-26 and Saturday 10-29. We expect the new roof slate to be delivered any day now. There is plenty of work to do on the east deck and the interior.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Wednesday 10-26 was a cool cloudy day but work continued. There was a bit of grading around the new walk and also progress on the east wall deck. Our friends at Williams Lumber provided a lift truck to put the heavy cap back on the chimney. The next step will be a flue liner and then the original ceramic tile stacks can be put back on top of the chimney.

The new roof material is scheduled to be delivered next week.

Next work sessions will be Saturday 10-29 and Wednesday 11-2.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Just a bit of touch up around the chimney cap mortar.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Hopewell Depot Restoration will have our usual table at the Poughkeepsie Train Show on 13 November.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Despite the threat of heavy snow, we got some work done before the worst of the storm. The original tiles are back on the chimney with a stainless steel liner added. There will be a matching cap on the other stack. Meanwhile the walk are was raked for rocks while Mike finished the roof edge. Our electrician worked inside and the west door got some more attention. After some cleanup in both rooms we decided to quit before the snow got too deep. At least we did have hot coffee and donuts from the happy coffee run crew.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Our shipment of roof slate arrived today. The roofing crew cleared the snow off the west side of the roof and began putting the new slate up on the east side. They say they will finish the roof in a day or two, probably by Saturday morning. The good weather this week will help. With the new roof in place we can concentrate on the interior.

We would like to have a celebration for the new roof on Saturday. Be sure to stop around and join in the fun.

Our depot budget is getting pretty low. We will need to do some serious fund raising shortly. Some of our members have started pledging an amount and sending in checks on a monthly basis. We need as much participation as we can get to continue the project. Let’s keep the momentum going.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Saturday 11-5-2011 was a banner day for the depot restoration. The roof was completed and the scaffolding removed. Rich cut expansion grooves in the walk while the crew worked on the interior ceiling. The weather was perfect for a brisk fall day. You can even see the moon coming up in the depot building portrait. From here on we concentrate on the interior Rail Trail information center and the museum section.

To celebrate the new roof we had a catered lunch for the volunteers and the East Fishkill Town board members. The Town paid for the roof materials. Mike O Brien, John Hickman and Rich Taylor provided the speeches after lunch.

As I said, it was a banner day for the depot restoration. Now we have to raise enough funds to finish the job.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Check out this video made by the Town of East Fishkill.

http://www.eastfishkillny.org/content/railroad-depot

[Bernard Rudberg]

This is what the Hopewell Depot looked like in September 201, just one year ago.

[Bernard Rudberg]

Wednesday 11-9-2011 Beautiful fall weather today. Dave is restoring the numbers carved into the west door frame. The numbers are the exact mileage to Campbell Hall, the west end of the Maybrook Line. Meanwhile inside, work continued on the reception center ceiling.

A reporter from the Southern Dutchess News came to the depot today. She says there will be an article in the paper in the next week or two.

This coming weekend, on Sunday 11-13 we will have our usual table at the Poughkeepsie train show at the Civic Center. We could use some help with the set up and manning the table during the day. If you are available for a couple hours on Sunday, give me a call at 845 221-9330.

Our treasury is getting low. We need all the help we can get.

[charlie6017]

Bernie, your crew of volunteers and yourself are doing an incredible job. The depot looks awesome!

Great job!

Charlie

[Bernard Rudberg]

Hopewell Depot Trivia
The tiles on top of the Chimney have the name "Garnkirk" stamped in the ceramic. We found out that they were made in England between 1832 and 1870.
Check out the following link.

The Garnkirk Fireclay Company « Dirt Simple

Our chimney tiles could have been made by this company.


http://www.deborahsilver.com/blog/?p=17120

[Bernard Rudberg]

After a bit more reading, it seems that the Garnkirk factory was actually in Scotland.