Speeders Were Back in Town

Perfect weather helped make Speeder Day on July 11 another winner! Those little cars never cease to bring smiles and the rides to either Princeton or Wellesley were very much enjoyed!

Isn't it fun to see Roger Farrell piloting his very own speeder after all those years of working on the loading platform during speeder days?

And the model trains from Lewiston's club were a natural addition.

Dramatic Photo by Area Photographer Bob Marr

Local photographer Bob Marr captured an amazing photo of the moon rising over Potlatch last night and look what's in the foreground. Our depot just makes the photo even that much better. Beautiful shot--enjoy!

Trains Running Again!

Almost the end of February and good news, just in from Kenny Cada:

Exciting News!  After being closed for the past 6 months, the railway is open again!  A train went past the depot 30 minutes ago on its way to Bennett Lumber.  I heard it from my back yard and jumped in the car to be a train chaser.  I talked to Robin in her shop and she witnessed it go by.  I couldn't wait to tell all of you.

Today at the depot joining Bob were 4 additional people - Tim & Mary Moore, Barb West and myself.  We hope to see more of you there tomorrow!

Great to hear the trains are running again! Also, welcome to Tim and Mary Moore who have been coming down to the depot to work. More pictures coming soon. The progress at the depot is amazing!!!!

New Meadows Depot Coming Along Nicely

Some years back when we were starting the depot project in Potlatch, Jack and I visited with the Adams County Historical Society as members dreamed of restoring the Pacific and Idaho Northern Railway depot at New Meadows. Stopping at the depot on my way home from Boise, I peeked through the window and was amazed at the progress! There's a nicely refurbished downstairs with its ticket window, interpretive exhibits and railroad era furnishings. Out front is a flag pole with a seating area and nice memorial showing donor names on brass plaques. The whole scene exhibits progress and determination, the same kind we see at our own WIM depot. Check out the website at www.historicpindepot.com

Upstairs work really in high gear

It's been quite a while since we have posted some pictures of the upstairs work at the depot, but today we caught Bob Behal, Barb West and student volunteer Jacob Ownbey working away on the staircase and the upstairs. Above, Bob is stabilizing stair tread, shoring up the old staircase that once saw lots of loggers and millworkers tromping up and down those stairs. The staircase will really be beautiful when Bob works his magic on it!

Jacob Ownbey, pictured above, is volunteering his time as part of a school project. We are so happy to have him working with us.

Don't let Barb West's serious face fool you. She still smiles most of the time, despite being slave labor on many weekends!! That's what happens when you are related to Jim West, our fearless leader, who is also usually around on these intense work days. Thank you Jim for continuing to shepherd the crew. We hope your knees are holding out! And by the way, that is Mark Schilling with Barb. He has plenty of building talents, but we still haven't convinced him to come and join us. Maybe we don't pay enough!!!

Here's a look at one end of the hallway, with much of the sheetrock in place. Yes, there is lots to do yet, but this is significant progress. YES!!!

Another glimpse of the upstairs with new sheetrock in place.  Interestingly enough, the state planners for the Idaho Heritage Conference have chosen to tour Potlatch precisely because of the ongoing work on the old depot. Officials at Idaho Heritage Trust and the State Historic Preservation Office know about the loyal and determined volunteers at Potlatch and have once again asked that the depot story be told at the conference. The previous conference, two years ago, also hailed the Potlatch depot project. This year's conference is slated for late September and will be based in Moscow.

And one last shot of Bob Behal, volunteer extraordinaire. You gotta love the candid shots. Bob is amazing for not only his dedication, but his building solutions, especially as he tackles that "seasoned" staircase! Thanks Bob. That staircase is going to be a crown jewel of the depot.

Finally rid of the pesky pole...

For some, it's probably a small thing having an unused utility pole still standing when it's no longer necessary. In the case of said pole, it's been blocking progress at the depot because of its location, right in the way of the second story window we hope to use for unloading sheetrock.  Today the pole came down! Thank you, Frontier-hired contractors. Now a boom truck can unload the heavier materials right where they belong and more work can start on the second floor. Not that anyone is over-anxious about working in the 90-degree-plus heat! And speaking of work, here's another look (picture below) at those gorgeous doors Jim West hauled over from Portland last week. Thanks to Bob Behal, Barb West, Mike West, Hal VandeVord and Jim West for doing the job of carting all the materials out of the U-Haul. The bottom picture shows Barb doing some of the heavy lifting, which she often does! And thanks Karen Rohn for snapping the pictures and helping too!

"New" Old Doors Arrive at Depot

It was exciting to be at the depot yesterday to see Jim West coming driving up in a U-Haul after a marathon trip to Portland. Hal Van De Vord, Karen Rohn, and Mike and Barb West assisted Jim in unloading some absolutely beautiful doors, complete with transoms, hardware, mail slots, etc.  These are going to be totally awesome for our upstairs!

Here is Jim's note today on Facebook:

Finding replacement transom doors for the second floor has been #1 on my bucket list since the HPG bought the depot July 2001. One marathon 40-hour trip from Coeur d'Alene to Portland to Potlatch, and home to Cd'A, Amtrak and U-Haul combined to support a very successful safari.  I bagged twenty-five 106-year old doors now safely tucked into the freight room by HPG volunteers on Friday. They also unloaded 100's of feet of matching door trim and baseboard, all from the Railway Exchange (Oregon Pioneer) Building, built in 1909. Our thanks to all of our generous donors who gave to "Idaho Gives", danced to Jon &Rand and Blue Highway, or rode a speeder in 2014. Thanks to you we could afford to buy these doors and trim!  Now, if Frontier will remove their pole on the NW corner, we can start stocking the second floor and get to work on finishing some offices! Can I get a yaaah-hooo?

YAAAH HOOOO.....OUR THANKS TO YOU JIM!!!!!! 

 The doors are pictured above as they once looked at the Railway Exchange in Portland.