CWMR's Clubhouse
The club's most ambitious activity has been the restoration of the Bancroft Depot with the result of having a permanent club meeting facility.
The depot, formerly located on the Wisconsin Central RR's "P-Line" - Portage-Point branch, was built around 1898. After the abandonment of the line in 1945, the depot slowly fell into disrepair and dilapidation.
The building was rescued from ruin when the owner offered it to the Portage County Historical Society. The Society together with CWMR and many other donations made possible the moving of the Depot to a foundation in Plover, at the Society's Heritage Park, in 1990.
Approximately 15,000 hours of work by club members have been made replacing rotted exterior wood and flooring, scraping, priming, and painting. A new roof in 1992 made the building safe from the weather and allowed work to begin on the basement club rooms. Restoration has been completed with the result of having the show piece at Heritage Park. An operating semaphore, RR siding and GB&W Caboose 617 have been added. Please take a few minutes and read about the History of the Bancroft Depot.
As you may have guessed, CWMR has a close association with the Portage County Historical Society. This association resulted in four members of CWMR receiving the Annual Pine & Iron Award from the Society. The club and its individual members continue to donate time and effort to the continuing restoration of buildings at Heritage Park.
View photos of our restoration efforts.
- Photos of depot at original site and moving.
- CWMR working on the basement that would become our clubhouse.
- Exterior work. The depot was last painted prior to 1945. It sucked up LOTS of primer and paint!
- We also did the interior of the depot.
