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Restoration work in Williamsville has begun again in ernst. The enthusiastic Williamsville crew made up of members Harold Douglas, Dave Fleenor, Mark Klepadlo, Tom Stackhouse, Don Wood and Ken Wylie, have been hard at work applying their talents and skills. They began the clean up of the inside the depot in April. After assessing the great amount of work still needed to be done, it was decided to attack the roof and its dormers. All the leaks in the roof have been repaired with new flashing installed around the four dormers. Don Wood, fabricated new window frames where needed and for the bathroom. On the weekend of June 8th, the entire roof was redone with architecturally correct asphalt shingles. For the first time in a long time the interior is completely dry! Also notice, that the sag in the middle of the agents office in the two pictures below, has been corrected. Hopefully, the five "fake plywood" windows in the waiting room and the agents office will be replaced with custom glass windows made to the specifications of the originals.
) South trackside view of Depot in 2000. Dormer windows covered with tarp and plywood |
) Dormers reframed and Lexan© installed 2003. Colored glass will be installed later |
) NW corner with new "Board and Batten" siding. New windows with colored glass in bathroom |
) East end of Depot with baggage room doors. New section of roof yet to be added. |
) Waiting room door with new colored glass transom light. "Patrons of the Society" Board to the right. |
| A Visit to the Depot |
| It was a chilly day back in March or April and I had stopped by the Williamsville depot to meet some new members and see what was happening. I wasn’t quite prepared for what I saw. The area around the depot had been cleaned up. A squirrel that had taken up residence in the baggage room had been humanely relocated. The baggage room, which had been a jumble of stored stuff, was basically clean and now housed power tools being used for the rebuilding of the depot. The plywood that had covered the opening in one of the dormers in the baggage room was gone and the room was brightly lit from the sun. There was rotted wood and old shingles lying around and our new members were hard at work replacing, rebuilding and preserving. Before I left that day the dormer had a piece of Plexiglas© installed in it and the grounds were once again clean. The team was already outlining future projects and how to best approach them. They were discussing the replacement of the wainscoting in the waiting room, the installation of windows throughout the building, a new roof that included returning to the original roofline over the baggageroom door. (In fact, the new roof is in place by the time you read this.) I know that all four of the dormers have been repaired and are allowing light into the building. There used to be a noticeable sag in the south wall of the building. That has been jacked up so it is level. Of course the more they did and planned to do, the more they found things that needed to be done. These men have donated a lot of their valuable time and more than a little of their own money to this project. Stop by the depot and check it out. Maybe you might want to help a little. The Williamsville depot has waited a long time for its saviors to step forward and I think they deserve a very big thank you and lots of continued support. Many sincere thanks to Mark, Donald, Kenneth and Harold. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of Dave Fleenor, who joined the society a few years ago and seems to show up wherever there is a need. He has spent a lot of time at Williamsville recently. Also, a tip of the hat to Tom Stackhouse. Tom has never given up on the Williamsville project and it looks like his efforts have finally been rewarded. Be sure to stop by, say hello and see this beautiful old building. Below are some recent photo's provided by member Robert Snyder, showing interior work and the new roof. |
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This was a banner year for the Williamsville Depot. It all started when 5 members came forward and expressed their desire to become part of the restoration effort. They are: Larry Brenton, Harold Douglas, Mark Klepadlo, Don Wood and Ken Wylie. What they and a few others accomplished this year is unbelievable!
Here are their accomplishments:
Rebuilt the 4 dormers that had been a major source of water leaks.
Installed Lexan in the dormer windows allowing natural light to brighten
the waiting room and the freight room.
Replaced the section of roof that had been removed at the freight doors.
Replaced the entire roof of the building with architectural grade shingles.
The building is now structurally sound and dry. And there is more!
Fabricated and installed colored glass windows in the original lavatory.
Replaced the damaged door on the north side of the building.
Reinstalled the decorative clapboard siding on the north and west sides of the building.
Jacked up and replaced sagging beams under the agents office.
Installed electrical outlets throughout the depot.
Three "WILLIAMSVILLE" signs have been fabricated and installed.
The "tongue and groove" woodwork has been installed on the ceiling.
Over 400 man-hours have been logged.
Visitors, and there have been many, marvel at the progress that has been made. Plan to stop by and see for yourself! We are sincerely grateful to all those who have worked and are continuing to work at the depot. THANK YOU!
campaign? A $25.00 donation will get you a special depot print. We need $6400.00
to finish installing the windows. Thank You for you support of the restoration!
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The WNYRHS, Inc. P.O. Box 416, Buffalo, NY. 14231-0416 is an independent organization and has no affiliation with any other local or national group. The Society is a fully qualified organization under 501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and all donations to the Society are tax deductible. ©Copyright 1999 - 2009 WNYRHS Inc. all rights reserved. This page last updated March 6th, 2009
