Greetings,
Let me take some time to provide better details relating to this project.
First my organization is Heartland Railroad Historical Society. We are a
completely volunteer nonprofit organization based out of Omaha, Nebraska.
Our mail intake is
located at:
P.O. Box 501
Council Bluffs, IA 51502-0501
Our mission is to preserve and restore historic railroad structures in a way
that will benefit the public both educationally and economically. My
organization was officially formed in May of 1998. Heartland Railroad
Historical Society is currently chartered to operate in Iowa and Nebraska.
I'm sure some of you have already heard of this project before. We have been
devoting most of our time and resources to this project. The structure
itself was constructed in 1887 by the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad.
It sits on the east side of Nebraska City, Nebraska at was is now Business
Highway 2 and 1st Street. It remains relatively unmodified since its
construction. The building consists of five stalls with a peaked roof. A
wooden lean-to addition was added at some point in time. One stall is
partitioned off with a wall made from boxcar slats (one can easily see the
boxcar data on these). Naturally, operations for the building changed
dramatically in the 1950's. It was toward the end of that decade when the
building was sold off and the turntable pit filled in (there are conflicting
reports that the 65' turntable may still be in place, also the original wood
depot is just feet away from the roundhouse now used as a residence).
Since that time the building has been in a constant state of decay. The
roundhouse suffered a collapse over two stalls that nearly doomed the project
in the beginning. Our architect and engineer deemed that the structure is
still saveable in it's current form. Current price estimates are $200,000.00
for the complete exterior restoration and an additional $300,000.00 for
interior and grounds work.
We want to use the structure as a railroad museum contrasting past railroad
technology to modern equipment. Additionally, we want to see the building
used as the trailhead for the Steamboat Trace bike trail. This trail is over
a former CB&Q right of way to Brownville, Nebraska. We would like to rent
bicycles to accomodate those that normally do not bring their bikes with them.
We have a lot of support for the project. Some of our supporters include
Nebraska City, River Country Economic Developement Corporation, and Five
Rivers Resource and Developement. Unfortunately, our supporters can only
hold back the tide of those that want to see the building demolished. Hence,
why we have about a week to make some progress on the project. This leaves
very little time, indeed. Our goal is to leave no stones unturned.
Thanks,
Gerald Kopiasz, President
Heartland Railroad Historical Society
402-598-6641
|