Several visits were arranged in early 2013 while the contractors were in the early phases of reconstruction of the building. As much as these images may hurt the efforts to preserve the depot must be taken into consideration. They saved the station from the wrecking ball. I commend the efforts of the developers; and they tried hard to keep us part of the plan at great expense and they spent a huge amount of money to get this phase with the layout still intact in 2013.
a contractor in dismay, what are we going to do with this ?
removal of the steam heat system that was for generations a melting pot of heat. Lead pipe anyone?
revealed after decades the stairwell to the ticket counter encased in a wall in the 1970s reopened
an open shell of the original 1880s depot wings
the main floor above the layout was covered and this area was fully preserved as well as possible
new elevators
demo work and the old stairs
all the way to the roof of the old wings
poured concrete on the floors a typical problem as I was told
original foundation of the 1880s station that burned revealed
they needed to dig below the basement floor to remove the asbestos which was a huge issue for them preserving our layout. For a time we needed to climb into the layout room with ladders
the Pony Express safe, it survived in this location
a dark place behind our layout under the ticket counters closed off for 40 years!
40 years in darkness reopened in 2013
our front door
the club office a mess
the layout was painstakingly protected until the end
me as a visitor
One of many tours with the developers
