News: Article published Mar 21, 2005
Depot on a roll
 

Jonathan Rich Times-News Staff Writer jonathan.rich@hendersonvillenews.com

Project may be all aboard at historic train depot

 "I think we have an opportunity to make the depot the focal point of activity on Seventh Avenue," said Dan Lang, president of the model train club, which has more than 40 members.

By Jonathan Rich
Times-News Staff Writer

Looking at a miniature replica of Hendersonville inside the Historic Hendersonville Depot, it is easy to imagine what the city was like decades ago when everything in town revolved around train arrivals and departures.
Last year, more than 5,000 people visited the 2,000-square foot building, which has been home to the Apple Valley Model Railroad Club since 1992. But if all goes according plan, a $110,000 renovation project between the local model train enthusiasts and the Historic Seventh Avenue District could bring even more visitors to the structure, which was once the center of attention in town.
By this fall, plans to partially renovate the former passenger waiting room into a community visitors center with a meeting room for small group events could be complete and expanded model railroad renditions of Hendersonville, Asheville, Brevard, Saluda and Fletcher could be on display for the delight of young and old alike.
"I think we have an opportunity to make the depot the focal point of activity on Seventh Avenue," said Dan Lang, president of the model train club, which has more than 40 members.
In the fall of 2003, the Historic Seventh Avenue District and the City of Hendersonville applied for a $75,000 federal grant available through the N.C. Department of Transportation to renovate the interior of the 103-year old building near the train tracks on Seventh Avenue.
The city owns the building, but the land belongs to the Norfolk Southern Rail Line, which still runs a few freight cars along the tracks every week.
The DOT grant will be used to pay for the majority of the construction, with the city authorizing the use of an additional $26,600 collected from the special Seventh Avenue property tax for the project. The model railroad club and the Historic Seventh Avenue District recently promised to dedicate an additional $8,400 to the project through future tax revenues and private donations.
As part of the renovations, a heating and air-conditioning system will be added and the electrical wiring will be updated, but the feel of the new community meeting room will be designed to reflect the structure's historic past.
"We can't disrespect the history of the depot and we don't want to do that," Lang said of the building, which was last used by train passengers in 1968, "but there are some things that need to be done for it to be used by the public now and in the future."
In the six years the Historic Seventh Avenue District has existed the non-profit organization has completed smaller cosmetic improvements in the neighborhood east of downtown, such as adding decorative lighting and brick-stamped pavement at intersections, but members have high hopes for what improving the depot could add to the area.
"We feel we've come a long way in improving Seventh Avenue, but this will be just one more thing that makes the entire area a better place," said HSAD member and local business owner Dan Williams of Louis Williams and Sons Hardware.
While the model trains continue to run each Saturday at the depot, the members of the club see this new project in their clubhouse as a benefit for themselves, the city and the people behind improving Seventh Avenue.
"The end result will be that the city gets a nicely restored building, the railroad club gets more space, and the Seventh Avenue District will have a viable building for use by the public," Lang

Hendersonville Railroad Depot

Seventh Avenue, three blocks east of Main Street

Open Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.


To make a donation to the restoration project, write to:
HSAD
P.O. Box 284
Hendersonville, N.C. 28793