Check out our “new” Caboose!
Special thanks to Belfast and Moosehead Lake RR for donating this great trailerable “Caboose” to the depot! We will put it to work campaigning for the depot at fairs, parades, and other off-site events. Also a big ‘Thank You’ to Andy Shaw for volunteering to repair the caboose to make it road ready.
The Eave Reconstruction Campaign was a stunning success with the Greenville Junction Depot Friends raising over $10,000 to re-construct the eaves on our historic depot.
Interior Restoration:
The depot has a great history as the depot on Moosehead Lake. It served this section of track as not just a passenger depot but a freight depot, section house, maintenance shed, operator facility, agent office, and storage facility. From the plush designs of the Ladies Waiting Room to the spartan Freight Shed, the depot is completely unique as a railroad structure in the United States. Constructed at the same time as the rail line, it is an original railroad structure. Original structures are incredibly rare as most stations and railroad facilities have been replaced or upgraded at least once in their lifetime. The depot however, has not been altered greatly since it’s original construction. It is a true window to the past and no place is this more evident than the interiors of the structure.
The interior floorplan is mostly open with some great “nooks and crannys”. Repurposed as a community center it will be ideal for all types of gathering and meetings.
The Operators Station in the 1970’s
More Interior Photos:
Exterior Restoration:
Until we began our work of saving the depot, it had received little or no maintenance for almost 30 years. The results are visible throughout the structure but are strongly pronounced on the exterior where the harsh Maine Winter and wet Maine Summer have been particularly abusive. The depot obviously needs paint but it also needs to have many wooden surfaces replaced or restored.
With freight shed exterior completed, GJDFs will focus on the station portion under the witches cap.
The photo above shows the depot in her prime looking level, trim, painted, and cared for. As a new community building in Greenville, we hope to keep her in this condition for at least another 125 years.
More exterior photos:
$7.00 (Plus $5.00 Shipping and Handling)(Please Contact us for Canada Shipping Rates)
$2.50 (Plus $5.00 Shipping and Handling) (Please Contact us for Canada Shipping Rates)
The Save the Depot “Eave Restoration Campaign”.
The eave restoration campaign ran from 2014-2015 and raised over $10,000 needed to hire Old House Restorations to restore the eaves around the “Witches Hat” portion of the depot. This profile had been modified in the mid 1900’s to allow clearance for a track that was being run close to the depot which would allow boxcars to be spotted on the road side of the freight house portion of the structure. The profile, now restored, brings the depot one step closer to completion and coupled with the leveling that occurred last summer really makes the old depot start to look new again!
Signal Tower Restoration:
In the summer of 2014 the signal tower was removed from the depot. It was taken to a safe place to await restoration. The picture below shows what the signal tower looked like in the late 1970’s.
Leveling and Underpinning:
Because the depot was never built on a true foundation it was necessary to secure and shore up the underpinnings of the structure. Years of freeze/thaw and little maintenance had resulted in some serious sagging at the base of the structure.
Inside the depot, the floor was shore up, leveled and a sub floor installed awaiting future flooring.
The Track side of the depot showing progress on the leveling process.
A New Rubber Roof:
As part of Phase I of the depot rehabilitation, the tarps which we put on the depot two years ago have been replaced with a longer-term rubber roof. Eventually the depot will get a nice new shingled roof but for now this rubber roof will keep out the rain and snow, preserving the interior from further degradation.
Special thanks to Roof Systems of Maine for their A+ job installing the rubber roofing.
And to Ron for all his work getting things trimmed and nice.
