Today the Daily Gate City printed the press release by Janet Smith, president of the new Keokuk Union Depot Foundation, describing the Depot restoration project. It's at http://www.dailygate.com/news/article_0d7c630f-4085-5547-baa3-f782fa37ae67.html.

Also, a new page has been added to the Depot web site, through which people can make contributions of money or stocks to the Depot Foundation, or purchase souvenir caps or mugs. It's here: http://www.keokukuniondepot.org/foundation.html.

I ran across a few photos of the interior prior to restoration work. Nice benches.
http://flic.kr/p/zoXoj , http://flic.kr/p/zoXnP

Thanks, I don't think I have seen these before. If these are by David W. Steele from 2004, he gave us permission to use a different photo of the benches which I found some time ago, and it's on our web site, http://www.keokukuniondepot.org/activity.html.

I am happy to announce that the I.R.S. has just determined that the Keokuk Union Depot Foundation is a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations to the Foundation for Depot restoration-rehabilitation are now tax-deductible.

The Keokuk Union Depot Foundation is the fund-raising organization that works closely with the Union Depot Commission, an agency of the City of Keokuk, that administers the work on, and operation of, the Depot. The Foundation's mission is to develop the funding for the projects that the Commission determines to undertake. Unlike the Commission, which is restricted to residents of Keokuk, the Foundation's directors can reside elsewhere (as do I).

Richard Leonard, Vice President, Keokuk Union Depot Foundation
Hamilton, Illinois

The Keokuk paper, the Daily Gate City, just ran this article describing potential plans to operate an excursion train across the Mississippi during the 100th anniversary of the Keokuk Dam at the end of June. Trains would depart from the Depot. The bridge, owned by the City of Keokuk and used by Pioneer Railcorp (Keokuk Junction Railway) is just down river from the dam. There are still some hurdles to be surmounted before this becomes a reality, but here's a "heads up."
http://www.dailygate.com/article_3524a5ee-e38d-5db8-87ba-a58bace27bb7.html

Richard -

Great news! I hope it all works out.


Les

Today, the Daily Gate City ran two articles relating to the Keokuk Union Depot's being returned to the National Register of Historic Places. The first article describes the work of Christen Sundquist Martin, an architectural intern from Chicago, in pursuing the application:
http://www.dailygate.com/news/article_ca3e2870-cd2b-564e-9905-1832f6d760f2.html

The second article outlines the eligibility criteria for the National Register, and how the Depot qualifies: http://www.dailygate.com/news/article_2d08d084-f371-5da3-b06b-97db9d646dfc.html

Both articles were written by Megan Spees, a reporter for the Daily Gate City who is also a member of the Union Depot Commission.

This large arch window for the downriver side of the waiting room is nearly ready to be set in place in the opening. Both the window and the brickwork had to be rehabbed due to water damage.

Unfortunately, the plans to run an excursion train from the Depot across the Mississippi River bridge, during the 100th anniversary of the Keokuk Dam at the end of June, have fallen through. The main reason is the excessive expense of renting a passenger car and transporting it to Keokuk. However, as I understand it there will be trolley car rides across the dam itself during the event, sponsored by another organization, so there will still be a rail attraction. I will post any definite info that comes my way. In any case, the Depot will be open for visitors during the celebration.

This plaque, recording the listing of the Keokuk Union Depot in the National Register of Historic Places, will eventually be mounted at a suitable location on the building's exterior. It was on display in the Depot during Keokuk's "Power 100" anniversary celebration for the Keokuk dam and power plant.

Original floor tiles have been uncovered in the Depot waiting room. When the Depot was built in 1891, the tiles were laid over a wood and composition subfloor which was supported on bedrock. Eventually the wood succumbed to rot and began to sag, resulting in an uneven floor. Probably around 1930 a layer of terrazzo (concrete mixed with marble chips) was laid over the entire waiting room floor to level it out. It is hoped that the floor can be pulled out and that most of the tiles can be preserved and relaid over a new subfloor. This could be done mostly by volunteer labor, but will be a time-consuming effort, so there is no immediate plan to undertake the effort.

Sorta surprised this hasn't been asked yet, but with the recent collapse of the trestle/ bridge on the Keokuk Junction RR, will any future plans be impacted?

There's no connection now between the Depot and Pioneer Railcorp. The Depot is leased to the city for 99 years. There might be some change in what goes on in the tracks in front of the Depot, which Pioneer (KJRY) uses for railcar maintenance and for interchange with BNSF. However, Pioneer has the switching contract for the Roquette America plant (inherited from the Rock Island when KJRY started up) so they will likely continue to be operating in Keokuk, even if their tracks are "orphaned" for the time being. Also, I learned recently that the government intends for the Keokuk bridge not to be removed, even though the City (which owns it) has wanted to do so. The reason is that because of terrorist threats they don't want to reduce the number of Mississippi River rail crossings. I have no hard information but it is likely that KJRY will try to maintain service by detouring around the outage till the bridge is replaced, if they can get the use of BNSF trackage from Bushnell south to Vermont, Illinois and then back up to Canton. That is one suggestion I have heard.

Thanks for the quick and very well informed reply!

I wish you guys the best

Richard -

I am a bit confused by your reply, although I think I understand what you meant. When I first read your note, you talked about the government wanting to keep Mississippi River rail crossing alternatives in place, so I thought that the bridge collapse was on the Mississippi River. When I put this into the computer however, up popped stories of the Keokuk Junction bridge collapse over the Spoon River. So, I assume that the government wants the Spoon River bridge replaced, to keep the KJ's rail line over the Mississippi River in place for the future. Maybe you can confirm that, or if there really was a problem with the Mississippi River bridge, please correct my incorrect assumption.

BTW, when I checked out this Keokuk Junction derailment, one of the news stories of the Spoon River bridge collapse showed a photo of the three units that had been pulling the train over the bridge, and although a number of tank cars used for corn syrup, went into the river, the diesels all made it over safely. The three units pictured included KJ's two F units! Wow! That really could have been a disaster!

Les