I hope it was insured!

Wes

It was uninsurable against loss or damage from fire due to its age and poor condition.

The building was used as a private residence after the RR decommissioned it in the 1970s, until that person passed and the family donated it to the Society in 2001. During the time it was privately held, it had deteriorated badly and was in a severe state of disrepair when the Society took possession of it.

Because of the condition, the Society was only able to get liability insurance on it, which won't help in this situation. The building was boarded up and kept as secure as possible with the available resources but there was no electricity or running water on the property and not enough money to build a fence (which probably wouldn't have helped anyway). Weeds were cut down and cleared every year towards the end of summer, which had just been done before the act of vandalism occurred.

As part of the long-range facilities plan, a structural analysis was performed on the building and it was determined that most of the structure was restorable. The west wing, being built of hollow brick, presented the major challenge as it required seismic retrofitting. Asbestos remediation would have also been required, which was also doable. In fact, last year I spoke with a local contractor who is a licensed asbestos remediation specialist and he told me it wasn't as big a deal to do it as many people think. A major architectural firm also reviewed the property and the long-term plans for the site and the hospital was singled out as a major “gem” for its rarity, location, and historic significance.

In a nutshell, the hospital was a relatively recent acquisition, there were studies and resulting plans. There was ongoing discussion and research being conducted on how best to raise funds and apply for grants, or whether placing the structure on the National Historic Register would help or hurt the fund raising efforts, etc. But, as we all know, a railroad museum is like a giant bird nest full of hungry baby birds, all competing for a limited amount of available resources. There were many other projects that had been there longer that were going to get attention first, but the hospital was certainly a big part of the long-range plans.

It's a shame someone sought to amuse themselves by setting fire to it. Having been built in 1912, this was the oldest known surviving WP-built structure in existence, and the only railroad hospital known to be in the possession of a preservation group. It would have been 100 years old next September. It was deemed a total loss and demolished by the FD to make sure the sub-floor hot spots were out. We are left with a pile of ashes and debris, and a huge clean-up bill. Three agencies are investigating.

More on the history of the hospital is here: http://www.wplives.org/info/WPHospital.pdf

Follow up to the original story says that an 18 year old male has been arrested and admitted setting the fire. Having had a little experience with arson (a railroad bridge burned in Michigan), I was surprised to learn that non-commercial arson is very often sex-linked.

News article on the arrested suspect...

http://www.plumasnews.com/home/8621-man ... fires.html

What did the property look like before? Was basic painting and upkeep being done, or was such work holding off for the plan to get finished/funded?