The news here is reporting that a tornado hit Colfax, WI. One of the locations damaged was apparently the railroad museum. Anyone know how bad it is?

I rolled in 10 minutes after the storm passed. The station door had been blown open and 8 cars and a loco on the HO display had been blown over. Took a few minutes to locate the volunteer on duty today. He was okay, but a little shaken. He'd been out on the car shed platform when the storm struck. He was just coming back from surveying the grounds. We've got sections of our fencing down, the MN&S caboose rubber roof was torn, shingles are off the car shed. The 2nd depot, that's across the tracks (private residence) lost part of it's roof.

We're waiting until clear weather tomorrow to assess the car shed. The volunteer said the roof shifted at least 4 feet in the wind and then snapped back.

It could have been a LOT worse.

Herb Sakalaucks
Chairman
Colfax Railroad Museum

Donations to help with repairs can be done through our Paypal account
sakalauckswa@hotmail.com

Major Update:
MN&S caboose was not damaged as we thought. It appears that the rubber roof lifted and the underlying paper was pulled out, without tearing the rubber.

The car shed needs some work, but is structurally sound. Nails popped and two or three metal connectors need to be replaced.

The big news is that the older depot across the tracks from the museum suffered serious damage. Approximately 1/2 the roof on the south side of the building was ripped off, joists,roofing boards and shingles, in one LARGE piece. The insurance company is making sounds that they will write the entire building off. We have spoken with the 93 year old owner and family and they are interested in selling out to the museum. We need to raise about $25,000 to cover acquisition and roof repairs.

All this on top of the move of the steam engine planned for later this summer.

Herb Sakalaucks
Chairman
Colfax Railroad Museum

Photo #7 (as of this typing) of this "slide show" depicts this former Wisconsin Central (original WC, not the modern one) station and the damage--not catastrophic, but hardly inconsequential (the gray building at left, basically the only one that screams "railroad station" in this show):
http://www.wqow.com/story/25891394/2014 ... ado-damage

June 2009 Google Street View of the other side:
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.996898, ... UO6fJQ!2e0

Emergency roof repairs are essential, but MAY be possible very cheaply--it can be a matter of just dragging back the original sheet metal, nailing it down, and tar-patching the nail holes and seams, as I learned in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

This was a shingle on wood boards and rafters roof. The section was blown across the tracks onto the road. Nothing salvageable. This will require tarps and then reroofing.
Herb Sakalaucks

There is a silver lining in every cloud.

As a result of the damage it suffered in the tornado, the 1880's wooden depot in Colfax, WI was declared a loss by the insurance company. They were slow in sending out an emergency team to limit water damage, and, as a result of an additional 1" rain storm, all the wallpaper inside is now hanging. The museum has made an offer for the property AND IT HAS BEEN ACCEPTED. Since the interior is entirely wood, the hanging wallpaper will strip much more quickly.

We need to raise $25,000 to pay for the purchase and reroof the 16' x 78' building. When done, we will have over 2200 square feet of floor space for our new library/archive and events room, and a 1 1/2 car garage for a workshop, with four rooms left over for admin space and storage.

Donations can be sent to our Paypal account at: sakalauckswa@hotmail.com. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donors will be acknowledged.