Well, I guess I got lucky that a preservation project walked right up to me! Having looked at what Pemberton site has, it's fairly impressive. You guys are lucky to have the crew that you do, so best of luck, even with the mayor putting pressure on your group. I'll keep you guys updated with any info on the depot within the next few weeks.

Maybe during my next swing through NE, I'll stop by to see your place. Can you give me an address so TomTom can take me the long way to get there? Thanks.

Later!
Mr. Ed

I can give you the closest address to the depot. I won't be around due in part to a family event (i.e yard sale). There's also Dennis Lebeau, who lives right down the street from the depot. I'll give him a heads up, and I'll P.M you his number so you can see if he could give you a tour of the area and whatnot. The depot is on the end of Mechanics Street, so the Kano Judo Club's address will be the closest (but google maps is being problematic at the moment, so I can't get the address) in East Brookfield. What I also learned is that the house just to the right of the depot is the old freight house, which has now become a residence.

We can expect a letter of support from Preservation Massachusetts. This comes after Bob Buck suggested I contact the Mass Historical Commission, and they referred me to them. It will take at least a week for the letter to be finished, as Preservation Mass is currently putting all their resources towards tornado recovery in western Mass. I'm also wondering if the new issue of the Central Headlight (NYCSHS) has come out. Brian Solomon did an article on the depot, so i'm hoping to pick up a copy.

For an update; The first part of our non-profit paperwork is finished, so we are an established organization. The next step is to file for 501c(3) status with the state and IRS. Great milestone as it stands, ans we should be starting some sort of fundraising within the coming months. I was looking into setting up a fundraiser at the Steaming Tender in Palmer, but it had to be put on hold due to logistical challenges at the time. I'll be looking into some possible fundraisers some time soon. As Otto Vondrak keeps pointing out, we need funds. Articles and letters of support help, but they don't fund restorations.

This is the recent issue of the Spencer New Leader. Please note the depot made front page and that we will have an answer on the depot remains within the next few days.
http://www.theheartofmassachusetts.com/ ... .07.08.pdf

Some good news to share; we've gotten two more letters of support. One is from Preservation Massachusetts, and the other is from Historic New England (I'm not 100% certain at the moment. That's the problem when you remember to update the world about 1/2 a week after you learn the news). We also had a contractor contact us to voice his support and offer assistance in either a rebuild or construction of a replica. Again, I'll have to double-check with Dan on the info, but he's probably struggling to getting his toddlers to go to sleep at the moment. Hopefully I'll have more news soon (possibly on a fund-raiser that we need to get done to help get more money in the coffers).
Dylan M. Lambert

I'm hoping I can gain some advice. One of the things that I'll be doing with the foundation is heading up the "youth division". First, how do you get younger people involved. Second, what would make a good outing of sorts for the group? I know the OS coach in Shelburne Falls needs a coat of paint, so that's an idea to help get some younger kids involved. I do plan to call Dan today to see if we can get a time line established. On another note, still nothing new on the depot itself. Waiting is a killer, but hey, this youth group needs to be front-and-center while we wait. Hopefully someone has some advice.

Dylan,

You can also go to the Connecticut Trolley Museum to volunteer. They have a strong volunteer organization and have projects for all capabilities.

www.ct-trolley.org

Ted.

Update for this week. The drafts for all the paperwork and forms that will be needed are completed (yay!), and the final ones are being sent to Dan tommorow. We are also looking at a getting a table at the Providence and Worcester Railfan Club's train show in Charlton, MA at the Overlook Hotel on Masonic Road. I'm working on finding out what it will take for us to get a table. I should know within the next two days what it will take, and we have a basic idea of what will be there by default, the diorama that we have (I believe it is owned by the East Brookfield Historical Commission, but that's not a problem) of the depot back in the 1950s. Anyway, have a good evening
Dylan M. Lambert

I just received information from the Providence and Worcester Railfan Club that their show is fully booked, so we'll have to look at other events to attend. I have some ideas for backup, so I'll be looking into other potential venues

I wish I came bearing good news, but Robert (Bob) A. Buck passed away today after suffering from a two month illness. Thanks to Bob, I was introduced to Brian Solomon, and pursued our letter of support from Preservation Massachusetts. If I've learned anything from Bob, it's that you can never really understand our railroad heritage unless you were there. He also taught me that perservearence is a virtue that cannot go without determination for one's cause. http://obits.masslive.com/obituaries/ma ... =154065376

Some of our friends at the Steaming Tender (I.E Blake and Robin Lamothe) are trying to get Bob Buck's obituary, and possibly a tribute, into Trains Magazine. I'd bet there's someone else on this forum who knew Bob.
Dylan M. Lambert

http://trn.trains.com/Railroad%20News/N ... &#comments

Here's my update on today's events. The richardson depot is a gonner. Demo crews started their work today.With that, I'm just going to quote myself from rr.net to save myself some time. At least there's some good news in there:

"Well, I heard some good news. The demo crew has agreed to save some of the components for Dennis to use in the East Brookfield Historical Museum. As for what goes to the East Brookfield Historical Museum, that's at the discretion of the demo crews. so, with the depot a goner, we're shifting our focus to designing a replica of the original wooden structure.
To help that goal, we've launched a fundraiser to help defray costs that will be associated with the 501c(3) paperwork. Here's the excerpt from the facebook page:
"For anyone interested, we will be selling signed and numbered original 10x16 professionally framed photos of the depot. The same photo we have used for our profile picture but in amazing clarity developed directly from the original glass plate negative from the William Bullard Collection. These are not digital copies. We were going to use them as a fundraiser for rebuilding efforts. Only 10 available. Send an email to info@bullardarchives.com for more information. They would make a great Christmas gift!"
The collection in question is owned by Dennis, and there are many more slides in the collection, so there may be similar fundraisers in the future. One chapter done, now on to the next one. While I hate to admit it, most of the board was right as proven by today's events. I'm not a fan of being proven wrong, but that's how I'm going to learn what NOT to do (i.e blathering on in a incoherent manner)
Maybe there won't be a new Richardson depot anytime soon, or even ever, but with the other regional developments, such as the Grafton and Upton rebuilding and now the North Brookfield Railroad, It might just be me, but there will be a happy ending, but it might take a while."

We should have an update up on the site soon, so I'll make sure that the info gets out once the update is out.

Regards, Dylan Lambert

The last post on Page 8 of this railroad.net thread show the depot site post-demolition. Sad to see, but we did plan for this. Here's to a replica. Cheers.
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... &start=105