McComb Railroad Museum damaged by fire

Trainkid456 · **Joined:** Thu May 05, 2016 6:30 pm **Posts:** 240

Per Facebook, the former Illinois Central depot at McComb, Mississippi is burning as I type this. The depot is home to the McComb Railroad Museum, one of the finest Illinois Central-oriented museums out there. From photos I've seen, it appears the portion of the building that houses the museum has sustained the worst damage. The fire is contained to the depot itself, and the IC 4-8-2 displayed nearby is not involved.

It pains me to think about what all has been lost. Hopefully they can salvage some things.

Thomas

Finderskeepers · **Posted:** Sun May 30, 2021 3:36 pm

Very sad as that museum housed so much IC memorabilia
https://youtu.be/xAwpUcPcrPY

Chris Webster · **Joined:** Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:45 am **Posts:** 1087

Some local news coverage of the fire:

Quote:

MCCOMB, Miss. (WLBT) - Firefighters say much of the McComb Railroad Depot was destroyed in a Sunday fire.

However, crews say they were able to save most of the artifacts in the portion of the depot dedicated to the McComb Railroad Museum.

“It got some smoke, water, and heat damage, but we were able to save the artifacts,” said McComb Deputy Fire Chief Jason Powell.

and

Quote:

Powell estimates that between 65 to 70 percent of the building is lost.

“The north end was a total loss,” he said. “The fire got in the attic and more of the attic burned than the museum. We were able to get the fire stopped before it burnt all of that.”

McComb Fire Department was assisted in its response by the Summit, Fernwood, and Sunny Hill volunteer departments.

Link to full story: WLBT, Channel 3: - Firefighters respond to major fire at McComb Railroad Depot

Mount Royal · **Posted:** Sun May 30, 2021 9:30 pm

The FD got lucky on that one. The attic was likely wide open for the length of the structure allowing the fire to run the whole thing. It looks like they adopted a defensive strategy most likely due to manpower constraints and the partial roof collapse. Smart decision. Going defensive usually ends at the foundation and I’ve heard many departments down South say, “Aerial ladder goes up, building comes down.” I hope the salvaged artifacts are in decent condition and not a total loss. This may spur a separate discussion. Standby.

Lincoln Penn · **Joined:** Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:40 pm **Posts:** 841

According to the local newspaper, the fire was caused by arson.

The perp was arrested and jailed within 48 hours. He's a 20-year old local.

The building itself is destroyed and the remaining parts standing will be torn down.

Many of the "hard" artifacts - such as whistles, bells, tools, etc. - were saved and have been relocated to safe storage.

Much paperwork and "soft artifacts" such as uniforms, paperwork photos, etc. were either damaged or destroyed.