ORCHARD PARK DEPOT 2008

The Year 2008 at the Orchard Park Depot

Things We Accomplished:

1. Cleaned up the passenger station after Holiday in the Park.
2. Disassembled and stored Christmas decorations.
3. Collected and stored Christmas outside light wiring.
4. Rebuilt security monitoring area (new shelf & top cover).
5. Watered weeded and fussed over all three gardens.
6. Opened and cleaned the depot for the annual Garden Club May plant sale.
7. Replaced broken baggage room window.
8. Painted four outside passenger station windows.
9. Had harp lights sandblasted & powder coated white.
10. Replaced glass in sliding window between waiting room & baggage room.
11. Held open house at the depot Saturdays from May - October.
12. Third year contract with Organic Garden business, Tuesday 3-6 pm sales.
13. Replaced window glass in agents office door.
14. Added four new surveillance cameras to passenger station.
15. Painted all windows & doors on freight house.
16. Painted 3 plywood covered freight house windows.
17. Replaced all lights in waiting rooms & agents office in passenger station.
18. Archived in the new archive boxcar (boxcar No. 1).
19. Made the depot available for Quaker days.
20. Manned the depot for Fourth of July fireworks display.
21. Held the annual society summer meeting at the depot.
22. Painted one coat roofing paint on roof of baggage/REA car.
23. Changed all outside passenger depot fluorescent light bulbs.
24. Opened cleaned and manned the depot for the Ice Cream Social.
25. Ray Stevens & Sons replaced tiles and did roof work on passenger station.
26. Picked up broken glass along the tracks & on the property.
27. Refinished desk top & counter top in agents office.
28. Added hand made ticket/money drawer in agents office.
29. Replaced light bulbs in passenger station outside lights.
30. Installed & painted metal cover plates over passenger station air vents.
31. Painted coal chute doors.
32. Prepared the gardens for winter.
33. Prepared the depot and grounds for Holiday in the Park.
34. Cleaned decorated and manned the depot for Holiday in the Park.
35. Monitored the society answering machine at the depot.
36. Took photos of depot projects for display and for the record.
37. Sold society items at the baggage room store.

Thanks to Bob Snyder for compiling this list.

January 2008

The crew at the Orchard Park Depot was hard at work throughout 2008. The crew consists of Jim Slominski, Gary Ludwig, Roger Smith, Bob Reynders, and Bob Snyder. Hal Douglass was also hard at work continuing to organizing the archives in the B&O boxcar. Dave Peters had been the depot committee chairman for many years and was a guiding force pushing the depot restoration forward. Unfortunately we lost Dave as he has moved to Arizona. Dave will be sorely missed and we extend our sincere thanks to Dave for his tireless work at the depot.

The committee has voted to appoint Bob Snyder as the new chairman. Bob supplied these pictures of work at the depot. Gary Ludwig is working on the harp lamp fixtures that are planned to be installed on the grounds in the near future, while Roger and Bob R. work on the canopy lighting fixtures.

March 2008

Before the weather broke in the spring, the depot crew continued to busy themself with indoor projects. The most notable change has been in the agent's office where a new period lighting has been installed. The new fixtures are exact reproductions of the original lights that were designated in the building blueprints that we have from the construction in 1911. Originally, the lights were a combination of both gas and electric and the new double-lights were installed in the aisle across from the ticket window, and in the agent's office above the ticket counter and the agent's bay window desk. A new four light fixture was installed in the ceiling as well. Bob R., our resident electrician is seen installing the new fixtures below.

April 2008

With a break in the weather the guys moved outdoors to counter attack some graffiti from last year. All of the freight station windows and doors were scraped, primed and painted with a fresh coat of "railroad gray."
New lighting was also installed to increase our "night vision" capabilities.

May 2008

Bob R. has been an electrician all his life so when ever the chance to add more wire presents itself, Bob is there to do the work! More security lighting has been installed and new conduit for lights in the garden have been buried. Bob and Gary also spent a couple of weekends painting new wood pieces for the coupola of the BR&P Caboose.
One weekend proved to be very special when Nan Ackerman, a Councilwoman from Orchard Park, showed up with a personal check for $5000 to complete the restoration of the reproduction of the interior lighting fixtures! The Society is very grateful to Nan for her very generous donation which will allow us to finish all of the lighting restoration!

Summer 2008

The summer months at the depot kept the guys busy with many events and activities. The Orchard Park Garden Club rented the Depot for their annual plant sale and a large load of mulch was spread throughout the three gardens. An anonymous donor provided over $120 worth of perennials and the gardens now look fantastic! Ed-U-Kids preschoolers and the Orchard Park Middle School 7th Graders made their annual visits in June.

Leslie K. organized a wonderful Membership Appreciation Picnic held June 14th with all the fixins'. On July 3rd, Eastern States Security replaced two of our Black and White security cameras with two new Color Cameras and added an additional three to the passenger depot. We now have all four sides of the passenger depot under surveillance and have moved the infrared cameras on the Freight House to allow for viewing both the front and back of our freight cars.

July 4th is always a good time to visit the depot and many people came to watch the fireworks from the large lawn at the depot. Jim S. and family, Bob S. and George S. were the depot hosts late into the evening.

On July 19th, our summer meeting was well attended and everyone had a great time late into the night. The Village of Orchard Park has always celebrated "Quaker Days" in late July and as always, the "Ice Cream Social" was held at the Depot with Bob S, Bob R, Jim and Maureen S. greeting the many visitors.

September 2008

August and September were busy months out at the Orchard Park depot. At the beginning of August, a collection of reading material, bought at an auction in Springville, was dropped off at the depot. Several days were needed to sort the large collection of magazines and books.
Most Wednesdays, our newsletter editor, Hal Douglass, could be found in the archive box car, working on the Society's collection of historic documents. On occasion, you might see him showing off the archive car to visitors, young and old.

On August 20th, depot chairman Bob Snyder primed and painted three boarded up freight station windows, while on the 23rd, Gary Ludwig installed a scratch-built ticket and money drawer under the ticket counter in the station agent's office. Working outside, on August 30th,, we dug up several large ornamental grass plantings and replaced them with flowering plants.

September was equally busy, finding the depot crew hard at work every Wednesday and Saturday from 8:30 AM until noon and occasionally later. September 3rd found Gary Ludwig cleaning the station agent's wooden desk top and applying a new coat of varnish. On the 13th, Bob Reynders covered the two outside vents on the East side of passenger station with two metal covers. On the 17th, Roger Smith applied a chain saw to cut up a large branch that had fallen in a storm earlier in the week, while Jim Slominski, Bob Reynders and depot chairman Bob Snyder began painting the roof of the REA/baggage car. Roger Smith and Duane Warchocki also assisted in this project. It took three gallons of special black roofing paint to cover the roof with a single coat, and the job was completed on the 20th. A second coat will be applied in the Spring.

On September 24th, Gary Ludwig continued to renew the woodwork in the passenger agent's office while Bob Reynders and Jim Slominski painted the coal chute doors just outside of the baggage room. Other housekeeping duties continued every work day, including cutting the grass, pulling weeds, planting flowers, watering plants, disposing of trash, answering phone calls and taking visitors on tour.
Thanks go out to all of the Orchard Park crew for their tireless efforts to maintain and upgrade one of Western New York's finest historical buildings. The depot crew welcomed new crew member Duane Warchocki, who has been helping with this restoration and maintenance of the station on Saturdays

"Holiday in the Park 2008"

Once again, the Society's Orchard Park Depot was the center for the Village of Orchard Park's annual Christmas celebration, "Holiday in the Park". On Wednesday, December 3rd, the Orchard Park Depot crew (Bob Reynders, Jim Slominski, Roger Smith, Gary Ludwig and Bob Snyder) put together the wiring for the activities at the Depot. Our Chief Electrician, Bob Reynders, assisted by Jim Slominski, did the ladder work for the electrical connections, while Bob, Roger and Gary attended to the other Depot preparations, including setting up a G-scale train under the Depot Christmas tree.

Things got under way on Saturday, the 6th, at 4 PM with the decoration of the trees on the Depot grounds, in anticipation of a visit from Santa Claus. Santa rode in on a sleigh around 5 pm and stayed at the Depot listening to the Christmas wishes of all the boys and girls, until 7 PM. Many activities took place in and around the Depot all evening. There were trees to be decorated, a snowman contest, a hill of snow to play on, log fires, a hay ride wagon pulled by a team of horses, food at the DPW building and the annual visit of the Orchard Park Chorus. At times, it was standing room only in the Depot. Another record crowd helped to make the season bright, and we heard from Santa as he rode out of sight, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good Night!"

LATE BREAKING NEWS: The Village of Orchard Park has agreed to donate $1000.00 toward the interior lighting of the Orchard Park Depot.

This page was last updated: May 18th, 2020
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