Excavation begun for Milwaukee Road depot basement for relocation

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A crew from Kamm Excavating has begun digging the hole for a new basement foundation that will sit under the Milwaukee Road railroad depot when that building is moved to its new location near the corner of North Grand Avenue and 11th Street.

After the basement is poured by Ramker Construction of Waverly it will need to cure for about a month to be able to support the weight of the historic brick depot, which was saved through a fundraising effort that collected more than $350,000 for the relocation costs.

After Kamm Excavating finishes the basement work, it will begin excavating around the edges of the depot at its current location, said Bob Moen, president of the American Passenger Train History Museum, which will use the depot as part of the museum and the entrance to its collection of restored passenger train cars.

Digging around the depot will provide access so workers from Thein Moving Co. can come in August and begin digging under the depot itself so the beams and wheels needed to raise and move the building can be installed.

The moving company, of Clara City, Minnesota, has been scheduled to move the building to its new home at 1010 N. Grand Ave. during the week of Sept. 6, Moen said.

Mayor Dean Andrews, who has been involved in the fundraising effort, said the move might be done over two days, with moving the depot from its current location alongside the Canadian Pacific Railroad between Lawler Street and 13th Street to take place the first day, then positioning and lowering the depot onto its new foundation occurring on the second day.

The next phase of fundraising will seek to collect an estimated $750,000 needed to renovate the building, although supporters of saving the depot have said it will be easier to find grant funding to restore the building than it was to find grants for moving the structure.

The depot is also being considered for use as the trailhead for Charles City’s Charley Western Recreation trail that currently ends a couple of blocks away.