Charles City train depot in limbo

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Four little letters comprise a big word that could hold the cards for one of Charles City’s historic buildings — hope.

The fate of the Milwaukee Road Rail Depot remains in limbo.

The depot, owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, disconnected its water and sewer, as well as other services in recent weeks.

Although there has been talk of demolition, that had not taken place as of Wednesday.

“I think their plan in both Mason City and here is to ultimately remove the building,” said Charles City Administrator Steve Diers, talking about the CP Railway. “If there is interest in somebody wanting to acquire the building, I am sure the railroad would have some interest in that. I just don’t know how long they’d be willing to wait for somebody to come in and do something.”

Canadian Pacific Railway spokesman Andy Cummings said the railway would have no comment on the Charles City depot’s fate.

Mason City’s train depot, also owned by CPR, sits in a similar state. There has been a concerted effort by residents of Mason City in the last week to save their depot. A permit to begin demolition has been filed and is currently being reviewed.

As far as the Milwaukee Road Rail Depot in Charles City is concerned, the saving grace for that building may be in a move from its current location.

This news comes from Charles City’s Jeff Sisson, chairman of the Charles City Historical Preservation Committee.

“The only thing that I can say is we’ve had contact with Canadian Pacific,” Sisson said. “There have been some interested parties that have looked into the possibility of having the depot moved.”

Sisson said there is definite interest on that front, but such a move would be pricey — in the six-figure range.

“You have to have a landing pad,” said Sisson. “The father you move it, the more it costs.”

Diers did not know about any timeline as far as when a demolition would or could take place in Charles City.

He did say that company-wide, CPR is looking to address old buildings like the Milwaukee Road Depot that sit in close proximity to railroad tracks.

The railway’s issue, according to Diers, is that those buildings are underutilized and there is concern about safety being that close to the tracks.

The Milwaukee Road Depot in Charles City was built in 1912. It’s been over 58 years since passenger cars last made their way on tracks through Charles City.