Railroad Depot Roof

The depot is a small rectangular single story wood frame structure with a hip roof.

Railroad depot roof.

The depot s roof was moved in april set atop hickory posts salvaged from the depot. 1 1887 when the southern pacific railroad completed a spur line to ventura. A large crane lifted the roof. Although railroad depots have many similar characteristics a broad low roof atop of small rectangular one story building often of masonry construction architectural details varied quite a bit.

Upon its opening the los angeles times praised the arcade station as second to none on the pacific slope. It is supported by large knee brackets and has a band of decorative moulding at the edge. The depot is a single story red brick italianate structure measuring about 325 feet in length and 44 feet in width. Many stations were very simple and utilitarian in nature while others closely followed the architectural fashions of the era.

To accommodate hungry travelers a cafe known as tolfree s saugus eating house was established at the north end of the depot. The depot committee and volunteers cleaned 19 000 bricks from the old depot to use in the new pavilion. The saugus train station opened 11 years later on sept. It was taken over by martin and richard wood in 1898 who changed the name to saugus.

Five hundred feet long the depot s rail shed featured skylights and an arched roof that soared 90 feet above the platforms below. The building sits on a foundation of light brownish sandstone with a whitish sandstone sillcourse running on top. The station was built in 1901 to a design by the union pacific s engineering department. Kalkaska anyone driving through kalkaska wednesday morning may have noticed a roof topper hoisted into place atop the new downtown clock tower in railroad square.

The depot itself was a massive wooden victorian structure reminiscent of european train stations. The one story brick structure is a typical railroad depot with a rectangular plan paralleling the railroad tracks a hipped roof and a projecting bay affording a view up and down the line. A lower roof provides shelter around the exterior for pedestrians. Charles sumner frost designed over 100 structures.

The main roof has a cornice studded with sawn brackets but only covers the structure. Cookman s hipped roof victorian stations can be spotted along the former pennsylvania railroad mainline stretching almost to chicago.