The move began at 7:30 a.m. yesterday when workers had to remove one of the crossing arms and most of the power lines along the street so they could haul the 30-ton brick building across the tracks and down to its new location at the plot of land where the welcome gazebo stands.
The building sat on nine hydraulic dollies, each with eight super-thick tires. With the tremendous weight, it took three large front-end loaders to guide the depot, one pulling and two pushing.
Crowds lined the tracks on either side of the depot and along Center Street to watch the long-awaited event. For George Engelhardt, the depot holds special meaning connected with his childhood. Engelhardt, who grew up in Chicago, used to ride the train every week with his mother to Bremen to visit his grandparents. That was around 1933 or 1934, when the train still stopped at the depot. He and his wife, Shirley, made the trip from their farm outside of Wyatt.
The process
While it may seem simple enough, moving a building means more than simply digging it up, loading it on a trailer and hauling it across town. It takes years of careful planning and hundreds of people to make it work. Arrangements needed to be made between Historic Bremen, Inc., INDOT, Nipsco, CSX, to name a few. Project Manager Marcelo Suvelza of Michiana Contracting was on site the day of the move to supervise and keep the project rolling.
Long before yesterday arrived, Historic Bremen, Inc. spent years organizing the project, going over all of the legal aspects, filing paperwork, applying for grants, organizing fundraisers and many other necessary items. They even had to change a few plans when the crossing arms went in.
“When we wrote the grant, the gates were not here,” Historic Bremen, Inc. Treasurer RT Henke said.
Then there were the little things the day of the move. For example, even after the crossing arm was taken down, trains continued moving until sometime after 11 a.m., when CSX halted their traffic long enough for the depot to roll across the tracks.
Later, the crew had to move the building across an empty plot of land to get it onto Second Street, where it would continue its journey. However, they were not bargaining on the ground being soft, which made the move even more complicated and forced them to pause for the night.
While the move resumed early this morning, the depot was still on the move at press time.
The future
Historic Bremen, Inc. formed in 2002 with the goal in mind of obtaining ownership of the depot and turning it into a Bremen-themed museum. However, this will come slowly over time. Once the depot is in place, work will begin to restore the exterior, which constitutes phase one. Phase two will be the interior, which will eventually become a visitors’ center and Bremen railroad museum for both local residents and visitors to learn more about Bremen and its history.
Fundraisers
It is not cheap to move and restore a historic building. While they were able to receive a grant, Historic Bremen, Inc. still had to supply 20 percent of those funds. They did this through special fundraisers like their annual Depotpalooza, featuring musicians from throughout Bremen and Marshall County. This year’s Depotpalooza takes place Aug. 22 at Shadyside Park. Information on time and performers will be available at a later date.
Anyone can get in on the fundraising. For a $100 gift, donors will receive a brick engraved with just about any message they wish. Because of the size of a standard brick, they must keep these messages to 15 characters or fewer (including spaces). These donations can be made to Historic Bremen, Inc., P.O. Box 471 Bremen, IN 46506. Donors can also call 546-4340 for more information.
So far, Historic Bremen, Inc. has around 100 bricks engraved. These will go into the walkway leading up to the depot.