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Remington considers grant to move depot
The Remington Town Council at its Sept. 15 meeting may consider a draft proposal to relocate the former Remington Freight Railway Depot and see it used as a railroad museum.The Remington Community Partnership, a non-profit organization, is working with the Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission on a draft application for transportation enhancement funds from the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Under the proposal, Norfolk Southern Railways has agreed to donate the depot to the town and Remington would provide land for the new museum. The grant money would facilitate the move.
Due Nov. 1, the grant application must include relocation details, funding levels, and overall architectural and surveying specifics. When the grant is complete, the council will hold a pair of public hearings. If the council decides to pursue the grant and it is approved by VDOT, funds would be available next spring.
In order to use the depot for a public purpose, it must be relocated for safety reasons, according to a recent letter from Deborah Butler, executive vice president of Norfolk Southern Railway. The former depot is located only 20 feet from the center line of the adjoining railroad track.
The depot, which was used since 1951 by the Remington Farmers Cooperative for agricultural product storage, has been vacant since the co-op moved to the new CFC Farm Home Center in Morrisville in September 2006.
Situated at the end of East Main Street, across from the former Remington Farmers' Co-op, the depot was built in 1866 soon after the Civil War. It replaced the original depot, which was burned down in 1863 at about the time General Bulford's cavalry, artillery & supporting infantry force, crossed Rappahannock Station, which was later renamed Remington, at the railroad station, according to an August 1863 New York Times article.
According to local railroad buff Bob Cohen, the depot was closed in 1951 when the Southern Railway retired portions of the Harrisonburg Branch, of which Remington was part. Later that year, the co-op began to use it for storage. The depot, in good condition overall, is within the Remington District of the National Register of Historic Places and on the Virginia Landmarks Register.
This latest effort to accept the donation of the depot and have it moved has been led by Mary and Ray Root of the Remington Community Partnership. At an August meeting, the council agreed to pursue, with the Remington Community Partnership, a grant to relocate the depot to a public site near the Remington Recycling Center and the future Rappahannock Station Battlefield Park. To be moved less than a quarter of a mile from its current location, the depot would have access from South James Madison Street near River Road in Remington.
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