Turbotville Train Station

The Turbotville Train Station in 1908

 Turbotville, with a view of the train station, in 1908

 The train station was built by the Wilkes-Barre & Western Railroad in 1886. The railroad was chartered June 22, 1886 and the first train came to Turbotville on December 13, 1886.

 The train station was built sometime between June and December. It is wood frame construction, tongue and groove interior walls and ceiling, tongue and groove roof that originally had wooden shingles, but today has asphalt shingles.

`1900 - "It wasn't until the great fire in Turbotville in August 1900 that nearly destroyed the town, that railroad owners decided to cash in on the idea of a Sunday excursion. Struggling financially and looking to make some quick cash, the railroad decided to add a run from Watsontown to Turbotville every hour on Sunday to carry spectators to see almost 1/3 of Turbotville in ruins from the day long fire."

It was used for both freight and passenger service until sometime after 1937

In 1964 the station was donated to Harry Magee of Bloomsburg Pa, where it was put on display in the Magee Transportation Museum.

The station remained on display in Bloomsburg until after Magee's death, when the museum was closed. It was damaged in Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

In 2010 the Turbotville Borough Heritage Society purchased the Train Station, and in 2011 dismantled it and returned it to Turbotville, Pa.

In August of 2012, a severe storm flattened the train station.

In 2014, the station was rebuilt, salvaging what original parts could be saved.

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Rebuilding:

Pics taken in May 2014

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This was completed in time for the Turbotville carnival, where it was used as the band stand in 2014

Back Of the building

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The Finished Station

The stage of the station is where bands perform during the Turbotville Carnival

I could not find any signs indicating when this may be open to the public - but you can peek in through the windows to see inside

I can't tell you much about the items inside - but it looks like there is a nice collection of history here.

According to the website for the Turbotville Historical Society, they meet on the second Tuesday of each month, at 7pm,  in the Community Hall.

http://turbotville.org/

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READ MORE

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December 30, 2013

Turbotville train station on track for restoration

By Ashley WislockThe Daily Item

— TURBOTVILLE — Construction is back on track for a historic train station damaged more than a year ago in a violent thunderstorm.

The Turbotville train station project has a new contractor and construction to complete the project in time for the 2014 Turbotville carnival is well underway, said Michael Sechler, president of the Turbotville Borough Heritage Society. Work is in progress on the station’s freight dock and a back walkway and handicap ramp are being completed currently by contractor Tom Coates of Coates Construction, in Muncy.

Once that work is complete, work on the electrical systems can begin, which will include fixtures to allow for live entertainment to use the freight dock during the carnival - being run by the borough and other volunteers this year - and other community events, Sechler said.

“We are planning on using freight dock for live entertainment,” he said. “We want to have it so that they can just plug in and go.”

The train station collapsed during an August 2012 thunderstorm and the group tried to salvage as much of the original building as possible, Sechler said.

“We tried the salvage as much as we could,” he said. “From the age of the wood and the way the building collapsed we couldn’t (salvage the structure) but we saved the important architectural pieces.”

Those include the original window sashes, rolling freight doors and hardware and entry doors, Sechler said.

Now the society is hoping to raise the money necessary to finish the project in time for the carnival, Sechler said.

“We stretched our budget to the breaking point to try and get this done,” he said.

The Heritage Society is accepting any and all donations to help with the work, Sechler said.

The main goal at this point is to have the station set up and ready during the first week of June, in time for the Turbotville Community Carnival, Sechler said.

“We’re putting every penny that we have into it,” he said.

Donations can be made at the Turbotville National Bank, online at turbotville.org, or by mailing a check made out to “Turbotville Borough Heritage Society, Inc.” to Sechler at 135 Broadway Street, Turbotville.

All donations are tax deductible.

- See more at: http://debug.cnhi.zope.net/dailyitem/0100_news/x1186900647/Turbotville-train-station-on-track-for-restoration#sthash.OuKU7upx.dpuf

In The News:

Train Station Returns to Turbotville
POSTED 6:20 PM, MARCH 2, 2012, BY NIKKI KRIZE, UPDATED AT 02:00PM, MARCH 5, 2012
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A piece of history is back in Northumberland County.

Volunteers in Turbotville are restoring the former Turbotville train station after almost five decades.

The Turbotville train station dates back to the 19th century, but in 1964 it was donated to a man in Bloomsburg and the station was moved.

Thanks to volunteers in Turbotville the historic train station is back in Northumberland County where it was built more than 125 years ago.

Volunteers spent the day Friday putting a roof on the building. The Turbotville train station was built in 1886.

The building was moved to Bloomsburg in the 1960s.  The sesquicentennial committee in Turbotville raised money to buy back the train station.

“So that’s what we decided to do, bring it back and give it back to the community and put it here on the community grounds for everyone to enjoy,” said Michael Sechler of the Turbotville Borough Heritage Society.

He added the train station is the original one from 1886 and will be touched up with a few coats of pain.

Volunteers moved the building in pieces from Bloomsburg to Turbotville in December. Over the last few weeks it was put back together.

There won’t be any trains coming in and out of the train station anymore.  Instead, members of the group said they plan on building a freight dock on the front of the building to be used as a stage for community events.

“Give it back to the community. Let the community enjoy it and give it a sense of purpose rather than it just sitting there for people to look at,” Sechler added.

He said the project cost $15,000, but countless volunteers, like Wayne Weaver of Turbotville, have been helping out.

“I’m just very interested in trains for one thing. I’m anxious to see the station come back to Turbotville and look the way it used to look,” Weaver said.

Sechler added he expects the train station to be finished by spring

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TURBOTVILLE — A historic train station was flattened over the weekend when strong storms rolled through Northumberland County.

It happened all as work to restore the building was nearly complete and the volunteers behind the project said they have come too far to stop now.

Michael Sechler is still sizing up the damage done to Turbotville’s train station after fierce winds knocked-down the place Saturday.

“I got here, and the train station’s flat, it’s just gone, I didn’t even recognize it, it was just a pile of splinters,” said Sechler.

This train station has certainly been through a lot over the years, it took two and a half years to get it home to Turbotville, then after a 25 mile trip from Bloomsburg area after the September flood, it survived that, but in one day the winds took the place down.

The station made its return trip in March and work was being done so that it could host events and concerts for the community.

Sechler was a driving force behind the project and is waiting for the insurance company to look over the more than 100-year-old building, or what is left of it, anyway.

“This has been volunteers, their time, this has been donations, this has been fundraisers, this has been normal people who wanted to see this project completed,” said Sechler.

Since the collapse, Sechler said all sorts of people have offered to help with donations of money or their time.

The hope is to salvage some original parts and build the station again.

“We’re not going to stop, we’re determined, it will be here in the near future, with community sticking together it will happen,” said volunteer Frank Cotner.