Union Pacific Railroad is willing to sell its aging, weather-beaten station in east Bakersfield, Calif., but so far it has received no offers, the Bakersfield Business Commentary Examiner reports.
"Currently we use the building as office space for several dozen people, some of whom are train crews that pick up their trains out of our yard in Bakersfield," said Aaron Hunt, Union Pacific's director of corporate communications and media. "We will continue using the building in this capacity for the foreseeable future.
"The depot sits on railroad right-of-way and is near our line. As such, safety is a primary concern for us. In that context we plan to continue using the building as office space for railroad employees," he said. "We work hard to be accessible to the communities where we operate trains. If a party is interested in purchasing the depot, we would be willing to have a conversation about it."
Sale of the station and "repurposing" the turn-of-the-century building is the dream of recently retired Union Pacific train conductor Stephen Montgomery.
Montgomery, an amateur architectural history sleuth, retired from Union Pacific this month after a four-decade long career. (Montgomery is a member of Local 835 at Bakersfiled, Calif. He had served as the locals legislative representative.)
In an interview with Bakersfield planning consultant John Hardisty, who writes an architectural history column for The Bakersfield Californian, Montgomery said he fears railroad officials are letting the station deteriorate and crumble. Most of Montgomery's railroad career has been spent working out of the building.
Montgomery hopes private investors will buy the station and turn it into a restaurant, collection of shops or turn-of-the-century themed focal point for the area's revitalization.
In his retirement, Montgomery plans to return to college, study building codes and construction materials. His focus will be to convince City of Bakersfield officials to adopt stricter rules to protect historically significant buildings, such as the Union Pacific train station.
Hardisty's column reporting Montgomery's concerns appeared in The Bakersfield Californian on Sunday, July 11, 2010.
(The preceding report by Dianne Hardisty was published July 18, 2010, by the Bakersfield Business Commentary Examiner.)
