Western Railroad Discussion > Hobart Tower update

It appears that the dismantling or demolition of Hobart Tower has begun.  Noticed yesterday several individuals on cherry pickers taking shingles and wood off of the roof and gutting the interior.

So sad to see this. I figured at least Hobart Tower would stand for a long time being it's made of concrete. First shot of Hobart in 1975 (my photo), second shot, interior of the tower with tower operators, Paul Dumontier and Pamala Tibbets (photo by the late UP conductor, Gene Coccozza, 1985).-BMT

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Friday May 17, 2019 was scheduled to be the last day of a standing Hobart Tower.
A few weeks ago a fire was started and burned out some of the remaining wood cabinets and furniture. The fire department was summomed but not allowed to go inside and poured enough water into it to put the fire out.
The demo schedule was already in place before the fire.
During the past 2 weeks our yard job has been watching the equipment staging and cleaning operations preparing for demolition.
This last week was asbestos removal and burned wood removal along with police extricating homeless still occupying the tower. Friday, crews were ripping the shingles and wood roof off the top.
A conversation with the demo Foreman revealed:
There was nothing of value left on the tower when they began preps.
The most numerous items inside were piles of human fecal "leavings."
If enough foul time can be had from the BNSF dispatcher (the yard lead and 4 mains are right nearby) the demo could be completed by Sunday late afternoon.
When contact was made with the City of Vernon so the sewer pipe could be capped, the City replied they had no record of sewer service at the tower at all! Well for decades all those toilet flushings had to go somewhere!
Maybe someone could post pics this weekend?

Posted from iPhone

UPNW2-1083 Wrote:
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> (photo by the late UP conductor, Gene Coccozza,
> 1985)

Brian, when did Gene pass? I had no idea. Sorry to hear. He was a real character.

dbinterlock Wrote:
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> When contact was made with the City of Vernon
> so the sewer pipe could be capped, the City
> replied they had no record of sewer service at the
> tower at all! Well for decades all those toilet
> flushings had to go somewhere!

Some time in the late 1970s, BN and the city of Bellingham (WA) mutually figured out that the passenger station was not hooked up to the sewer system, there was a pipe leading to Bellingham Bay.

TAW

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> UPNW2-1083 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > (photo by the late UP conductor, Gene Coccozza,
> > 1985)
>
> Brian, when did Gene pass? I had no idea. Sorry to
> hear. He was a real character.

Just a couple of weeks ago, April 30th to be exact. Yeah he was quite a character. You might enjoy this photo. lol Gene sent me over 100 photos of railroaders he had photographed over the years.

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UPNW2-1083 Wrote:
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> Just a couple of weeks ago, April 30th to be
> exact. Yeah he was quite a character. You might
> enjoy this photo. lol Gene sent me over 100 photos
> of railroaders he had photographed over the years.

Aw man, that sucks. Only Gene could make Yermo look fun. LOL

Post those pix to your FB page. I'd love to see them and take a trip down memory lane.

Rest in peace Gene.