Nostalgia & History > Depot Friday: New life for Lehigh, KS

During my 9 years in Santa Fe train service (’78 ~ ’87) I worked over all of the trackage covered by my Middle Division seniority district #1 employment. I worked every single mile of the branch from Marion, KS west all the way out to Ellinwood at one time or another. This includes a few travels through the tiny agricultural town of Lehigh, KS on local trains 1361-62. So I knew by these trips that the Lehigh depot was long gone, presumably torn down. What I didn’t know was that it had actually been moved down to Walton, KS on the 1st District mainline. It wasn’t visible from the main, but it was tucked away in a residential area just north of Main St. I passed through Walton countless times either on a train or on deadhead trips to & from switch engine assignments at Sand Creek in Newton.

Imagine my delight to discover a real Santa Fe depot still “in the flesh” as it were! It only took me a 23 year career detour in Montana followed by a 2010 retirement and a move back home to Kansas to discover this structure. And the good news got better. The depot was moved again, within Walton City limits. It is now right out there in front of God & everyone adjacent to US highway 50. It has a brand new foundation. And according to some reports it will be completely refurbished. I will be eagerly awaiting the results…

1. AT&SF Lehigh depot in Lehigh, KS taken circa 1968. The photographer’s credit was not given, but it is most likely by a Topeka fan, the late Howard Killam.
(photo originally posted on TO in 2010)

2. AT&SF Lehigh depot in Walton, KS. As of the date of this thread it still shows in Google Maps sitting on the alleyway in the Walton city block bound by Blaine St on the north, Main St on the south, 1st St on the east & 2nd St on the west. Photo date: April 10, 2016.

3. AT&SF Lehigh depot after the move to its present location at the bottom end of 2nd St, just off US hwy 50 in Walton, KS. Photo date: November 8, 2017.

Thanks for looking back & forth!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/22 00:39 by santafe199.

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When you see photo 2 and 3 , it makes you wonder how it survived the move to the new location , without being damaged by the trip .

GP30Frank Wrote: > ... makes you wonder how it survived the move ...

I imagine there was a whole train load of TLC involved...

:^)

Often these old depots were built with native lumber which is pretty tough. Sometimes drilling a hole in that material can be challenging.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> Often these old depots were built with native
> lumber which is pretty tough. Sometimes drilling a
> hole in that material can be challenging.
>
Cottonwood? LOL!

If it's like a lot of houses in Eastern Kansas, lumber came from Colorado or Wisconsin/Minnesota.

> Victor A. Baird
> http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Looks like some of the depot's original mineral red paint might be showing through on the waiting room door. The door may well be original 1880-vintage material, but the siding isn't. The depot would have been built with board-and-batten siding, and Santa Fe changed it for the present clapboard at some point.

It will be interesting to see how faithful they are in preserving the structure's historic fabric. I imagine a lot of siding will need replacing - will they be able to resist the siren song of low-maintenance vinyl or metal siding, whose slats are inevitably too wide, and which tends to be applied as a blanket covering over other trim details? If windows need replacing, will they go with modern, single-pane windows instead of the original, double-hung, multi-pane kind? How about that freight/baggage room - the part of a "preserved" depot that usually gets compromised the most because it's not useful for much other than a warehouse. Drafty sliding doors often get replaced with windows or otherwise sealed up, unfinished interiors get finished and purtied-up for habitation or business use, new windows get added, etc. I'm surprised how well the shake shingle roof has held up, but it will probably need renewing, too. Will they go with the same style or the all-too-common metal roofing that lets the snow slide off but doesn't look like anything that was ever used on a Santa Fe depot?

Lehigh is the last surviving example (albeit rebuilt) of an early style of Santa Fe depot that once existed at many locations across Kansas. It's 20 feet wide rather than 16 or 24, the roof pitch is steeper, the roof brackets a bit fancier, and that bay window style was only used for a year or two around 1880. As a depot fan, I'd of course like to see Lehigh's integrity retained as much as possible. Having said that, it's not my depot or my money, and I have no influence nor right to any say in the matter. Just wondering and hoping.

Evan_Werkema Wrote: > ... Just wondering and hoping ...

Yeah. I'd love to see a completely faithful refurbishing job done. But I believe it's headed for some kind of business future, which will no doubt take precedence. An antique shop, maybe?? I'm just glad it's still around...

Lance

Sorry Lance, I should have made that "Just wishin' and hopin'."

Is "Dusty Springfield" what you get after a shiny new Springfield spends a day plowing?

Evan_Werkema Wrote: > ...  Is "Dusty Springfield" what you get ...
Ah yes, I've got the connection now. Nice! Just for the record =pun intended= Dusty Springfield was known as a 'blue-eyed soul singer' and was an icon of the so-called swingin' 60s. She was born Mary O'Brien in London in 1939, and passed away in 1999 from cancer. Her 2nd biggest solo hit, Wishin' & Hopin' broke into Billboard's Top-40 in July of 1964. It peaked at #6 during its 10 week ride...

DJ Sir L  

You reminded me of something. I recall that there is an engineer in my Wabash book named "Dusty Rhoades" who was transferred from the 3rd to the 4th District in 1907. I don't know if the phonetic combination of the first and last name was a coincidence or playing around with his name.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Evan_Werkema Wrote:
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> Sorry Lance, I should have made that "Just wishin'
> and hopin'."
>
> Is "Dusty Springfield" what you get after a shiny
> new Springfield spends a day plowing?

Yeah, I suppose they didn't have anything other than cottonwood in the area when the depot was built? Or it was all gone by that time?

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

mp51w Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> wabash2800 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Often these old depots were built with native
> > lumber which is pretty tough. Sometimes drilling
> a
> > hole in that material can be challenging.
> >
> Cottonwood? LOL!
>
> If it's like a lot of houses in Eastern Kansas,
> lumber came from Colorado or Wisconsin/Minnesota.
>
> > Victor A. Baird
> > http://www.erstwhilepublications.com