Adams Looking To Create Train Station For Berkshire Scenic
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The former car wash is eyed to become the new Adams Station. |
ADAMS, Mass. — The town is looking for federal funds to help purchase the former car wash on Hoosac Street and turn it into a train station for the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum.
The car wash, owned by Carol Ostrowski, is across the street from the Adams Visitors Center, which is one end of the proposed new Hoosac Valley Service run between Adams and North Adams.
While the state is finalizing designs for shared track and bike trail, the town has designed a project to build an end in Adams.
"This space will become another attraction space and clean up that side of the road," Town Administrator Jonathan Butler said on Monday during a public hearing.
The Adams Station is eyed to add 300 feet of platform on the eastern side for loading and unloading and renovate the three-bay car wash into an replica station.
The plan would be to reuse the inside of the bays to feature items such as museum-like displays, maps to local businesses and vending machines as well as allow passengers to take cover during busy days or inclimate weather.
The outside will be spruced up to give a historic train station appearance. In the front portion of the property, the town is hoping to add planters and tables and the rear of the property will be vegetated and maintained as a pocket park.
At that point in the track, the trail and the rail would be shared and about 400 feet of the track would be double-wide for the locomotives to unhitch, ride the other track to the other end and reattach to turn the trains around, according to Tom Delasco, chief mechanical officer for Berkshire Scenic Railway.
"As far as the operations are concerned, it is pretty simple," he said of the design.
Butler says the town plans to apply for about $400,000 in federal funds through a grant program that requires a 30 percent match. If the town receives the grant, town meeting would need to approve spending about $100,000 — bumping the entire project total up to $500,000.
"The project is something we hope to move with quickly," Butler said.
The grant application is due later this week and Butler hopes that if awarded the funds, a special town meeting can approve the match in October.
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The design calls for the property to be turned into a pocket park. |
Architect Craig Okerstrom Lang, president of Okerstrom Lang Landscape Architects who designed the new station, said the property has wetlands and the Conservation Commission would need to approve of developments.
But since the majority of the land is planned to be vegetation, he doesn't see it causing many problems.
"Construction on the land is very limited in what you can do," Butler said, adding that is one reason why this project fits at that location.
The property is not connected to town sewer but is connected to water, Butler said. Bathrooms are not planned for the station but water fountains are being considered.
However, Director of Community Development Donna Cesan said that in the future the town might want to apply for a second phase to connect sewer.
Those dozen or so residents attending the meeting had no concerns with the design itself but said they want the plans to be supplemented with trollies or shuttles to take tourists to town attractions and businesses.
"We need to get people around our block here and up to the Glen," Board of Selectmen Chairman John Duval said.
The total project of creating the train rides from Adams to North Adams was announced in January and state officials are currently redesigning the proposed Ashuwillticook Rail Trail extension to accommodate the rail. North Adams is planning on hosting a redesigned car as a station and the trains will be stored there while the museum is planning an array of programming for the rides.
Adams Station Building Repurposing
Tags: train,
