A sad day in railroad preservation history.
"GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — The Glenwood Railway Museum will close its doors permanently Nov. 27 after failing to renegotiate its expired lease. For the past five years, the museum had been renting space in the Union Pacific-owned Seventh Street Amtrak depot. That agreement expired at the end of 2016 and required the museum to pay only $250 per year.
The museum had switched to a year-by-year contract during negotiations, but was unable to work out terms that allowed them to stay.
"It's just sad that we're unable to raise the funding necessary to preserve what I think is a very important part of the history, the story of this county and this community," said Pat Thrasher, the museum's manager. The Post Independent, Glenwood Springs' newspaper, reported that Union Pacific wanted to begin charging the museum market rates, which would have cost $25,000 annually.
Thrasher told the newspaper that the museum staff will spend the Thanksgiving weekend trying to find homes for the artifacts. The museum might possibly find a new location in the future, but Thrasher says that the attendance will suffer without the visitors from Amtrak California Zephyr trains who stop at the town.
"I would like to think we're more than just a place where Amtrak passengers hang out while they're waiting for a train," he said."
Curtesy Trains Magazine E-Newsletter
Note: I am one day late posting this thread. The day I posted this thread is Tuesday, November 28th, and this museum closed yesterday, Monday, November 27th. For those of you who would have liked to have seen it before it closed, I apologize for being late.
"GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — The Glenwood Railway Museum will close its doors permanently Nov. 27 after failing to renegotiate its expired lease. For the past five years, the museum had been renting space in the Union Pacific-owned Seventh Street Amtrak depot. That agreement expired at the end of 2016 and required the museum to pay only $250 per year.
The museum had switched to a year-by-year contract during negotiations, but was unable to work out terms that allowed them to stay.
"It's just sad that we're unable to raise the funding necessary to preserve what I think is a very important part of the history, the story of this county and this community," said Pat Thrasher, the museum's manager. The Post Independent, Glenwood Springs' newspaper, reported that Union Pacific wanted to begin charging the museum market rates, which would have cost $25,000 annually.
Thrasher told the newspaper that the museum staff will spend the Thanksgiving weekend trying to find homes for the artifacts. The museum might possibly find a new location in the future, but Thrasher says that the attendance will suffer without the visitors from Amtrak California Zephyr trains who stop at the town.
"I would like to think we're more than just a place where Amtrak passengers hang out while they're waiting for a train," he said."
Curtesy Trains Magazine E-Newsletter
Note: I am one day late posting this thread. The day I posted this thread is Tuesday, November 28th, and this museum closed yesterday, Monday, November 27th. For those of you who would have liked to have seen it before it closed, I apologize for being late.