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From: Bernard Rudberg brudberg AT optonline DOT net
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:27:46 -0400
Subject: Hopewell Bay Window
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The attachment is the Hopewell depot new bay window frame.

Hopewell Depot Restoration Inc. Progress

Hopewell Depot Restoration work is currently at a standstill due to lack of funds. Our major
source of funds for the construction work has been the Town of East Fishkill but their situation
has changed. Our town financial support has been stopped along with other cutbacks. Our
treasury at this point has enough to cover insurance and electricity etc. but nowhere near enough
to finish the next phase of construction.

All floor and sill beams have been replaced. The walls have been straightened and braced. Both
bay windows have been framed awaiting new windows. The next project was supposed to be
reconstruction of the roof rafters and roof. Presently we have a used pool cover on the roof to
keep out most of the rain but it still leaks in. Estimates for rebuilding the roof run about $60,000
to $70,000. We are searching for funding sources.

After completion of phase 1 the building will be safe and dry to work inside. Then much of the
detailed restoration work can begin on the interior, walls, ceilings, doors and windows.

There will also be work needed on the stairs down into the basement. Water erosion had caused a
buildup of sand at the bottom of the basement steps. The sand has been removed and a new
masonry wall installed to prevent more erosion. New steps and a floor hatch will be added.

Recently the two ceramic sections and the cap on top of the chimney have been removed and
stored. They will be reinstalled when the chimney and roof work is done. There are enough
projects to keep us busy for years to come.

With only a small group of volunteers actually working, the progress is slow.
The more volunteer labor we get, the farther the money will go toward future restoration. In the
coming weeks we will be asking for volunteer time and effort to make the best use of the town
financial support. Keep an eye out for E-Mail notes and/or snail mail letters for specific projects.
We will need all the volunteer help we can get.

Hopewell Junction is rich in railroad history but much of it is in danger of being lost
forever. We must preserve as much as possible for future generations.

Many towns across the country have recognized the significance of their railroad past and are
restoring their railroad stations.

************************************
Donations for Hopewell depot
If you have or know of any such items we would dearly love to have them for the future
Hopewell Junction Depot display. Any items donated are eligible for deduction from your taxes.
************************************
Dutchess County Rail Trail

Water line construction is completed and the plan is to pave the old roadbed
for use as a hiking and bicycling trail. The Hopewell Junction end of that rail trail will be at the
depot. There are also plans for a parking area near the depot. One of these days soon you will be
able to hike from Hopewell Junction to the big railroad bridge in Poughkeepsie.


How did Hopewell become Hopewell Junction ?

Hopewell Depot Restoration Inc has produced a new book about the railroads of Hopewell
Junction and the East Fishkill area. The book is packaged in a 3-ring binder so you can
add your own notes. It contains 173 pages with a brief history of the railroads and 188
pictures of old trains and other scenes around Hopewell Junction. If you would like to see
what Hopewell Junction looked like when steam trains were king, this is the book for you.
You can almost hear the whistle and smell the coal smoke.

These books are a fund raiser for the restoration of the Hopewell Junction depot. All
profits from this book will be used for the restoration of the depot.


Books are $25 plus $8 shipping.

If you are in the area, we can arrange a pickup and forget the shipping cost.

1. Make out the checks to Hopewell Depot Restoration Inc.

2. Be sure that your return address is included.

3. Mail your order to:
Bernard Rudberg
7 Marion Ave.
Wappingers Falls, NY
12590-6017

If you want to pick up your book locally, send me an E-Mail or call and we will arrange a
time and place.

Phone 845 221-9330
E-Mail Brudberg@optonline.net

CNE Historical Tours

Each spring the CNE Historical Tours group explores a section of the old CNE Railway. Here is
some feedback from one of the group after the April 2nd tour.

"Last but not least I met Bernie Rudberg. Besides the literary giant that he is, he is also another
"keeper of the Keys" to another special place in my heart. None other than my "Home away from
home" for two years, the Hopewell Junction Station house. He along with others are restoring the
grand old building that I spent two years of my life in. When I first moved into the station I had a
two holer outhouse, and a hand water pump for running water inside. I had bid the job after
having been laid off with a wife and two children so our nest egg was long gone. I had to live
there as it was a 124 mile each way commute to work during two gas shortages no less. Though
rustic when I first moved into the old station it is nothing to what Bernie has left to work with.
Fire damage and vandals have taken their toll on the station. I was shocked when I saw the
station on the way home from the trip."

ND&C Railroad History

There are still some soft cover copies of the book Twenty Five years on the ND&C RR available.
All the hard covers are sold out. Barnes & Noble in Poughkeepsie had a few as well as the model
train shop in Red Oaks Mill. Other book stores may have a copy or two left. In addition they are
available by mail from the Purple Mountain Press in Fleischmanns NY. (Call 1-800-325-2665)
and also over the internet on the web site of the New Haven RR Historical Society. Their web
site is:
http://NHRHTA.ORG
Just click on the book sales icon.
************************************
Sharing History

Do you know of any photos of Hopewell History ? If you have or know someone who has photos
to share with the members, send a note or call me, Bernie Rudberg, at 221-9330.. I have facilities
to scan and print photos without any damage to the originals. I can also do minor repairs of
cracks or marks on the scanned prints. I can even do the scanning at your location with a portable
computer and scanner. If you have photos let me know and I will pick them up and return them
after scanning or scan them on site. We would love to see any old pictures you might have
hidden away in a family album.
**********************************
Do You Have E-Mail ?
With the expansion of our mailing list, the cost of each newsletter has gone up. Currently each
newsletter mailing costs about $50. We feel that this money could be put to better use on the
depot. Therefore we will be distributing an E-Mail version of the newsletter which costs
essentially $0 to send out. In addition, an E-Mail version will reach the members sooner than a
standard post mailing. Our E-Mail list now contains over 75 names while the snail mail list still
has about 90 names. Future newsletters will be sent via E-Mail whenever possible.

If you would like to get your newsletter via E-Mail you can write a short note to the editor:
Bernard Rudberg
7 Marion Ave.
Wappingers Falls, NY
12590-6017
Or better yet, you can reply via E-Mail to
BRudberg@optonline.net
***********************************
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Individuals $10.00
Families $18.00
Seniors/Students $ 5.00
If you get your newsletter via E-Mail, your renewal is due one year from the last time you paid. If
you get the newsletter via snail mail, take a look at the address on your newsletter envelope. The
date after your name is the last time your membership was renewed. If the date is more than a
year ago it is time to renew.
Send to the treasurer, Jerry Carey at: Hopewell Depot Restoration
P O Box 1044
Hopewell Junction, NY, 12533-1044
***********************************
CURRENT OFFICERS
President. Bernie Rudberg
VP and Treas. Jerry Carey
Secretary Jackie Prusak
Newsletter Editor Bernie Rudberg

Bernie Rudberg 7 Marion Ave., Wappingers Falls, NY, 12590-6017
phone 221-9330 or E-Mail

BRudberg@optonline.net

Jerry Carey 27 Tamarack Dr., Hopewell Junction, NY, 12533-6432
phone 897-2145 or E-Mail
jcarey_mba@idsi.net Or
jerry@mcgrathandco.com
JC101694@CS.com




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