May, 2001: I visited the depot for the first time. Way up in Union, 45 minutes from work, 30 minutes from where I was currently living. What was I thinking? Half way to the moutains. Hell, there was still snow on the ground here!
August 31, 2001: The papers are signed, the depot is mine!
September, 2001: I moved in, and painted the living room. My very first project as a home owner.
October, 2001: I knew after purchasing the depot, the very first major project that needed to be tackled was the heating system. The current furnace was the original coal burning steam furnace. In 1957 it was converted to burn oil. The heating system was disconnected in 2000 and was not run during the 2000-2001 winter. It was reconnected prior to the sale, but the furnace would not work - no big surprises. I consulted friends and professionals. The project was ultimately given to the small oil company who had maintained the old beast of a furnace for many years. Anyone in the Rochester/Farmington area looking for a great oil company, give Cardinal and Glidden a call. The new furnace is a heck of a lot smaller than the old beast, but works great!
November, 2001: There was a suspended tile ceiling installed back in the 1960's. One tile in the master bedroom had been pulled out and above the drop ceiling was an incredibly beautiful wood one. Of course I was looking at a 12"x12" section of the wood ceiling - who knew what condition the rest of it would be in? Well, one night I decided to find out. I got out my ladder and my goggles and pulled the bedroom ceiling down. Amazingly it was in great condition. Having the ceiling down also allowed me to peek over the ceiling for the rest of the joint, and there was wood as far as the eye could see. There was also the left over evidence of what once was as well - two major walls from the original depot had been ripped out. At the closing, the seller had also mentioned that she believed the ticket window was buried in the wall between the master bedroom and the laundry room - so a few days later, off came the drywall! She was right - although the trim had all been removed, and it was nothing more than a hole in the wall, I knew I would someday have to open up the other side as well.
October, 2002: Time for a new bathroom! Hmmm, to expand the bathroom we must take out the hall. But wait, if we take out the hall, then we need to remove the laundry room so you can still get to the bedrooms. But if we remove the wall between the laundry room and the living room, then we need to remove the ceilings, and what about the washer and dryer? - wow, this is gonna be some project! Working on gathering all the photos and will have more information on this major project soon