Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
A Redding, Calif., man wants to open a train museum in Sweet Home.
His goal is “to create a ‘state’-quality railroad and transportation museum that preserves historic rail and other transportation vehicles and buildings,” Don Kirk said in a proposal for the project. “It would be “an operating museum where visitors can see, touch, ride on the museum’s restored and preserved vehicles and learn from the experience.”
Kirk selected Sweet Home as a potential location after inquiring about the old railroad depot sitting just north of McDonald’s off Main Street. He talked to City Manager Craig Martin, who put him in touch with Bob and Mona Waibel. Bob Waibel is one of the owners of the depot.
Ben Dahlenburg and Jim Gourley are the other owners.
“The more I spoke to people, the more it opened Sweet Home up to be the location for it,” Kirk said. He had originally looked at north Roseburg. He needed to buy right-of-way for it. A farmer didn’t want trains rumbling by, so he was unable to purchase the property. That’s when he heard the depot in Sweet Home might be available.
Kirk plans to operate the museum privately, with several nonprofit groups running it with a “somewhat vast freedom,” he said. The nonprofits will set up and operate park trains and live-steam scale trains.
He also is looking for a garden scale railroad group to participate and has talked with several model railroad groups about using the museum to operate their layouts.
Once the museum is open, Kirk would like to begin offering dinner trains, “who-done-it” mystery trains and longer excursions if he is able to use the local rail lines.
The museum would include a hobby shop for model railroaders, gift shop, souvenir shop, cafe snack bar, diner car and bookstore, Kirk said. Events would include rail fairs, rail swap meets and other rail-oriented special events monthly, quarterly and annually.
“Our hope is in the not-to-distant future to be allowed to place trolley (streetcar) tracks in one or more of Sweet Home’s streets and offer historic trolley rides around the city,” Kirk said.
Kirk wants to build a large amphitheater at the museum and host performances by recording and television stars along with local Oregon entertainers from almost the beginning, he said. He wants to have free live entertainment on weekends, special event days and holidays.
When he spoke to a reporter last week, he had not yet talked to Dan Desler of Western States Land Reliance Trust, which is in a partnership with the Sweet Home Economic Development Group and Sweet Home to build an amphitheater. That plan is in its earliest stages. The groups are developing an agreement.
Kirk plans to raise money through grants and fund-raising events and is seeking funds to help move the railroad depot now. He plans to visit Sweet Home to look for a new location. If necessary, he plans to place it at a temporary location.
Kirk already has $20,000 to $30,000 worth of railroad artifacts and is working on buying or leasing cars and a locomotive.
“I am not rich, but I’ve never had a business fail,” Kirk said. “With my fund-raising past, and not being bashful about asking for help or donations, I have always been able to finish what I start. The only reason I don’t complete something is because of red-tape legalities too intense to break through, the type of roadblocks that even Donald Trump would say no to fighting.
“I see great potential in this museum; and using what I have to start with along with my knowledge of how to do things, I have no doubt that this museum will be an economic boon for Sweet Home.
“I personally am not after wealth. Virtually all profits I make from this project will be put back into it to make it grow faster.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Mona Waibel said. “I think it’s far-fetched. Let’s hope it can happen. It’s great for the depot not just to rot and fall down right there. My husband, he’s really excited about it.”
“Between the skate park and the depot, I can hear him now,” Nancy Slauson said of her late husband, John Slauson, who was a prominent advocate for developing the depot before he died almost eight years ago. “He’s sitting up there – ‘Hooray!’ I think it’s wonderful to do something (with the depot).”