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Western Railways of Alabama: Today -- Future of Site in City's Hands

Posted on: Monday, 14 November 2005, 21:00 CST

By Allison Griffin, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.

Nov. 13--In the past year, little has changed at the old Western Railways of Alabama site, an overgrown plot of about 40 acres in the industrial part of Montgomery's north downtown area.

The remaining structures -- the last, fading glimpse of a once prosperous railyard -- still stand, though the growth of vines and trash trees remains unabated. There seems to be more trash strewn here and there -- used tires, broken furniture, parts of long-retired appliances -- and the few remaining pieces of lumber that once formed the second floor of the planing mill seem to have disintegrated a little more.

The one thing that has changed -- for better or worse, depending on whom you ask -- is the ownership.

The city of Montgomery closed on the property Nov. 1, purchasing it for $420,000 from the CSX Corp. Jeff Downes, executive assistant to Mayor Bobby Bright, said the city may use the site for a municipal complex, with space enough for a jail, municipal court and police headquarters -- which would ease some of the city's administrative overcrowding.

That plan is not set in stone, however.

"We're not tied to that," Downes said. "We're still discussing internally what our options are."

But some fear the history of the area may be forever lost.

"It's important to remind everyone that the railroad built Montgomery," said the Rev. Andrew Waldo, a Montgomery native who is rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Excelsior, Minn. Waldo long has been interested in train and railroad history and has spent considerable time and effort trying to document that part of Montgomery's past.

Waldo founded Old Alabama Rails, a nonprofit group that developed a plan to turn the site into a tourist attraction and incorporate the railroad's long history. The projected cost was $30 million, which Waldo concedes would have been difficult to raise.

Old Alabama Rails had discussions over the years with the city, knowing that city officials had long coveted the site. OAR board members had hoped to get the city's support for their project, but talks never progressed that far.

"I was encouraged by what I read in the Advertiser on the mayor's willingness to talk with us about the use of that space and working with OAR," Waldo said.

While Waldo fears that the few remaining structures on the property may be lost to the city's expansion, he hasn't lost hope for eventual cooperation.

"I'm discouraged that we couldn't work with the city to make that project happen in its entirety," Waldo said. "I'm encouraged that they're open to something happening."

Downes reiterated those comments: "The mayor is very open to any proposals. (But) any proposal must have a funding component, and that's going to be a hurdle for most groups."

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Copyright (c) 2005, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.

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Source: Montgomery Advertiser

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