Due to the ongoing precautions within Dutchess County & New York State to reduce the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Hopewell Depot Museum will be closed for the time being.We will keep you posted on when it is safe to reopen.
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Welcome to the Hopewell DepotThe Hopewell Depot train station was built in 1873 and served witness to the rise and fall of Hopewell Junction as a major railroad hub of Dutchess County. Three distinct railroads originally served Hopewell with extensive facilities such as freight yards, an engine house and signal tower. After a fire nearly destroyed the building in 1986, local residents formed the Hopewell Depot Restoration Corp. to preserve and restore the station and its surroundings to its original form. The depot building looks as it once did and we have nearly finished the nearby switching tower. |
THE GREAT CABOOSE HUNT
Hopewell Depot needs a caboose. We’ve been searching quietly over the
years, but the quest is going into high gear. It would help define the complex for
passersby who aren’t sure what the building was. It would give kids – young &
old – a thrill to see one up close and walk through for fun. It would add a powerful
dimension to our mission to educate the public about the internal railroads of
Dutchess. Your donations will help with this project. To send contributions click
To send contributions click“GIVE” on the menu bar above.
“Disappearing everywhere, the caboose is nevertheless a nostalgic favorite. After
defining the end of the train for over a century, it is being replaced by a gadget – the “End
of Train Device” – hung on the last freight car to monitor brake line pressure. Hardly a
substitute for a part of American Folklore, but advances in electronics and
communications have made the caboose unnecessary … Most railroads built their own
preferred configuration … and while commonly thought to be red, many were painted for
their railroad’s colors. They functioned as the conductor’s office, a temporary home for
the crew, and a refuge from the elements and the locomotive’s smoke and sparks. They
had stoves for cooking and heating, bunks, lockers, and a desk. Later ones had plumbing,
electricity, radio communications, and even air conditioning.”
Adapted from “The Caboose” in Foster, Gerald, A Field Guide to Trains, NY:Houghton Mifflin,
1996
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© 2016 Hopewell Depot Restoration Corp. All Rights Reserved.
Mailing Address l P.O. Box 1044 Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 Physical Address | 36 Railroad Avenue Hopewell Junction, NY 12533
info@hopewelldepot.org
Hopewell Depot Restoration Corp is a NYS registered 501(c)(3)
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