In the wake of the fire that destroyed Marlinton’s historic Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad depot March 28, the non-profit organization that cared for the building voted last Thursday to resurrect the charred structure.

The meeting of Marlinton Railroad Depot, Inc. drew representatives from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, whose offices were housed in the depot, as well as local business owners, the Town of Marlinton and area residents.

To remove the remains of the depot and reconstruct the building as it was will take some time, however, said depot board member Joe Smith, who estimated that next summer might be the earliest it would be completed.

“We would like to salvage everything we can that is salvageable from the original depot,” said Smith. “There’s very little that we believe is salvageable but the north end—the up-track end—could possibly be salvaged and reused to say ‘this was part of the original depot.‘”

On the north end of the building, gingerbread gable trim remains, as well as several charred boards that have the potential to be re-milled, said Smith.

“It’s very possible that the foundation could be reused,” he added. “It was built out of railroad ties.”

Quotes for removing the rest of the building range between $2995 and $5000, said Smith. The board has also written letters to the Town of Marlinton and Solid Waste authority, asking for waivers of any fees associated with the demolition and disposal of the building’s remains.

Consulting with contractors, Smith estimated that between 50 and 75 tons of debris remained at the site.

As for the reconstruction, Smith said he has heard overwhelming support for rebuilding the depot from the community.

“The whole thing right now is money,” said Smith. “It is not going to be a cheap proposition to rebuild that depot.”

Depot treasurer Bill McNeel outlined a detailed estimate provided by Chapman Technological Group. Just weeks before the depot burned, Chapman had done extensive preliminary work and documentation of the building in connection with a scenic byways grant that would have gone toward replacing the roof.

The total price-tag estimated by the firm, from the removal and disposal of debris to completed construction, including administrative costs, totaled $391,750.

While the figure is large, McNeel said the board was on its way to coming up with the funds to rebuild.

The organization has $33,963 on hand, said McNeel, though he recommended that the board set aside $25,000 for future maintenance and other depot expenses. Insurance on the building totaled $106,500, McNeel continued, bringing the total of what the organization has to put toward the project at present at $115,463.

Marlinton Railroad Depot, Inc., would still need to raise about $276,000, said McNeel.

The depot group had also received $850 in individual contributions, and depot board members John and Robin Mutscheller pledged another $1,000 toward the project that evening.

While Smith said he wanted to see the reconstruction completed by next summer, he said he did not want the project to begin until the organization had 80 percent of the funding in hand.

Fundraising suggestions given by those at Thursday’s meeting ranged from a county-wide effort to collect aluminum cans to soliciting contributions and assistance from state politicians.

Robin Mutscheller volunteered to set up a website with information on how to contribute to the reconstruction fund.

In its vote to rebuild, the organization said it will rebuild the depot as close to its original appearance as possible.

Leslie Cain, speaking for the board of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that if the building is reconstructed to its original dimensions—roughly 1,250 square feet—it may be too small for the CVB to return.

“We don’t know that we can go back in that building,” said Cain, who also sits on the depot board. “We need more room. We’ll have to consider something else. We can’t guarantee that we’ll go back in there at that square footage.”

If the CVB does not return to the building, the depot could lose its only source of income for maintenance and repairs: the $6,000 it received in rent each year from the tourism office.

Smith said he was optimistic the CVB and the depot organization could come to an agreement to at least have a visitor information center in the depot once it’s rebuilt.

Should talks with the CVB fall through, Marlinton resident Jay Perry volunteered to contribute the monthly rent payment himself.

Depot board members said they were well aware that the depot was getting cramped for the CVB, but said they felt they had to reconstruct the building as it stood originally.

“I personally think we need to build it back the way it was,” said McNeel. “That’s our obligation. We were given the responsibility of protecting and preserving the structure. I think if we’re going to do something tonight, we have no choice but to put it back the way it was.”

Others said they felt the reconstruction was more likely to attract grant funding if it was directed toward creating an accurate replica of the original depot.

“Among everybody I’ve talked to about the depot and asked ‘what do you think should be done,’ not one person said don’t build it, and nobody said anything other than ‘reconstruct it the way it was,‘” said Mutscheller.

The board also voted to allow its executive committee to continue handling the day-to-day details of the reconstruction as long as it provides regular reports to the rest of the board on its progress. The committee will also continue working with Chapman until the company performs an onsite inspection of the site. The board will decide at a later date whether to continue working with Chapman on the project. John Mutscheller and Cain were selected to serve on the board’s fundraising committee.

Contributions to the reconstruction fund may be addressed to Marlinton Railroad Depot, Inc., P.O. Box 63, Marlinton, WV.

The website, which will be www.rebuildthedepot.org is excpected to be up and running later this week.