Wilmington & Western Railroad announced Monday it is building a new headquarters to better accommodate members and the public.
With a price tag of $500,000, Executive Director David Ludlow said the new 5,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed in 2011. The Marshallton building will offer a library, training center, storage space for archives and other records and a ticket office. The training center will serve as a classroom for volunteers and new employees and will seat more than 40 people.
Ludlow said no public money is being used to finance the project.
“The construction of the new building is being completely funded with private donations, private foundations, membership donations [and] private fundraising efforts,” he said. “No government money is involved in the building.”
Railroad President Peter Lane said their current two-room headquarters is too small to service their 85 active volunteers and four paid staff members.
”[Volunteers] have a very small space for their meetings,” he said. “They need to have a decent place to sit and do their work in their classes. And where we are now, there just isn't enough room.”
Currently, the headquarters can accommodate roughly 10 people for training sessions. Excess volunteers are trained at Greenbank Station.
Ludlow said the new building will have a briefing area for volunteers. He said the facility is designed to include an education center, covering rules and safety regulations to instruct helpers how to properly operate a train.
Board member and volunteer John Iwasyk, who has been with the organization for more than 50 years, said the building represents “a great step forward” and “will reflect how much progress” the historic railroad has made over the last half-century.
