We are getting closer to our goal of moving and preserving the Hawthorne NJ station. One of our newest members Lou DiGeronimo has made it a personal goal to see to it that the work gets done. The NYS&W has signed off on our proposal to move and restore the station. We are looking to get the structure put on the State Historic Register, which Lou has lots of experience with. We then are looking to get the building moved about 50 to 70 feet west, away from the corner of Royal and Diamond Bridge. How it looked long ago.

As part of the move we want to repair the roof, do some other repairs and maybe take out the back door and rebuild that end of the building to include the coal bin that used to be there. We then need to do some cosmetic work and paint the building.

We know this all sounds very adventurous and in many ways it is, but we have the backing of the town and a great bunch of people in our group who want to see this all through. We are looking to get donations and grants as well as local, state and maybe federal funding to pay for it all.

We have wanted to do this for many years and a few things have made us go after this all again. First is the buildings roof continues to be hit by trucks making the turn on that corner. This has caused a bit of damage and we are afraid that one of these times the damage will be fatal.

Then along came Lou DiGeronimo, who many years ago had tried to save the building and use it as his architectural office, the railroad would not let him do that at the time. He saw us at the Jersey Central Terminal festival and he immediately said he wanted to get involved and help save the building.

Then the Boro of Hawthorne has decided they want to do a downtown rehabilitation project that would have a railroad theme complete with railroad style lamps and benches. As part of that plan they would like to see the building moved off the corner to protect the building and increase visibility at the corner. A small park like area is to be built where the building once stood. This by the way is the same idea we came up with a few years ago and was adapted from our plan. For you G scale modelers, part of the idea is to include an operating layout to be run on special occasions.

With all these things pointing in the same direction it is time to make it happen. This is going to take lots of work, time, money and effort to make happen and it will not happen without you. We need to get a dedicated group of members together and have them stay together to see that everything that needs to be done will be done.

If you would like to help out talk with a board member, e-mail us or drop us a note in the mail and say, "I want to help save the station."