Structures

March 6, 2012:
The Museum’s circa 1900 Houston & Texas Central Depot is currently being readied for movement to Frisco.  Today, H. D. Snow & Son completed the installation of two 60 foot beams which now support the length of the structure by its floor joists.  At the east end of the depot the beams straddle four bogies which are clamped to shorter beams mounted 90 degrees to the 60 footers.  On the west end the beams will be attached to Snow’s largest truck via another transverse beam once movement day arrives.
 
The depot was hydraulically raised and lowered about 6 inches this afternoon to test the lifting equipment.  The building creaked and groaned a bit as staff continued to work in their offices in the upstairs loft.  Having passed the test, the Depot sits level with its series of floor joists on a perfect horizontal plane – something the Depot hasn’t experienced in recent years due to settling and deterioration of the wooden piers installed in 1963. 

The next step is to remove the roof, including eaves, in order to achieve the reduced height and width necessary for the trip to Frisco.  This is scheduled to take a few weeks, weather permitting.  Once the roof is disassembled and a suitable temporary covering installed, the Depot will make the trek to Frisco.

March 6, 2012:
The Museum’s Santa Fe Tower 19 now has the distinction of being the first piece in the collection to arrive in Frisco.  The Tower was moved onto the site at 1:15am today following a nearly 3 ½ hour trek from Fair Park.  The intermediate and top floors moved one behind the other on separate sets of bogies along streets through East Dallas, North Dallas, and finally up Preston Road to the Frisco city limits.  They then traveled west along the 121 service road and finally north along the Dallas North Tollway service road to Cotton Gin Road. 

The move went off without a hitch – the product of much planning and preparation by all parties involved.  H. D. Snow & Son did an outstanding job of moving the Tower for an unprecedented third time in its long life.  With a motorcycle escort, four vehicles occupied the full width of most Dallas streets as it moved northward during the cool evening hours.  The Dallas Morning News accompanied us for the entire route, gathering documentation through photographs, video, and interviews.  There was a feeling of exhilaration and great accomplishment as this historic structure arrived in a community that has long anticipated the relocation of the Museum.  This move will undoubtedly be the last as the Tower takes its place at its new, permanent home in Frisco.

The structure’s upper two floors have been temporarily positioned in close proximity to where they will be placed on a permanent concrete foundation that will faithfully replicate the first floor.  The stairway side of Tower 19 will ultimately face the Museum’s lead track and BNSF’s main line to the east.  The full-windowed side of the Tower will face west, providing a panoramic view of the new Museum.  This orientation is in keeping with the Tower’s original configuration along the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe / Missouri- Kansas-Texas of Texas lines, its original builders in 1903. 

February 27, 2012:
Due to the possibility of rain this week, Tower 19 is tentatively scheduled to move to Frisco Monday, March 5.

February 23, 2012:
Today, Tower 19’s uppermost floor was removed from the second floor in preparation for movement to Frisco.  The top floor will be lowered to the ground and placed on bogies (wheels).  Weighing nearly 47,000 lbs., it contains the 105-lever “pistol grip” interlocking machine manufactured by General Railway Signal Company in 1952. 

February 8, 2012:
Preparations are underway to separate Tower 19 into two sections for movement to Frisco.  H.D. Snow & Son is inserting beams lengthwise through the structure in order to raise the uppermost floor off the intermediate floor.  As can be seen in the photograph, the longitudinal beams will allow the top floor to straddle transverse beams at each end of the structure, which will provide for movement westward to be lowered onto a trailer for transport.

November 21, 2012:

The Museum’s two historic structures are being readied for the big move to Frisco.  The circa 1900 Houston & Texas Central Depot and 1903 Santa Fe Interlocking Tower 19 will make the 30 mile trek to their new home.  Unfortunately, both structures are too tall to move intact and will require disassembly. 

In order to remain within a maximum height of 18 feet and also meet clearance limitations on width, the H&TC Depot’s roof will be removed, including eaves.  Each piece will be carefully disassembled, labeled, and set aside for reassembly. 

Tower 19 will be separated into two sections.  The uppermost floor will be carefully removed from the lower portion of the building by removing exterior siding and making strategic cuts in the balloon type framing.  The top floor will be placed on beams to be moved separately with its roof intact.  The second floor will then be raised off the concrete base, which makes up the first floor.  A portion of the original concrete foundation will remain intact with the second floor and moved to Frisco, as was the case when the Tower was moved to Fair Park in 1996.  The third and second floors will then be moved separately to Frisco. 

H.D. Snow & Son House Moving of Fort Worth will move both structures.  Snow moved Tower 19 from its original location near Lamar and Corinth Streets to Fair Park in August, 1996.  

The Depot and Tower 19 will be reassembled at the Frisco site using 95% of their original materials including siding and roofing.  They will be placed on permanent concrete foundations as part of Phase IC construction.  Tower 19 will have a new first floor base constructed.   

The Museum has been working closely with the Texas Historical Commission throughout the planning process for the move.  Every effort has been made to preserve the historic and structural integrity of the buildings.  The Depot was designated a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark in 1979, and Tower 19 was entered into the Historic American Engineering Record in 1992.