TAMMS DEPOT: A PRIZE RESTORED

TAMMS, Ill. -- Train whistles, lonesome or otherwise, no longer pierce the air at Tamms.

The tracks have long been destroyed, but the railroad has not been forgotten in this small Southern Illinois community.

An old railroad depot, previously owned by the Chicago Eastern Illinois Railroad, is a cornerstone of the village and serves as a historical reminder of the heyday railroad days in Southern Illinois.

The depot, the first building ever constructed in Oscar T. Tamms' town, is the result of a three-year restoration project during the early 1980s that has earned the town some national attention.

The depot now houses village offices and a small museum featuring pictures of early Tamms.

The depot, which is located alongside a short section of tracks, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The restoration project received a special national award three years after its completion. The award for Outstanding Public Service to Transportation and Historic Preservation was presented by the Department of Transportation and the advisory Council on Historic Preservation in 1989.

Tamms almost lost its chance at saving the old railroad depot when trains quit running through the town.

In early 1983, the old depot was described as "an old dilapidated building, badly in need of paint." The depot was in such a deteriorated state that it was falling down, the roof leaked, the weeds were high and the windows were boarded up.

That was on the outside.

The interior was worse.

But a group of Tamms townspeople wanted to save the depot.

The structure was almost one-of-a-kind in the United States because of its structural design. The depot had been built with a curve in the rear portion. These types of building were not common, even when railroads were the primary mode of transportation.

In fact, only two such designs were known to exist in the U.S.

The roof was made of stucco-type tile shingles supported by wooden beams, with curved designs on the bottom of the beams.

The community got involved in the restoration project once it started in 1983.

With the help of carpentry and electrical classes at the local vocational school and local craftsmen who donated their time at reduced rates, the old building started taking on a new look.

A grant was obtained to help finance the restoration.

The village of Tamms purchased authentic roofing tiles for the depot. Village board members, with help from professional landscapers, planted trees, shrubs and flowers.

The exterior was left just as it was when built in 1899, said Kerry Baugher, who was mayor at the time of the restoration.

The depot was finally re-opened on June 27, 1986, almost three years and $50,000 after the restoration started.

The structure now sits by a vacated section of rails and includes a brick sidewalk to the entrances. A caboose donated by the railroad sits beside the building and completes the railroad depot decor.

"We really like the building," said Sharon Abercrombie, Tamms city clerk. "We have a lot of visitors to the building."