Milwaukee Road Depot in Charles City is raised and ready for move
By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com
The Milwaukee Road Depot is about 6 feet taller than it was earlier this week — or at least about 6 feet higher.
The historic depot has been raised off its foundation along the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks in Charles City and is resting on huge steel beams supported by wood cribbing as it awaits the move to its new home at 1010 N. Grand Ave., possibly in the next month or so.
Bob Moen, president of the American Passenger Train History Museum, said he hopes work on the foundation for the depot at the new site begins on Monday.
The original plan had been for the foundation to be ready now when the depot was raised, so that the brick building could be moved to its new location early in September. But the original company that had been lined up to pour the foundation decided at almost the last minute that the job was beyond its capability, Moen said.
Moen said this week that he thinks he has a new crew lined up, ready to begin work next week in the hole that has been sitting empty for more than a month at the new depot site.
It will take a week or more to build the forms and pour the concrete for the foundation, then another two to four weeks for the concrete to cure to a point where it can support the weight of the building, Moen said.
Tim Thein, one of the owners of Thein Moving Co. of Clara City, Minnesota, said the building weighs about 300 tons — 600,000 pounds — and is in pretty good shape for its age.
Asked how it compares to other buildings the company has moved, Thein said they have moved buildings that are bigger, smaller, wider, taller — “every move is different.”
The process to lift the depot began by clearing the area around the existing foundation to provide access, done by Kamm Excavating; then sawing through the foundation all the way around the building to allow the building to be lifted off, done by Iowa Wall Sawing Service.
A crew from Thein Moving Co. then removed earth from under the building, created openings in the foundation at strategic locations, then pushed two huge steel double I-beams under the length of the building, parallel to each other, from end to end.
More than two dozen smaller I-beams the width of the building were then placed on top of the bigger beams, sticking through holes cut in the foundation, from one end to the other.
The big double I-beams contain hydraulic jacks inside them, all tied together with lines to a central panel. Thein said 12 jacks — six in each beam — are being used on this project.
The jacks slowly push down, lifting the beams and the building a short distance, then wooden cribbing is put in place to support the beams. The jacks are reset, cribbing is added under the jacks to push against and the process continues, repeating until the building is raised the full height needed.
The building must be raised high enough to get dollies under the beams at ground level.
Thein said the hole under the depot will be filled in and half-inch metal plates will be placed on top of the dirt for the dollies to roll over so that the dollies roll level rather than having to climb out of the hole. Ten multi-wheeled dollies will be used for this move.
He said once the move begins the building will probably be parked close to its final site on the first day, then moved over and lowered onto the new foundation the next day.
Thein said he hopes work on the foundation can begin next week without any significant delays, because the big beams with the jacks in them are scheduled for another job in November.
The depot relocation is the first phase of a project to save and repurpose the building, to be used as the entrance to and part of the American Passenger Train History Museum, and also possibly as community meeting space and as a trailhead for the city’s recreational pedestrian and bicycle trail.
More than $350,000 was raised to pay to move the depot and build the new foundation.
Moen has estimated that more than twice that amount may be needed to renovate the building, but that grants may be available to help with that cost.
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