Much happened at the Potter Place Railroad Station during 2022. The LCHIP grant matched by more than 50% donations made it possible to fix the slate roof. Our roofer John Green did a great job. He will continue to work with us on some carpentry and the gutters next spring.

The Semaphore, or Train Order Signal, was installed in November after three years of construction and preparation at a cost of about $1,800 to date. A large amount of skill, time, and energy were required to restore this icon of railroad history: from removing the old beams to selecting new beams that would perfectly replace them, to turning the beams monthly all last winter, to fabricating the copper cap and so many more details. . . a complicated job. 

Project manager Fred Nystrom was helped by Doug Colby, who supplied the lift, and his son Sebastian to run it; Frank Bunker, who provided able assistance in dismantling the hardware two years ago; and David Graf of Rollinsford, who did the heavy machine work last winter.  And of course, we must give proper credit to Professor Dennis R. Tappin and students of NHTI who came through near the end of the project with some crucial machine shop assistance to push us over the top.

Considerable decay was found in the building structure while removing the semaphore beam. Luckily, it is limited to a small area.  Because of the weather now being too cold to ensure quality results, that section of the roof has been covered over until spring. 

Roofer John Greene will return in early spring to repair the rot and replace the slates in that area and apply permanent flashing to the beam and the turnbuckle braces. The carpentry is not included in the LCHIP grant and may have to be paid for by the Society.

An AHS committee dedicated to providing skilled supervision and care to the Potter Place Railroad Station and its paraphernalia has been established. This committee will be looking for more dedicated and skilled members to keep up with its goals. A lot of the work requires physical effort involving climbing, crawling, and manual labor and technical skills will also be in demand.

As we go into 2023, the station platform is looking worse and worse. This will be our priority starting as early in the spring as possible. It should be possible to fix it and the drains at the same time. This is not part of the LCHIP grant and may need to be funded by the Society.