Work begins for repair of depot's deck
HEIDI DESCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 6 months AGO
A crew from North Country Builders begins repair work on the deck of the Whitefish Train Depot downtown. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
A crew from North Country Builders demolishes the damaged deck at the Train Depot last week. The deck is expected to be largely rebuilt in the next week. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
DEPUTY EDITOR, FEATURES Heidi Desch is the Deputy Editor at the Daily Inter Lake, overseeing coverage of arts, culture, lifestyle, community, and business. Desch leads reporters in developing stories that highlight the people, traditions, and events shaping Northwest Montana, guiding content across print and digital platforms. With more than 20 years of journalism experience, including serving as managing editor of the Whitefish Pilot, Desch is a graduate of the University of Montana School of Journalism. She has received multiple Montana Newspaper Association awards, including part of the team leading the Daily Inter Lake to Best Daily Newspaper in Montana Award and the General Excellence Award in 2024 and 2025. IMPACT: Heidi’s work connects readers with stories that deepen the understanding of the community beyond daily news. | December 16, 2020 1:00 AM
Work to repair the wooden deck around the Whitefish Train Depot downtown began last week.
The deck on the historic building was damaged at the end of November when the driver of a pickup truck crashed into the corner of the deck.
A crew from North Country Builders began demolition of the damaged portion of the deck last week and by Monday were already rebuilding the support beams for the deck.
Leo Keane, owner of North Country Builders, said he expects most of the area that was damaged to be repaired by next week.
“We saved what we could and we will reuse part of the decking,” he said. “It needs an all new foundation and framework.”
Keane said the portions of the decking that can’t be salvaged will have to be replaced with new decking specially milled for the project by RBM Lumber in Columbia Falls.
The deck on the depot was completely rebuilt in 2013. North Country was also the contractor on that project.
The Stumptown Historical Society has owned the depot building since 1990 and operates the Stumptown Museum inside it.
Great Northern Railway constructed the depot building in 1928 with the design in the Alpine-style reminiscent of the lodges in Glacier National Park. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
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