Get on board with Old Alabama Rails project By Andrew Waldo February 3, 2002 - Montgomery Advertiser Article reprinted with the express permission of the Montgomery Advertiser. You haven’t heard much about Old Alabama Rails for awhile. We’re the group that is working to restore the former Western Railway of Alabama Car and Engine Shops in order to create a world class transportation-themed, cultural attraction in Montgomery. The site is best viewed from North Court Street looking east from the CSX diesel maintenance facility. We have not been idle since the last time you heard from us. In the past year and a half, the city of Montgomery has included us on the master plan for riverfront and downtown development, and the Alabama Historical Commission has awarded us a $25,000 planning grant for the quality, cohesiveness and fiscally responsible nature of our vision for the site, a vision that has been captured on paper and on our web site by renowned California cultural attraction designer Barry Howard Limited. Much of our work in the past year has been behind the scenes. It is an expensive project. Indeed, we estimate that Phase I will cost $30 million-$35 million. How then, you are certainly and fairly asking, can we describe the project as “fiscally responsible?” Why do it? Understand that the nationwide museum community is increasingly aware that static displays of “old stuff,” while fascinating for those who enjoy quiet contemplation of historical objects (I’m one of them), are not in the end financially self-sustaining. Communities that want both to preserve their heritage and to avoid going broke doing it realize that the “Wow” factor is essential. It is a Disney concept that seeks to build an immediate, positive and sustained response to a cultural attraction. The success of Disney’s concept is legend. “Wow” costs money. It also makes money. Our project proposal richly combines historical preservation, social history, high-tech displays, tourism, retail and restaurant opportunities, lots of motion – locomotion, that is – and a whole lot of just plain fun. Fun that reaches different people at different levels sells. Riverwalks and refurbishment of downtown landmarks for the renewal of business and residential life are critical. There must also, however, be an anchor attraction for Montgomerians who do not live or work downtown and for visitors to come from other places. This helps bring financial cohesion to the overall development. Heritage tourism is one of the most steadily growing segments of the national economy. That Montgomery, Selma and Tuskegee are icons of the civil rights movement and the rise and fall of the Confederacy brings a focus to this region that many groups are working to capitalize on. Old Alabama Rails’ proposal physically links Alabama’s antebellum, Civil War, Reconstruction, early 20th century, Jim Crow, wartime and civil rights history – by rail, steam and diesel. OAR is already working with former rail employees, the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African American Culture at ASU, and rail historians to develop what is an incredibly rich and fascinating narrative. Heritage tourism is big business, as our region already knows. The size of the Western of Alabama site and its connections with Union Station make possible regular rail excursions between Montgomery and Selma, downtown and east Montgomery. It can also attract conferences of rail fans. The California State Railway Museum’s Steam Reunions typically draw 250,000 visitors and as many as 10-15 steam engines under steam from around the country. The Old Alabama Rails proposal makes the Western of Alabama site a Southeastern regional center for this kind of gathering. The Selma-Montgomery rail route will be attractive to movie makers and tourists alike. It is a beautiful route that retains much of the charm of the South’s agricultural and river heritage. The connection promises also to play a part in building the economy of west central Alabama, so much neglected for decades. When completed, our proposal can directly create as many as 100-150 jobs, contributing to the vitality of the regional economy. “But $30 million-$35 million. How are you going to get it built?” Capitalization. It is a 5-10 year project, the first stage of which cannot happen soon enough if some of the most deteriorated, as well as most useful and beautiful, buildings on the site are to be saved. That stage is simple – to purchase the land, stabilize the buildings and secure the site. We estimate the cost of doing this at $1 million-$1.25 million. Once accomplished, and as other riverfront and downtown development priorities are being served, plans and development of this “jewel in the crown” can proceed at a steady pace over a the next several years with the long-term vision in mind. Many people are unaware that this project fits nearly all of the criteria that the federal government requires for its Transportation Enhancement Act, or TEA-21, funds. With explicit city and state support – support that to date has been verbal but not material – a large portion of the capitalization of this project can be achieved through TEA-21. The support of our congressional delegation in this will be essential. In the end, the initial capitalization of this project must be achieved through a combination of public, private, and commercial interests. But it also needs explicit public verbal support. We urge you to write or call your City Council representative, your state legislators, the mayors of Montgomery, Selma and Tuskegee, as well as chamber of commerce leaders and riverfront and downtown development officials in support of this effort. Andrew Waldo, a Montgomery native and an Episcopal priest in Excelsior, Minn., is president of the board of Old Alabama Rails. He may be contacted via e-mail at president@oldalabamarails.org.