Montgomery's riverfront development project includes plans to make the shed of the old Western Railway of Alabama Car and Engine Shops near North Perry Street into a historical railroad-themed tourist attraction featuring a museum, restaurant and shops.

-- David Bundy, Advertiser

"It started with a single train set in my basement. Now, I've got an entire room devoted to my 'treasures,' and if I drag my wife to one more (railroad) museum, she just might divorce me," said Yearling, 67, grinning yet serious.

If the plans of one local group take shape, however, Yearling barely will have to leave his neighborhood to enjoy his hobby without sacrificing his marriage.

Old Alabama Rails, a Montgomery-based organization, is working to preserve and restore the Western Railway of Alabama Car and Engine Shops in Montgomery.

OAR envisions the creation of a world class transportation-themed, cultural attraction for the Capital City.

Broken windows and crumbling walls are commonplace at the site of the old Western Railway of Alabama shops near North Perry Street.

-- David Bundy, Advertiser

But with an estimated $30 million to $35 million price tag for the proposals first phase alone, members of the organization realize their first priority is selling the community on the projects potential economic impact.

"It's an ambitious plan – we admit that. But every riverfront development plan in the nation has at least one significant cultural attraction, and we see this project as being particularly appropriate for what the city of Montgomery is trying to accomplish with its master plan," said Andrew Waldo, president of the OAR board.

The proposed Western Railway of Alabama Festival Center is designed as a mixed-use recreational destination that blends interpretation, education, entertainment, hospitality, dining and retail in an "immersive environment themed to railroad history in the greater Montgomery area."

The 42-acre Western Railway of Alabama yards lie less than three-quarters of a mile from the heart of downtown Montgomery and is easily accessible from both Interstates 65 and 85 – and is bordered by North Court and Prince streets.

Blair Gaines, an Old Alabama Rails board member, takes a look at the shed of the old Western Railway of Alabama Car and Engine Shops.

-- David Bundy, Advertiser

Anna Buckalew, senior vice president of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, called the project "spectacular" and applauded the organization and its members for actively seeking private sector partners to help finance the concept.

"This project holds true potential for the development of Montgomery's downtown and riverfront," said Buckalew, noting the tourism opportunities a multi-use facility would generate.

"What we need is a critical mass of recreation, lodging and entertainment to fuel our revitalization efforts that will help take our riverfront and downtown development to the next level," she added.

Designed to attract both a residential and tourist audience, the center would offer more than 25,000 square feet of specialty food and retail, a colorful restaurant/cafe, an operating roundhouse and turntable and both static and dynamic presentations of rolling stock, machinery and archival material and artifacts.

Residents and visitors alike would have an interactive insight into the role the railroad played in the lives of Montgomerians and the surrounding areas from the antebellum south and ensuing Civil War through emancipation, reconstruction and more recent civil rights struggles.

Donald C. Brown of Brown Chambless Architects in Montgomery serves as OAR's civic liaison and offers firsthand museum experience as past president of Old Alabama Town.

A pigeon takes a stroll along the frame of a stained glass window under the train shed at Union Station.

-- David Bundy, Advertiser

Brown concedes the ambitious project might appear too "esoteric" and unattainable for many at first glance, especially with the larger task of riverfront development looming so ominously over the city.

"The idea hasn't caught on as quickly with the general public as some of the (OAR) organizers had hoped, but I think that's because we're seeing more interest at the moment in the overall big picture. People want to see something happening – soon and right in front of them – rather than get excited over something that could be," he said.

But railroad interest is not as rare in the Montgomery area as Brown once thought, he conceded.

"It might be a little esoteric for most people, but I never imagined so many people had this much interest in the railroads and their history. It really has been exciting, and I think with the right partners this (project) could become what those who created it envisioned," he said.