DECATUR — With the westward expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s and early 1900s, cities, small and large, grew along its tracks. The railroad was a virtual avenue for commerce across the United States. And with this, the train station was one of the most important structures in any town along the tracks.

With the advent of the automobile and the interstate highway system in the U.S. and with the popularity of air travel, the passenger railroad business has been in steep decline. As went the railroad business, so went the railroad towns and, with them, the stations.

Not very many of the old buildings are left across the country. The few that are still in use are in the larger metropolises like New York, Chicago, Kansas City and San Francisco. Few in smaller communities have survived.

One old station in extremeNorthwest Arkansas has managed to beat the odds and survive in its original confi guration for more than 100 years.

The Decatur station, one of two original structures, stands proud. It sits on land owned by the Kansas City Southern Railroad.

The current station was complete in October of 1910, replacing the original structure which was lost to a fi re sometime around 1908. The 20 by 64 foot station, complete with a 3 by 11 foot operations bay (train master station) cost a mere $1,855.19 to build in 1910.

After its completion, the station began to serve dual roles. One was as a passenger terminal for the Kansas City Southern’s “Southern Belle,” with service from Kansas City to New Orleans. The other was as a freight terminal transporting apples - at the time the principal industry in Decatur - to market. In later years, chickens were transported by rail through the station.

Lloyd Peterson purchased the old train station from KansasCity Southern and funded an extensive restoration of the old structure. In 1992, the train station was placed on the National Historical Registry, where it remains today.

On Aug. 6, 1993, the station was converted to the Decatur Museum and Library. The Library has since been relocated to the northwest corner of Main and Roller.

The station is scheduled to reopen on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will open every Saturday.

“We are presently thinking about opening the train station every Saturday, 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock,” said Decatur Mayor Charles Linam. “This will go on as long as we get any participation. The more participation, I’d love it if we had to open it for more hours,” he added.

Another of the city plans is to try to bring in adoptable dogs and have then enclosed in the fence area. This will be done once a month.

The station will also be available for tours by appointment through Jeanelle Cox, at Decatur City Hall, 752-3912.

While the station currently houses artifacts from the railroad and De

catur area history, Mayor Charles Linam hopes other items can be added to it.

“We would invite anyone to donate or loan memorabilia to the museum,” Linam said.

Donations can be dropped off at the Decatur City Hall from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, or during museum operating hours.

News, Pages 1 on 10/23/2013