Depot getting new fence

PRESCOTT – Fencing at the Nevada County Depot and Museum has long been a problem, one soon to be rectified.

Judy Duke, museum director, said the current fence has been there for around 40 years and is rusting, needing to be replaced. She began looking for ways to replace the fencing in 2019 and when the Big Boy train first came to town, she talked with Drew Tessier, Senior Director of Public Affairs with Union Pacific Railroad, asking about funding from UP. She was told there was as UPRR has a foundation. Duke wrote to the UPRR Community Project Program explaining the need and applying for a grant. It was approved, but COVID-19 hit and all went by the wayside.

Undaunted, Duke applied again in June 22021 under the railroad’s safety program and was awarded $10,000. She sought bids, getting three, ranging from $26,000 to $31,000. Duke began looking for the rest of the money needed, getting $10,000 from the Prescott-Nevada County Industrial Charitable Foundation and $6,000 from a private donor who’s interested in history and the museum. K&J Fencing of Prescott has been contracted to do the job and should begin soon. Duke said it will take six to eight weeks to remove and replace the old fence, which includes the fence behind the museum and round the caboose. The new fence will be five-foot iron.