“Name that Year” is designed to put your knowledge of Tracy and its newsmakers of the past to the test. Each week, we will publish a news item that ran in a past edition — maybe it was a major event, or a story about a Tracy resident — it’s up to you to determine in what year that particular news item hit the pages of the paper:
• ONLY MEMORIES AND A PILE OF RUBBLE REMAIN THIS WEEK OF TRACY’S CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN RAIL DEPOT. Demolition crews began razing the 1897 structure this weekend. By Wednesday morning, the once proud structure was leveled. Small knots of bystanders watched as heavy equipment from Steve Peterson Construction of Tracy, bit by bit, dismantled the landmark building.
The depot had been unused by the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad since 1991. By this autumn, the building had become an eyesore and safety hazard, with its interior group of fixtures and contents, and most doors and windows removed. Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern railroad officials, concerned about the liability exposure the building presented close to the existing railroad tracks, decided to tear down the building. The depot was offered to the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum several years ago, free of charge, by the DM&E. The catch was that the structure had to be moved.
Museum volunteers initially embraced the idea of moving at least part of the depot to the Wheels Across the Prarie site. Several professional movers were consulted. But it was discovered that because of the depot’s three-brick tension construction, it would be impossible to move the depot without building a supporting framework both inside and outside the structure. When estimated moving costs approached $100,000 with no guarantee of success, the idea of moving the depot was abandoned.
• Last week’s answer: A teacher strike at Tracy Area Public Schools went into effect in 1981.
