May 2, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II & IV • Page 15 The Waldwick Community Alliance is nearing the completion of “Phase I” of the historic train station restoration project. The 1876 building, which is listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places, has been abandoned since the mid 1970s. According to WCA Vice President Doug Cowie, completed items include: - The total replacement of the wooden sill plate. The original was completely rotted. It was replaced with modern pressure-treated lumber and bolted into the foundation, which was not the case before. Copper flashing was also added between the new sill plate and the masonry. - Minor repointing repairs were made to the brick foundation. Three courses of brick were added to the existing foundation, essentially raising the building so its base no longer sits below grade. This will eliminate the possibility of future rotting. - The unstable and non-original chimney from the 1920’s was demolished, and a new chimney to match the one from 1887 was constructed. Unfortunately, there were Phase I of station renovation nearly completed some design errors, so the WCA insisted that the chimney be demolished again and rebuilt so that it matches, brick-by-brick the original 1887 chimney. After much discussion, the architect and contractor agreed to replace it at no additional cost to the WCA. - The brick utilized is salvaged brick from a building in Paterson built around the same time as the station. It has a similar look, feel and color to the original brick foundation. Every effort is being made to restore the building back to its original appearance. Using new brick would have stood out too much, and WCA officials wanted to make sure the chimney looks 125 years old. - The roof was stripped. There were several rotted beams, some of which were repaired and some needed to be completely replaced. This was done at an additional cost of $29,000. - An inspection made while the roof work was being done revealed rotted framing on the eastern and western walls where the walls met the ceiling joists. Several Workers repair the chimney on the train station. beams were repaired or replaced at an additional cost of $24,000. To complete the work, the walls had to be opened, necessitating the replacement of several sections of cedar shingles. “While these items are unfortunate and expensive, they are par for the course when you are doing a historic restoration of an old building that has been neglected for so long,” Cowie commented. “But now we are back on track. The next step is to install the wood and copper Yankee gutter and to install the finished roof. WCA member Joe Salvi has been diligently stripping, repairing and getting the original metal roof cresting ready for re-installation,” Cowie added. (continued on next page)