Alpine
Saving a piece of Alpine history would be worthwhile, but making a dream come true for someone who cares so deeply about it would be inspiring, say the leaders of an effort to restore and preserve an old railway station on Del Rio Street in Alpine.
Alpine resident Todd Elrod said he saw a post about saving the station on social media and thought it was a good idea, so he began looking into the effort and discovered that 32-year-old Jacob Rossi Hinojosa had created the social media posts.
From Hinojosa’s family members, Elrod learned that Hinojosa is a person with autism with a love for trains that goes back to childhood, and he takes trips with his uncle around the country to see engines that hold special significance for him.
That’s when the project took on special significance for Elrod.
“[Hinojosa] put this page up, Save the Alpine Rail Station, and I just got behind him and started rallying behind the idea,” Elrod said. “His aunt reached out in a message and was like, well, he’s autistic, and I was like, well, that’s even more reason to get behind this and make his dream a reality.”
Since getting involved with the project, Elrod has learned that the station is operated by the Santa Fe Railroad, the property it is on is owned by the Texas Department of Transportation, and the station is scheduled to be demolished. To save the station, it would have to be moved, Elrod said. The rail line that runs next to the station was originally part of the South Orient Rail Line. It’s unknown when it was built, but likely in the 1950s.
Hinojosa’s uncle, Alpine resident Dan Rossi, described his nephew as having a childlike love of trains, including nostalgia, history, and dreams of starting his own line in Alpine that would include the old station on Del Rio Street.
Hinojosa would frequently take walks with his grandfather to explore the old station, talk about train nostalgia, and dream of restoring it, Rossi said. These trips happened regularly from the time Hinojosa was a child until his grandfather passed away in September, he said.
“He would be really upset if it couldn’t be saved,” Rossi said.
Moving the building is not what Hinojosa had hoped for, but the situation has been explained to him, Rossi said.
Elrod said he has spoken with Santa Fe Railway officials and was given a list of actions that must be taken before the building can be considered secure enough to move.
The list starts with having an architect inspect the building, who would report what would be needed to get the building to a condition where it could be moved, Elrod said. He has spoken to an architect, he said.
“We have to get a licensed architect to figure out how to structurally get it ready to move, because it is dilapidated. And then we’d have to get the city on it and get it off the TxDOT property and find a place to move it,” Elrod said.
He has also contacted Alpine Mayor Catherine Eaves about options for the building, but nothing is set at this time, Elrod said.“She’s given me a little direction to go,” Elrod said. “Everybody is kinda behind it, but we’re just kinda lost on where to go next.”
Others interested in saving the building are researching the process of creating a nonprofit organization to collect donations and apply for grants, Elrod said.
A meeting is also set for 6 p.m. on May 19, upstairs at The Richey, 102 E Murphy Avenue in Alpine.