(The following story by Marshall White appeared on the St. Joseph News Press website on October 28, 2009.)
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Owning this community’s only National Historic Landmark means the Pony Express Historical Association always has something to repair at the Patee House Museum.
The transportation gallery roof is 32 years old and leaking in the rear portion, said Gary Chilcote, museum director.
The gallery houses the historic Burlington steam engine, tender and a mail processing car as well as the Union Star station that the railroad donated to the Patee House in 1969. The first railroad to cross the state was the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad back in 1859.
And BNSF Railway Co. is the successor to that railroad, Mr. Chilcote said.
Also located in the gallery are firetrucks, a city bus exhibit and numerous other vehicles.
Tuesday, Chris Engel, BNSF’s Nebraska division operations superintendent, and Ron Tresnak, the railroad’s local train master, presented a $10,000 check to the museum to assist in the repair of the gallery’s roof.
“The railway has a big impact on a lot of communities, and this is one way we pay back,” Mr. Engel said.
Mr. Tresnak, who has worked in St. Joseph for about five years, hadn’t seen the museum until this week but knew about the train.
“There are employees that work for the company who were on some of this train’s last excursion rides before it was donated to the museum,” Mr. Tresnak said.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation has a Web site, and on Aug. 25 the museum applied for a grant, said Amy Neely, business manager.
The museum plans to take bids this winter for the gallery roof and in late March or early April work should begin. The association has the roof divided into eight parts and about two years ago repaired the cupola. The remaining six parts of the roof will also require work in the near future.