Re: Why tear it down?

I'm going to play "Devil's Advocate" here for a minute and ask you to put yourself in UP's shoes. They are a business. They are in business to make a profit and to do it as effectively as possible. Steam locomotives and old depots don't make the profit margin look any better!
In Herington, KS the UP was part of a centennial celebration of Herington's railroad heritage. The town wanted to use the old limestone depot and was willing to take it off of the UP's hands. The railroad resisted and in the dead of night came in and bulldozed it down!
Needless to say that the UP and the City weren't on very good terms after that! However, looking at it from the UP's perspective, they were concerned that this Station was situated right in the middle of their train yard! Passenger service had been discontinued decades ago so there was NO reason for non-railroad personel to be on the property.....other than the fact that this building would have been a magnet for everybody! The liability issues alone were staggering (remember, this is from a business standpoint!)
The solution was to bring in two double-wides (gee, where have we heard that before?) and keep the train yard closed to everyone except authorized personel! The dozer was simply the most expedient method to accomplish this. After all, it's always easier to ask forgiveness than get permission and it's guaranteed to be a permanent solution!