The NSRC Granted permission
to the U. P. on Feb. 27, 1967, to discontinue its agent and
to close its station at Boelus.
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Beolus
Depot ca. 1965 in it's later days |
According to Jim McPhillips of Grand Island, the depot was
purchased by his late mother with the intention of remodeling
it into a residence. However, she passed away before this
endeavor could be realized. The depot was moved by the Williams
Brothers House movers from Hastings in Oct., 1968 (?)
As of July 1979, the depot remained unaltered, with the building
still sporting the yellow and brown U.P. paint scheme. Interior
partitions remained as they were. One Boelus signboard remained
on the depot's east end. McPhillips thought his mother had
given the other one to an uncle.
The depot was being leased
to a friend of McPhillips, who was using it for storage. McPhillips
said the depot outhouses (men and women) were acquired at
the same time as the depot, and they were relocated to a near-by
farm. Considering the depots's close proximity to the road,
the structure is one of the stations in the state whose relocation
is generally known to the public.
The last day of service by an agent at the Boelus U. P. depot
was on March 27, 1967.
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Boelus
Depot in 1997 |
According to an undated (mid 1960's)
item from the Grand Island Independent it was noted that the
Boelus UP depot still did not have electricity installed in
it. Lighting was provided by a kerosene lamp which hung in
the agent's office. The article, by Jack Bailey, noted that
until a year ago, heat to the depot was provided by pot bellied
stove.
A gas heater for the depot was installed
at that time. At the time of the article, Leo Schritt of G.I.
was serving as relief agent at Boelus. Starting with UP in
1957, Schritt said in the article that he had worked 21 depots
so far, but that this was the only one without electric lighting.
He said he had never had need of electric lighting since trains
passed through boelus only during daylight now
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