Vandals, looters wreak havoc at depot

SANDPOINT — The historic Sandpoint train depot has fallen on hard times, and things have only gotten worse lately, with looters absconding with truckloads of the station’s bricks, vandals carving racial epitaphs into walls and people defecating on the platform.

The 93-year-old station has been closed to the public for several months due to a leaking roof, and Amtrak officials have publicly stated they are mulling the idea of dropping the station from the Empire Builder route. If that wasn’t enough bad news for fans of the station, the depot is being picked apart, piece by piece, by looters.

According to depot advocate Aric Spence, who chairs the Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission’s depot subcommittee, a portion of the station’s brick walkway has been stolen in recent weeks. Prior to its closing, a large beveled mirror and a number of brass toilet paper holders were also stolen from the station’s bathroom.

To add insult to injury, Spence said there have been reports of feces on the platform, along with racial slurs and various graffiti carved into the building’s exterior.

Spence said he believes the thieves have been emboldened by the idea that the depot has been abandoned and want to get a piece of history before it’s demolished.

“I think people think it’s going to be torn down,” he said. “They think it’s going to go away, and they just see it as their time to grab a piece of whatever.”

Spence and other depot supporters are working with area politicians and representatives of Amtrak and BNSF, which owns the depot, to find a way to maintain the station into the future. He said there will be no hard feelings if people who have stolen items from the station bring them back.

“I imagine there are lots of things like that, over the years, that people either absconded with or thought they were preserving that they could potentially bring back and the station would be better for it,” he said.

Capt. Rick Bailey of the Sandpoint Police Department said those caught returning stolen objects would likely not face any police action, unless BNSF pressed charges. He said officers monitor the depot, but will patrol the area more vigilantly to help keep looters and vandals at bay.

“I’ll put an e-mail out to my guys,” he said. “We’ll do some extra patrols in the area, due to the vandalism.”