major fire at dispatch junction, East Rochester, NY

That is sad news.  Thanks for the update.

 

Art

 

It's a bad one, sorry to see.  Very sad.

Total loss.  Soon after the photo above the roof collapsed into one big, smoldering pile. Smoke is still visible from quite a distance.  Fortunately, no injuries.

 

Poppyl

A real shame. My favorite train store.

 

Jim McClenin

Terrible, indeed.

Peter

Ah bummer!  I was planning on making my first visit there when I go to Rochester this summer.  Sorry for the owner & employees!

Such a shame to lose a piece of history and someone's business.  Glad no one was injured.

Sad indeed.  Prayers for all of those affected!

Sorry to see any person or business go down in flames. I hope that they will

consider opening a new store!

Doesn't look like there is much to save after a fire like that. We can only hope that the owner had sufficient insurance coverage, can recoup the loss and open again at a new location. We wish him the best.

So sad to see someone's many years of hard work go up in smoke like this. Insurance can help, but seldom does it cover the entire loss.

From the pictures, the place was pretty much burned to the ground.

 

Unfortunately, I don't anticipate them starting over again. The gentlemen all looked like they were at or near retirement age, and I don't think business was all that great.

 

Knowing then what I know now, I would have bought a few more items, but I was trying to not spend myself into bankruptcy.

I was in Rochester today at fire scene.  Nothing salvageable from building at all. Complete loss, was told what remained of building had to be torn down due to being unsafe. Only thing standing is a shed with a tractor in it. Fire area all secured with chain link fence. Fire Departments worked throughout the night hitting hot spots. Too early to tell what will happen to see if they do reopen or not. Good thing is no one was inside at time of fire and no injuries. Owner had ran store for 27 years and many of the employees had been there for years too. Feel sorry for the owner and employees seeing their lifetime work gone quickly, my thoughts & prayers with all of them.

I just came back from looking at the remains of Despatch Junction. It was just as Gary P described it.  There were a dozen or so people there, talking about how shocked they were to see the place in charred ruins, and recalling the many good times that they spent there with their families over the years.  Every here and there you could see an orange box or 2, and even a couple of pieces of rolling stock that were not burned up.  I am glad that no one was there when it happened.  I feel sorry for the owner, Stan, and for Frank and Don who worked there.  It was a great LHS to shop at and hang out.

I will mention Stan in my prayers tonight. This is a very sad thing to see happen to anybody. But, it is good that no one was hurt.

I was there this am too. I really just wanted to stay out of the way, and Stan had already left, so I left right away. Stan and Doug Ridley sponsored my TCA membership... here is another friend of mine Doug Emblidge(WHAM13 News anchor) reporting with Sean Carroll interviewing Doug Ridley(some of you may remember Ridley as "The Man Who Restored Paradise"):

www.13wham.com

There are three videos on this site about the fire.  The news crew seems pretty sympathetic.

Stan was interviewed on another station. He seemed pretty devastated. Who wouldn't be? 

No plans to rebuild. Sad day all around.

 

Pete

That is really sad ... one of the best train stores I ever saw. I made a couple visits there in 2011. I bought misc items, and a friendly clerk took the time to find me a replacement lamp for my old Plasticville Bank.

 

Coincidentally, I lived my first 13 years next to the NYC mainline only about a mile from there.

 

The name is Despatch Junction, former railroad station for East Rochester, which was originally named Despatch.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Rochester,_New_York

 

The village of East Rochester was originally known as the Village of Despatch when the community was incorporated in 1897. Despatch was laid out as a planned community designed around the New York Central Railroad mainline that ran through the center of the village. Much of the original land which became the village came from Fairport businessman Walter Parce ...

  

There's a view of the mainline next to the station, formerly 4-track NYC.

Goodbye To Top Railroad Store

 Wow,never been there but can tell it was a treasure for sure

 

 Sad to see a historical building and a place of lure lost.

Sorry you never got there. It really was an amazing store. It had so much very rare collectables items in there that is lost forever.  I had only been back in the hobby about 6 years but always tried to pick up something every time I could get there. What really made it special was Stan, Frank, and the other help in the store. It didn't matter if you spent $5 or $100, they always treated you as if you had been friends for 30 years with them and never rushed you and would answer every question you had. I really feel bad for them who this was their passion and for all the train customers who had the pleasure to know them all these years. I will miss their friendship most of all but it was a train store stocked so full they didn't have room for everything in the store and this store was packed full, no empty shelves or space anywhere. I was told the second story was filled too. Besides it was a former train depot built in 1884 and it was the oldest building in East Rochester.  It's such a shame to lose both a great store and a historic building too. The hobby has lost a great store, building,  and just so much wonderful train collectibles,  the only good thing is the fire happened on Memorial Day when the store was closed so no one was inside or injured. Sorry I was so long winded but glad these guys are still alive!

"the only good thing is the fire happened on Memorial Day when the store was closed so no one was inside or injured. Sorry I was so long winded but glad these guys are still alive!"

 

on the other hand, if someone had been there when it started, the alarm would have been sounded much earlier and it might have been contained.

I honestly don't think it would have made a big difference.  With wood 130 years old, all the supplies ( paper, cardboard, plastics, paints, solvents, etc ) inside downstairs and upstairs, narrow aisles, wide open ceilings make for a huge fire load, unless it had been just a very small fire I don't think the fire department would have had a chance to knock it down quickly. The fire was reported by building alarms as going into dispatcher at 5:45 pm according to Rochester TV stations and they were showing pictures as breaking news at 6 pm with building fully engulfed in 15 minutes.  I don't know if the guys could have  seen to get out if they were in there, all that material burning would have caused very toxic and heavy black smoke. I hate seeing the business & building gone but I'm still glad they weren't there and they are okay.

I still think about this most unfortunate loss of a really great train store. 

We would all do well to consider ways to make our train layouts and collections and houses more safe from possible calamities. Check your smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, security precautions, etc.

How good is your electrical wiring? Do you have a master switch to cut off all power to the layout? Consider that animals (pets or rodents) may chew on wires in places that you cannot readily see.

Too many boxes and other potentially flammable materials stored in the layout room? Maybe clear out some of the clutter.

What are your storage arrangements for paints and volatile liquids? Older metal paint cans might corrode and leak. Older plastic containers sometimes degrade and fail, too. Spray cans could explode and accelerate a fire. Use special metal disposal containers for rags and waste contaminated with solvents and such.

Please, take active precautions to stay safe. 

 

 

There are other posts about the possible rebuilding of this store:

https://ogrforum.com/t...h-junction-to-reopen

I am so sorry for the owner, employees and their respective families.

 

I have a very nice memory of visiting that store while on a business trip.

 

Paul