It has been almost eight years since the last train left town and seven years since fire damaged the former Dakota Rail depot, but plans still haven’t taken shape for restoring the 121-year-old structure.

The status of the Hutchinson depot standing at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Adams Street was a topic of discussion at McLeod Regional Rail Authority meeting Jan. 15.

Rail Authority Chairman Sheldon Nies, who also serves as a McLeod County commissioner, said the depot is drawing increasing attention for reuse. One person wants to convert it to a coffee shop. The depot also is mentioned in recent city development studies as a possible trail headquarters or tourism center.

Rail Authority Member Dave Zachmeyer acknowledged that restoration plans thus far have been sketchy. Zachmeyer also is a member of Historic Hutchinson and Luce Line Railroad Club Inc., a model railroad club at Hutchinson Mall. They hope to narrow several possible ideas down to one.

“I think we have to do everything we can to preserve it,” Rail Authority and Luce Line member Larry Graf said. “Hutchinson once had three railroads and that is the last building that says there was a railroad here.”

Read the Leader’s Jan. 17 print edition for more about the depot.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com [2].)