THE PRESS ROOM
The Scale of Things
Antique Railroad Scale Lives at Kirkwood Train Station
On the scale of such things, a rusting, 100-year-old, wooden contraption, covered in cobwebs and looking like it’s only good for running over toes, may have seemed destined for a landfill or a scrap metal recycler, but Kirkwood and the region at large are lucky that Bill Burckhalter, the Kirkwood Train Station manager, saw the contraption’s value and resisted that temptation.
When the City of Kirkwood purchased the Train Station back in 2003, it inherited a variety of old furniture and equipment, including one cast-iron-and-wood, 100-year-old railroad scale, which Bill found in a storage closet. It was manufactured around the turn of the 20th century by Fairbanks-Morse, a company that still makes scales. Even the manufacturer was unsure exactly how old the scale is, but they were able to furnish some important details that helped in its refurbishing.
Bill enlisted the help of Bill DeWitt, the City’s Director of Vehicle Maintenance, to work on the scale, and assisted by Paul Fisher, a City fleet service technician, they went to work on its restoration. First, they talked to representatives at Fairbanks-Morse, who donated new decals and provided the original paint colors. The scale was then disassembled, bead blasted (similar to sand blasting), painted, its brass polished, and then re-assembled. XXX donated the paint. Today, according to Bill DeWitt, “it looks just like new.”
Most modern scales are metal, but the Kirkwood scale is largely made of wood, and it was likely used by the Missouri Pacific Railroad to weigh freight. The fleet staff constructed a wooden platform to secure the scale and prevent it from rolling so it could be kept on display at the Train Station, where Kirkwood residents can visit it any time the station is open.
Press Inquiries: All press inquiries should be directed to the City’s Public Information Officer, Beth von Behren, at 314-822-5894, or by email: vonbehen@kirkwoodmo.org.
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History and Demographics
Kirkwood, Missouri, was founded in 1853 and today occupies nine square miles, with a population of 27,324 (per the 2000 Census). Located in Southwestern St. Louis County, Kirkwood boasts high property values, quality public and private schools, safe neighborhoods and exceptional City services. Kirkwood is home to more than 300 acres of park land, from a large central park that includes an aquatic center, ice rink, outdoor amphitheater, ball fields, tennis courts, picnic sites, and playground areas, to smaller neighborhood parks as well as the historic Quinette Cemetery, believed to be the oldest African-American cemetery west of the Mississippi.
As the first planned suburb west of the Mississippi River, Kirkwood was an early suburban commuter railroad community, named after James Pugh Kirkwood, the engineer in charge of locating, surveying and building the railroad. The City is home to the beautiful, historic Kirkwood Train Station, located in the heart of downtown. Built in 1893, the train station is on the National Register of Historic Places, was purchased by the City in 2003, and is staffed entirely by volunteers. For more information about the station and Amtrak passenger travel through Kirkwood, visit the Train Station page.