Building with old South Shore rail cars continues to gather dust




Abandoned South Shore passenger cars from the 1920s are clustered around a two-story building at 301 Grant Ave. JAMES WOODS/photo

Abandoned South Shore passenger cars from the 1920s are clustered around a two-story building at 301 Grant Ave. JAMES WOODS/photo

It is one of the more unusual and eye-catching properties in downtown Chesterton.

Four vintage South Shore passenger cars from the 1920s clustered around a two-story building at 301 Grant Ave. The property has 5,492 square feet and is zoned for retail business and a restaurant, with the potential for a liquor license, according to old real estate listings.

The location offers up to 100 parking spaces that are close to the downtown.

But the building and rail cars — once collectively known as “Chesterton Station” — have been empty for years with “No Trespassing” signs posted.

“It could be a real asset to this town,” said Richard Riley, proprietor of Riley’s Railhouse, across the tracks from the Grant Avenue property.

Riley and his wife transformed what had been an abandoned New York Central freight station on Fourth Street and Broadway into a bed and breakfast. There are even more rooms available with a boxcar and a caboose that have been converted into additional lodging space. He is adding a second caboose for lodging.

Chesterton already enjoys a reputation for being a prime location for railroad fans and was recognized by Train Magazine in 2018 as one of the 75 best places in America to watch trains. Riley would like the town to build on its railroad assets to draw more tourists.

“We have a strong train theme emerging,” Riley said.

The property is owned by John Klikus, who lives in Blairsville, Ga., a small town close to the Tennessee border. Klikus, who formerly lived in Chesterton, purchased the property in 2000. He couldn’t be reached for comment.

At various times, the property has been listed for sale. It currently is not on the market.

Porter County property records indicate that the primary building on Grant Avenue was built in 1961.

In 1984, Damon Dietrich, who owned a print shop, decided to add the four South Shore passenger cars to the Grant Avenue property.

Chesterton Councilman Jim Ton said he can remember when the Norfolk & Southern Railroad helped build a temporary switch track to help move the South Shore passenger cars to Grant Avenue. The passenger cars were known as “Old 29s,” the 1929-produced cars that were standard on the South Shore Line from Chicago to South Bend.

Naming his operation “Chesterton Station,” the train cars held Dietrich’s businesses which included the print shop, art salon and a breakfast/luncheon diner, according to Tori Binelli, a museum researcher for the Westchester Township History Museum.

Dietrich died in 1994 and the businesses faded.

“Nothing ever seemed to catch there. I am not sure why,” Ton said.

Ton said there have been informal discussions about whether the town should look at purchasing the Grant Avenue property because it could offer potential parking spaces for downtown events, like the weekly European Market.

But the busy train crossing poses too many potential issues for the idea to be practical, Ton said. Building a pedestrian bridge over the tracks would not be an easy proposition either because the railroad holds exclusive legal rights granted by the federal government, he added.

Hopes were raised in 2018, when Chesterton native Andrew Trella returned to town and told of his intention to buy and develop the property. In the Summer 2018 edition of “Duneland Today,” Trella talked of turning the rail cars into a location for a fine dining restaurant.

However, the plan never went past the talking stage. Trella couldn’t be reached for comment.

Riley said the property still has a “lot of positives.”

But, as he knows from experience, it would take a lot of money to restore the property. Riley said if a person wanted to start a restaurant, they would probably have to invest at least $250,000, on top of the property’s purchase price.

“Whoever would buy it would have to have deep pockets,” Riley said.

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