To get the Bertram Depot holiday-ready for our North Pole Flyers, we teamed up with The G.O.A.T. for a fresh coat of paint and some high-level help.
The Bertram Depot has stood proudly for more than a century — 113 years, to be exact. Built entirely of wood, this historic structure requires constant care to keep it looking its best. While ASTA’s volunteers handle much of the scraping, priming, and repainting, some parts of the building, especially the high eave and fascia trim, are simply out of reach for our crew.
When it came time to repaint all the fascia and eave boards around the Depot roof, the Bertram Chamber of Commerce connected us with a local contractor: The G.O.A.T. Handyman Services, owned and operated by Bertram resident David Deutsch. Known for their commitment to community and willingness to support local nonprofits, David and his colleague Robert visited the Depot, evaluated the project, and offered a very reasonable quote.
Early in the morning, they arrived with extension ladders in tow and got right to work. Before noon, they had already scraped the boards by hand and completed a full coat of primer — far more ladder climbing than any of us were eager to tackle! By mid-afternoon, the finish coat was applied and drying in the Texas sun.
Their help didn’t stop there: David and Robert also unbolted and lowered the heavy wooden station sign mounted on the east end of the Depot, a solid 2-inch-thick slab measuring 8½ feet long. That sign needed some love as well, and off it went for restoration. These hand-painted, prototypical station signs are mounted on both the east and west ends of the building. Created to meet Southern Pacific Railroad Common Standards, they reflect the heritage of the line we operate between Austin and Burnet.
After the east sign was safely brought down (no small feat, given its size and weight), it was transported to the sign shop for restoration. The crew began by thoroughly cleaning and sanding the wood to remove debris and loose paint. Next, they applied two coats of exterior-grade paint to reseal the surface, carefully avoiding the original lettering so it wouldn’t be lost. Once the base coats dried, the lettering was meticulously retraced and repainted by hand, including the station name and the east and west terminal destinations. With the restoration complete, all that remained was reinstalling the refreshed station sign back on the Depot.
We extend our sincere thanks to The G.O.A.T. Handyman Services for their excellent work and generous support of our historic railway. Want to be a part of historic restoration project like this? Make a gift to help cover the costs of our ongoing preservation and restoration work!
As a community-supported, volunteer-led nonprofit, everything we do is made possible by supporters like you!
