A layer of tiny metallic shavings and a wall of oversized electrical breakers were among the last remnants of Hill’s Machine Shop’s 50-year run in Lansford’s old train station.

As Lansford borough celebrated the purchase of the station, there was a lot of excitement about what its next chapter holds.

With hope from groups like the Chamber and Lansford Alive, the borough hopes to resurrect the building as a hub - not necessarily for transportation, but for tourism.

Historic preservation is not cheap or easy. Restoring a historic building costs a lot more than building a new one. Small towns in particular have a lot of needs, and very few of them have a lot of extra money sitting around to fix them.

In Pennsylvania, there is so much history that we sometimes take these places for granted. Sometimes it appears that old buildings get in the way of progress. There is no doubt that there are many blighted buildings that simply cannot justify the cost that it would take to restore them.

But in the short term, the market doesn’t always show their true long-term value.

Historic buildings are part of a town’s identity. A new building can never be as real as something that was part of the area’s history. Ornate storefronts like those on Tamaqua’s West Broad Street cannot and will not ever be built the same way. As State Rep. Doyle Heffley said during Tuesday’s celebration, there are amusement parks who build main streets modeled after towns like the ones that we have here. “That is what’s great about Carbon County. It’s real. Not recreated,” Heffley said.

Lansford already has an amusement-park quality attraction in the No. 9 Mine, which brings many tourists. Someday, they could head to the station afterward for coffee on an outdoor patio.

Amusement parks - as well as college towns - are built with a quality that also comes from small towns like those in Carbon County - walkability. For 75 years, planners have tried to mold communities across the country around the automobile, making commercial districts where it’s impossible to walk.

In cities and wealthy suburbs, residents are once again looking for towns where they can walk to the grocery store, hardware store, or library. Residents of towns like Tamaqua have had that ability all along. Kathy Henderson, the Carbon Chamber’s Economic Development Director said on Tuesday that bringing new investment to these existing downtown areas should be a priority.

“Making these communities walkable so you can live, work and play within walking distance of your home - affordable housing, good paying jobs, that’s what it’s all about,” she said.

Walkable downtowns also make it possible for small businesses to thrive. Starting a small retail store can be expensive though. Projects like the Slatington Marketplace have shown how an old industrial building can provide a relatively inexpensive way for small business owners do develop a following before committing the capital to occupying an entire storefront.

BJ Berk of Lansford Alive, an organization dedicated to promoting business in Lansford, sees an opportunity for the old train station to house startups which could someday restore old storefronts in the town’s business district.

“Ridge Street was once a booming area and maybe we’ll see that again,” he said.

Lansford’s decision to revitalize the station isn’t without risk, but there’s a chance that it could lead to more businesses, and make it more feasible for more of the buildings from the town’s heyday to be restored.

One thing is for sure - once they’re lost to the wrecking ball, they can’t be brought back.