DOWAGIAC — Nearly a year after a local man began raising money to once again “Light Up the Depot,” the soft glow of nighttime illumination will soon return the city’s historic downtown train station.

Over the last several days, Ron Pierson, with Battle Creek-based Christmas Décor of Northwest Michigan, has scaled the roof of the 1903 train depot in order to replace the outdoor light fixtures that once hung from the rooftop of the building, located across from City Hall on Depot Drive. According to Dowagiac’s Ron Leatz, who led the campaign to fund the installation, Pierson should have the 1,400 lightbulbs installed and ready for display by Tuesday.

The installation marks the conclusion of Leatz’s yearlong quest to reinstall outdoor lighting on the train station. The first system, installed in 2010, was deactivated last year after damage to the wiring was causing problems with the rest of the building.

The Dowagiac man — who raised $8,000 in donations to first install the lights seven years ago — decided to once again reach out to the Dowagiac community for help. From October 2016 to April 2017, Leatz raised $5,200 to pay for Pierson’s services, as well as for 2,200 feet of new, heavy-duty wiring — around three times as durable as the cabling used in 2010, Pierson said.

While the cords powering the system may be new, people should instantly recognize the LED bulbs twinkling in the Dowagiac nightscape. Instead of replacing the bulbs — which, outside of two or three that burned out, remain in great condition — Pierson decided to reuse them, which cut the price of the project by nearly half.

While the lights may resemble the kind of fixtures one would see put up around homes and businesses around Christmas, the new lights will be anything but seasonal, Leatz said. Instead, the city will turn them on during the evening hours every day throughout the year, switching them on at dusk and turning them off before midnight, after the last train of the day departs.

This is a major change from before, when the lights were only switched on during the late fall and winter. The additional months of use will hardly impact the city’s bottom line, given how energy efficient the LED lighting is, Pierson said.

“It’s pretty cheap in terms of electricity,” he said. “The cost will be pretty slim.”

As part of the contract, Pierson will also provide maintenance and repairs to the lights free of charge throughout the next two years, Leatz said.

Pierson, who was assisted by his wife, Beth, is quite familiar with Dowagiac train depot, as he also installed the lights in 2010, back when his company was known as Christmas for Rent. Besides offering him a chance to work with a 114-year-old building, the depot project also allows him to get closer to his roots — his grandfather was originally from Dowagiac, he said.

Inside the station, Leatz has installed a plaque that lists the names of everyone who has chipped in the last seven years to help light — and relight — up the depot.

“It was the people of Dowagiac who made this project happen,” Leatz said. “I’m not the guy who came up with $13,000 to put the lights on the station — it was the people.”