BY DARRELL HALEN

Plans for renovating the old train depot station in Salem are moving along, thanks to $60,000 that will be used to remove asbestos from the structure and raze a portion of the building.

Selectmen recently authorized the use of the money, which will come from the Depot Trust Fund.

Built in 1867, the now-vacant building stands near the intersection of Main Street and Route 28. It’s considered an eyesore by some, but a group of volunteers want to return it to its past glory.

“I like old buildings,” said Dianne Paquette, a lifelong Salem resident who heads up the committee to renovate the Depot. “I enjoy the prospect of bringing the building back.”

The building needs a lot of work – among the problems is a leaky roof and the need for a new furnace and plumbing, but it is structurally sound, Paquette said.

The group has plans to renovate it to look as it did in 1912, and to install air conditioning and make it handicap accessible. Once fixed, it could bring in rental income to the town, Paquette said.

“It has value. It has a unique location,” said Paquette. “This is the building that makes the Salem Depot.”

Demolition of an office added to the building will be done in December, after asbestos is cleared out a month earlier.

Renovating the building would cost thousands of dollars, but Paquette hopes the project can be financed with private money with work being done by volunteers. Already, a host of skilled workers who can do carpentry, plumping, electrical, and roofing work have been lined up.

“We want everyone to feel they had a little part in the restoration,” she said.

Paquette previously worked with others to replace playgrounds at Fisk and Palmer schools, and has a background in finance.

“People who know me know I try to get donations and grants and money where I can get it,” she said.    

There is no timetable to finish the project. But when it’s done, she said, she believes that people who thought the building should be torn down will say that restoring it was worth the effort.