HEBRON — The fate of a 19th-century railroad building remains in limbo as time runs out for the Hebron Historical Society to move it this month.

Society members are attempting to save the only surviving building of the town’s once-thriving railroad complex, after voters in April refused a $5,000 request to restore it and selectmen ordered it moved from in front of the highway garage on Station Road by the end of August.

Some selectmen argued against saving the building, saying it was filled with lead paint and not worth the effort or expense.

In June, the majority of School Administrative District 17 directors agreed to allow the society to move it to Hebron Station School property if the exterior is renovated first and no one is allowed inside until it is restored.

Society members said the site would make the building visible and usable for educational purposes. 

Society Vice President Bob Swift said recently that the society will have to ask the town for more time to address the issues and get the building moved. 

“We’ll have to address it with the town and see if it’s still feasible to do it,” he said.

Swift recently met with a professional to determine if the station contains lead paint.

“We do have lead,” he said. While society members were fairly certain they would have widespread lead paint on the outside of the building, they were surprised that the interior only contains a small area of lead paint, he said.

Swift said the building also needs to be re-roofed and other structural repairs made before it can be moved.

“We have to sit down and determine how we handle it,” Swift said.

One way to expedite restoration is to encapsulate the lead paint, which would require approval of SAD 17 directors, he said. Encapsulation involves applying materials over the paint to prevent the release of paint chips or dust.

Hebron Station School, built in 2002 in the area of the Hebron railroad station and freight buildings, was named for the station.

The line was last used by the Maine Central Railroad in 1945.

ldixon@sunmediagroup.net

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