By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Norfolk Southern Railroad delayed Monday’s scheduled demolition of the old freight depot but still plans to tear down the structure unless Historic Salisbury Foundation moves it.
The railroad has offered to give Historic Salisbury the 1907 freight depot, which stands near North Lee Street.
But foundation Executive Director Brian Davis said moving the depot, which measures 45 feet by 200 feet, would be impossible without dismantling it. And if relocated, the depot would lose its designation on the National Register of Historic Places, Davis said.
The foundation wants to leave the building where it is, install a fence for security and use the facility as the new location for the Salisbury farmers market and an architectural salvage warehouse. As the new owner, the foundation would insure the building and lease the land for a nominal fee, Davis said.
The railroad considers the depot a liability and cannot allow it to remain in place, an official said.
“We have had an increased amount of trespassing issues and safety issues up and down that corridor, around the wye,” said Matthew Jones, Norfolk Southern property manager for North Carolina.
The depot stands alone in the “wye” formed by the tracks going north-south and west.
Although the building has been vacant since 2007, the railroad has a new sense of urgency to demolish or remove the building due to break-ins and a development opportunity, Jones said.
While he would not give details, Jones said the railroad may use the wye for “some sort of development” in conjunction with railroad operations.
Davis said the railroad wants to build another depot at the location, and he believes the two buildings could coexist.
Jones, who walked through the old freight depot recently with Davis and other Salisbury and railroad officials, described the building as dilapidated and said the depot would require work before it could house a business.
Davis disagreed.
“It is actually in really good condition,” he said. “It’s pretty much fine as it is right now.”
He said the only structural issue is a beam along the north wall that holds up the floor joist, which has settled and needs to be replaced.
A lawyer for the railroad said the depot is “quite simply falling down” and unsafe because of an unstable foundation and the building’s location in the wye.
“It’s bounded on all three sides with active track,” Jones said.
Sixty-plus trains pass the depot each day, he said, making the location dangerous for pedestrians. Jones and Rob Chapman, spokesman for Norfolk Southern, did not have the number of break-ins and trespassers reported by railroad police.
Jones would not comment on the historical significance of the building and said he is focused on the safety aspect.
“They are pretty adamant it is coming down,” Davis said.
The foundation has launched a letter-writing campaign to try to persuade the railroad to allow the depot to stand. The building is listed as a contributing structure in the Salisbury Railroad Corridor Historic District.
“It is an invaluable piece of history for a community such as ours that emphasizes railroad history as much as any place in the South,” Susan Sides, foundation president, wrote in a letter to Norfolk Southern.
While the city of Salisbury insists the railroad must obtain a permit before demolishing the depot, which could take more than a year, Norfolk Southern argues that federal laws governing interstate commerce preempt any state law or local ordinance. Denying or delaying the demolition of the depot interferes with rail transportation, Norfolk Southern attorney Gary Bryant wrote in a letter to City Attorney Rivers Lawther.
Lawther said a judge would have to decide who is right, the city or the railroad.
Neither City Council nor Historic Salisbury has filed a lawsuit.
Lawther said to his knowledge, the railroad has delayed demolition for 30 days. Railroad officials said they will not release the new date.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.