Dayton Union Station
Preceding station | Amtrak | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Richmond toward Kansas City | National Limited | Columbus toward New York or Washington, D.C. | ||
Preceding station | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | Following station | ||
Whitfield toward Cincinnati | Toledo Division | Johnson toward Detroit | ||
Preceding station | New York Central Railroad | Following station | ||
West Carrollton toward Cincinnati | Cincinnati – Cleveland | Osborn toward Cleveland | ||
Preceding station | Pennsylvania Railroad | Following station | ||
Richmond toward St. Louis | St. Louis – Pittsburgh via Dayton | Alpha toward Pittsburgh | ||
National toward Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway | Terminus |
Dayton Union Station was a railroad station serving Dayton, Ohio with daily passenger trains of several railroads. The station was located at 251 W. Sixth Street at the intersection of Ludlow Street, and it opened in 1900, replacing an earlier depot built in the mid-1850s. It was owned by the Dayton Union Railroad Co., which was owned by the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.[1] Through a series of mergers over the years, it was ultimately owned by the New York Central Railroad, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and Pennsylvania Railroad.
Colloquially called the "Tower Depot," it included a seven-story clock tower.[2][3] In the first 30 years of operation, the station hosted as many as 66 passenger trains a day. In 1931 the station opened an elevated platform to alleviate congestion between trains, streetcars and automobiles.[2]
Famous people who stopped by the station included child actress Shirley Temple in 1944, President Harry S. Truman in 1948 and President Ronald Reagan in 1983, both of the latter two making campaign stops, Reagan making a whistle stop tour.[2]
Named trains
Operator | Named train | Western or northern destination | Eastern or southern destination | Year begun | Year discontinued |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amtrak | National Limited | Kansas City, Missouri | New York, New York | 1971 | 1979 |
Baltimore and Ohio | Great Lakes Limited | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1947 | 1950 |
Cincinnatian | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1950 | 1971 | |
Night Express | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1960 | 1967 | |
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis New York Central (after 1930) | Cincinnati Mercury | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cleveland, Ohio | 1952 | 1956 |
Cleveland Special / Cincinnati Special | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cleveland, Ohio | 1919–1924 1932 | 1957 | |
Michigan Special / Ohio Special | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1930 | 1958 | |
Midnight Special succeeded by the Night Special | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cleveland, Ohio | 1939 successor: 1958 | 1958 successor: 1967 | |
Northern Arrow | Mackinaw City, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1935 | 1961 | |
New York Central Railroad | Ohio State Limited | Cincinnati, Ohio | New York, New York | 1924 | 1967 |
New York Central Railroad | Queen City | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1949 | 1957 |
New York Central Railroad | Florida Sunbeam | Detroit, Michigan | Miami, Florida | 1936 | 1949 |
Pennsylvania Railroad | American | St. Louis, Missouri | New York, New York | 1925 | 1956 |
Buckeye | Chicago, Illinois | Columbus, Ohio | 1957 | 1969 | |
Pennsylvania Railroad | Indianapolis Limited | Indianapolis, Indiana | New York, New York | 1950 1953 | 1957 |
Pennsylvania Railroad Penn Central (1968–1970) | Penn Texas | St. Louis, Missouri | New York, New York | 1948 | 1970 |
Pennsylvania Railroad Penn Central (1968–1971) | Spirit of St. Louis | St. Louis, Missouri | New York, New York | 1927 | 1971 |
Pennsylvania Railroad | St. Louisan | St. Louis, Missouri | New York, New York | 1913 | 1967 |
Decline
In summer 1964 part of the station was demolished to make way for an extension of Sixth Street. Amtrak took over passenger service in 1971, and cut back service to a single train, the Spirit of St. Louis, inherited from Penn Central. That train was subsequently extended to Kansas City and renamed the National Limited.
The last train out of the station was the National Limited, which was eliminated in October, 1979 when U.S. Transportation Secretary Brock Adams opted to eliminate half a dozen Amtrak routes he deemed lower performing.[4] The last remnants of the station were removed altogether in 1989.[2] [5]
Notes
- ^ "New Union Passenger Station at Dayton O." Engineering News and American Railway Journal. Vol. 46. Engineering News Publishing Company. 1901.
- ^ a b c d Powell, Lisa (February 20, 2018). "In its day, Dayton's Union Station was a "handsome palace"". Dayton Daily News.
- ^ "Dayton's Passenger Stations of the Past". The Great Union Stations.
- ^ Holsendolph, Ernest (August 30, 1979). "Amtrak Eliminates 6 Passenger Routes Totalling 6,000 Miles". New York Times.
- ^ Rickey, Lisa (June 16, 2016). Dayton's Union Station: Later Years 1960s+. Wright State University Libraries' Special Collections and Archives.
External links
- Wright State University Libraries' Special Collections and Archives - Dayton’s Union Station: Early Years -Photos of the station in its earliest decades
- Wright State University Libraries' Special Collections and Archives - Dayton’s Union Station: 1940s & 1950s -Photos of the station from the mid-20th Century
- Wright State University Libraries' Special Collections and Archives - Dayton’s Union Station: Later Years 1960s+ -Photos of the station from the 1960s to the 1980s
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