Dayton Union Station

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.

Dayton Union Station
inter-city rail station
Dayton Union Station In 1904
Location130 West 6th Street, Dayton, OH 45402
Coordinates39.76 N, 84.19 W
Elevation740 ft
History
Closed1979
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Richmond
toward Kansas City
 National Limited Columbus
toward New York or Washington, D.C.
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 – Columbus
via Dayton
 Alpha
toward Columbus
National
toward Cincinnati
 Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway Terminus
Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station
Whitfield
toward Cincinnati
 Toledo Division Johnson
toward Detroit

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.[4]

Famous personalities that 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.[5]

Named trains
Station interior, 1908
OperatorsNamed trainsWestern or northern destinationEastern or southern destinationYear begunYear discontinued
AmtrakNational LimitedKansas City, MissouriNew York, New York19711979
Baltimore and OhioGreat Lakes LimitedDetroit, MichiganCincinnati, Ohio19471950
Baltimore and OhioCincinnatianDetroit, MichiganCincinnati, Ohio19501971
Baltimore and OhioNight ExpressDetroit, MichiganCincinnati, Ohio19601967
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, in 1930 absorbed into the New York CentralCincinnati MercuryCincinnati, OhioCleveland, Ohio19521956
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, in 1930 absorbed into the New York CentralCleveland Special / Cincinnati SpecialCincinnati, OhioCleveland, Ohio1919-1924
1932		1957
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, in 1930 absorbed into the New York CentralMichigan Special / Ohio SpecialDetroit, MichiganCincinnati, Ohio19301958
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, in 1930 absorbed into the New York CentralMidnight SpecialCincinnati, OhioCleveland, Ohio19391958
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, in 1930 absorbed into the New York CentralOhio State LimitedCincinnati, OhioNew York, New York19241967
New York Central RailroadFlorida SunbeamDetroit, MichiganMiami, Florida19361949
Pennsylvania RailroadAmericanSt. Louis, MissouriNew York, New York19251956
Pennsylvania RailroadIndianapolis LimitedIndianapolis, IndianaNew York, New York1950
1953		1957
Pennsylvania Railroad
Penn Central (1968-1970)		Penn TexasSt. Louis, MissouriNew York, New York19481970
Pennsylvania Railroad
Penn Central (1968-1971)		Spirit of St. LouisSt. Louis, MissouriNew York, New York19271971
Pennsylvania RailroadSt. LouisanSt. Louis, MissouriNew York, New York19131967

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 National Limited at the station in February 1978

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.[6] The last remnants of the station were removed altogether in 1989.[7][8]

Notes
  1. "New Union Passenger Station at Dayton O." Engineering News and American Railway Journal. 46. Engineering News Publishing Company. 1901.
  2. Lisa Powell, Dayton Daily News, February 20, 2018, "In its day, Dayton’s Union Station was a “handsome palace”" https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/its-day-dayton-union-station-was-handsome-palace/HvuqWd4qkqWQYWsfPDl1rN/
  3. The Great Union Stations, "Dayton's Passenger Stations of the Past" https://www.chicagorailfan.com/stbcday.html
  4. Lisa Powell, Dayton Daily News, February 20, 2018, "In its day, Dayton’s Union Station was a “handsome palace”" https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/its-day-dayton-union-station-was-handsome-palace/HvuqWd4qkqWQYWsfPDl1rN/
  5. Lisa Powell, Dayton Daily News, February 20, 2018, "In its day, Dayton’s Union Station was a “handsome palace”" https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/its-day-dayton-union-station-was-handsome-palace/HvuqWd4qkqWQYWsfPDl1rN/
  6. Ernest Holsendolph, New York Times, August 30, 1979, "Amtrak Eliminates 6 Passenger Routes Totalling 6,000 Miles," https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/30/archives/amtrak-eliminates-6-passenger-routes-totaling-5000-miles-trims-made.html
  7. Lisa Powell, Dayton Daily News, February 20, 2018, "In its day, Dayton’s Union Station was a “handsome palace”" https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/its-day-dayton-union-station-was-handsome-palace/HvuqWd4qkqWQYWsfPDl1rN/
  8. Lisa Rickey, Wright State University Libraries' Special Collections and Archives, June 16, 2016 "Dayton’s Union Station: Later Years 1960s+"

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