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
General information
Location130 West 6th Street
Dayton, OH 45402
Coordinates39°45′17″N 84°11′38″W / 39.7548°N 84.1940°W / 39.7548; -84.1940
Elevation740 ft (230 m)
History
Opened1900
Closed1979
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Richmond National Limited Columbus
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
CincinnatiCleveland 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

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

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Station interior, 1908
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

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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.[4] The last remnants of the station were removed altogether in 1989.[2] [5]

Notes

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  1. ^ "New Union Passenger Station at Dayton O." Engineering News and American Railway Journal. Vol. 46. Engineering News Publishing Company. 1901.
  2. ^ a b c d Powell, Lisa (February 20, 2018). "In its day, Dayton's Union Station was a "handsome palace"". Dayton Daily News.
  3. ^ "Dayton's Passenger Stations of the Past". The Great Union Stations.
  4. ^ Holsendolph, Ernest (August 30, 1979). "Amtrak Eliminates 6 Passenger Routes Totalling 6,000 Miles". New York Times.
  5. ^ Rickey, Lisa (June 16, 2016). Dayton's Union Station: Later Years 1960s+. Wright State University Libraries' Special Collections and Archives.
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