Dayton’s Lost Union Station and Early Train History

In my book Lost Dayton, Ohio I cover Dayton’s Union Station, a beautiful brick structure including a seven-story clock tower which was once a hub of activity downtown.

This article will showcase that magnificent station that’s been gone for many years, but it turns out that it was far from the only site important to Dayton’s rail history.

The first railroads came to Dayton all the way back in 1851.

At first, most of the different lines had their own depot, including the Miami River and Lake Erie Railroad which was located at the northeast corner of Sixth and Jefferson Streets.

Other early lines included the Dayton and Michigan Railroad and the Dayton and Western Railroad.

The Beginnings of Dayton’s Union Station

But soon, a union station with a round top was built by the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad at Sixth and Ludlow Streets. Most of the lines would come to use this station, which was similar in appearance to the covered depots in Cincinnati at the time.

Dayton’s depot featured a baggage room, a ticket office, separate waiting rooms for ladies and gentlemen, a telegraph office, and even a restaurant. But “little attempt was made to prevent smoke and soot within the train shed” and its size would prove inadequate as Dayton continued to grow.

The “Round Top” Depot

A few other stations around town remained in operation into the late 1800s. On Third Street just east of the buildings that today make up the Cannery apartments was the Pennsylvania R. R. Freight House and Passenger Depot. The station was demolished when the tracks were elevated in 1930.

Dayton’s Iconic Union Station: The Tower Depot

Around the turn of the century, Dayton’s needs for a larger train depot led to the construction of the new Union Station, which was built just to the north of the old round top depot at a cost of  $780,000.

It was officially dedicated on July 21, 1900 and would go on to be Dayton’s beloved station for decades.

At its peak as many as 66 passenger trains came through on a daily basis.

But as train travel waned beginning in the 1940s and 50s, Union Station began a steady decline which resulted in its eventual demolition. The last train ran in 1979.

Dayton’s Lost Train Station Then and Now

The train was located downtown around 6th and Ludlow and Wilkinson Streets. You can see Emmanuel Catholic Church circled in both of the images below (although the tall spires were removed in 1956 due to wind damage).

Today, many of the same tracks are still used for freight rail.

Could Dayton Ever Get Train Service Again?

In recent years there has been some recent momentum to try to push for a return of passenger train service to Dayton.

Amtrak has been considering a “3C+D” passenger rail route that would link Dayton and a few other cities to the larger metros of Cincinnati, Columbus, and and Cleveland.

All Aboard Ohio, a transit advocacy organization, has said that Dayton is “really going to be the key to having this discussion, particularly at the state and federal level.”

So perhaps one day, Daytonians will be able to once again board a train at a new station, which officials have said would be located at the same spot as the old Union Station.

Sources:
Historic images courtesy of Dayton Metro Library
Dayton Ohio Railroad History
Camp, Mark. Railroad Depots of Southwest Ohio. 2010. Charleston, SC: Arcadia
Dayton’s Union Station: Early Years. Wright State University Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives