Youngstown station (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad)

Youngstown station is a former passenger railroad station in Youngstown, Ohio. The station is on the ex Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and was a B&O passenger station for most of the twentieth century. The station was built in 1905 and operated as a passenger station until 1971, when the B&O yielded passenger train service to Amtrak.[2] It was later a passenger station for Amtrak through the 1990s and early 2000s.

Youngstown, OH
The former station in March 2021
General information
Location530 Mahoning Avenue
Youngstown, Ohio
Coordinates41°06′10″N 80°39′30″W / 41.10273°N 80.65830°W / 41.10273; -80.65830
Line(s)CSX New Castle Subdivision
Other information
Websitehttp://banquetatthebno.com
History
Opened1905
November 10, 1990
May 16, 1997
Closed1971
September 10, 1995
March 7, 2005
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Akron
toward Chicago
Three Rivers
1997–2005
Pittsburgh
toward New York
Broadway Limited
1990–1995
Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station
Akron–Union
toward Chicago
Main Line Mars
Newton Falls
toward Chicago
Lowellville
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Terminal
Architectural styleColonial Revival
NRHP reference No.86001565[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 10, 1986

History

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Youngstown station in the late 1910s, as it appeared for most its decades of operation, with tracks raised to level of second floor, following 1913 Mahoning River flood.

The station was built in 1905 at the cost of $70,000. It was located on the southern banks of the Mahoning River. This was in contrast to competing stations of the Erie, New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads located in the city's downtown. The B&O raised the railroad tracks to the level of the building's second floor after river flooding of the area, which reached an epic level in March 1913.[3] In 1926 the company added a freight house.[4][2]

Passenger trains

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The B&O's famed Capitol Limited ran through the city, but it did not stop there until later years. Noted passenger trains at 1956 included:[5]

Declining years

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The B&O terminated several trains running through Youngstown over the course of the 1960s. By 1964, the B&O had eliminated the trains to Cleveland. Detroit-bound travelers would need to transfer at Deshler for the Cincinnatian or the Night Express to Detroit.[6]

The B&O in 1964 changed the Capitol Limited to the Capitol. The renamed train began stopping at intermediate stations such as Youngstown.[7] By 1965, only this station and the Erie station on West Commerce Street remained as passenger stations in Youngstown.[8]

In the station's final years the station was serving the Capitol Limited (name restored) and an unnamed day train from Akron to Washington.[9] In 1971 Amtrak took over passenger train operations from the Baltimore & Ohio and this marked the end of passenger trains at the Youngstown station. All remaining rail traffic was strictly freight oriented.[2]

Amtrak

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In the mid-1980s the city bought the station building, amidst anticipation that the building would be demolished. In 1991 a restaurant took over the location.[2] From 1990 to 1995 the station served Amtrak's Broadway Limited (Chicago-New York).[10][11] It was replaced in 1997 with the Three Rivers, which served Youngstown until its 2005 discontinuance.[12][13][14]

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Camp, Mark J. 'Railroad Depots of Northeast Ohio,' Arcadia Publishing, 2007, p. 30.
  3. ^ Mahoning Valley Historical Society, "The Flood of 1913," March 14, 2013 https://mahoninghistory.org/2013/03/14/the-great-flood-of-1913/
  4. ^ "Index of Railroad Stations, 1470". Official Guide of the Railways. 54 (1). National Railway Publication Company. June 1921.
  5. ^ "Baltimore & Ohio Road, Table 13". Official Guide of the Railways. 89 (5). National Railway Publication Company. October 1956.
  6. ^ "Baltimore & Ohio Road, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. 97 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1964.
  7. ^ "Baltimore & Ohio Road, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. 97 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1964.
  8. ^ "Index of Railroad Stations". Official Guide of the Railways. 98 (2). National Railway Publication Company. July 1965.
  9. ^ "Baltimore & Ohio Road, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. 102 (12). National Railway Publication Company. May 1970.
  10. ^ Amtrak timetable, April 7, 1991, 50
  11. ^ Amtrak timetable, October 29, 1995, struck from table
  12. ^ Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
  13. ^ Amtrak timetable, May 11, 1997, 26
  14. ^ Amtrak timetable, April 25, 2005, struck from table
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