Athens station (Ohio)

Athens station is a former train station in Athens, Ohio, adjacent to the campus of Ohio University. It served the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from around 1890 until 1971, then Amtrak from 1976 to 1981. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Athens B & O Train Depot.

Athens, OH
Former Athens station building in 2009
General information
Location	123 West Union Street Athens, Ohio United States
Coordinates	39°19′44″N 82°6′21″W
History
Opened	October 30, 1976
Closed	October 1, 1981 (1981-10-01)
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Chillicothe toward Cincinnati (River Road) Shenandoah 1976–1981 Parkersburg toward Washington, D.C. Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station Grosvenor toward St. Louis St. Louis Line Until 1971 Canaanville toward Cumberland
Athens B & O Train Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Architectural style	Stick-Eastlake[1]
NRHP reference No.	83001944[1]
Added to NRHP	January 11, 1983[1]

History

Athens station in 1984

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) constructed the station building around 1890, replacing an older structure. It is a one-story building in the Stick-Eastlake style, measuring 128.5 by 25.5 feet (39.2 m × 7.8 m). It was modified around 1915: a circular tower was removed, and the ends of the structure were enclosed.^[2]

Athens was on the B&O mainline between Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati. It was served by trains including the St. Louis–Jersey City Diplomat and National Limited, and later the Metropolitan.^[3][4] B&O service on May 1, 1971, when Amtrak took over most remaining intercity passenger train service in the United States.

Amtrak began operating the Cincinnati–Washington, D.C. Shenandoah on October 30, 1976, with a stop at Athens.^[5][6][7] Amtrak added a small "Amshack" east of the station building. The Shenandoah was discontinued on October 1, 1981; it was replaced by the Capitol Limited, which followed a different route west of Cumberland and did not serve Athens.^[8] The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 11, 1983.^[1] The tracks through Athens were later removed, but some parts were still present well into the 2010s, such as just behind the Athens Public Library.

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. June 30, 2007.
2. Kurlinski, Kathleen; Goodman, Donna (December 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form: Athens B & O Train Depot". National Park Service.
3. "Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Table 42". Official Guide of the Railways. 86 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1953.
4. "Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Table 2". Official Guide of the Railways. 102 (12). National Railway Publication Company. May 1970.
5. "Large Turnout for Amtrak Inaugural". The Chillicothe Gazette. November 1, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Now You Can Track Down Washington During The Day". The Cincinnati Enquirer. December 9, 1976. p. 22. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
7. National Train Timetables. Amtrak. October 31, 1976. p. 38.
8. "2 Amtrak Trains on Last Runs". The Mansfield News-Journal. October 1, 1981. p. 30. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

Media related to Athens station (Ohio) at Wikimedia Commons