Marion Union Station Explained

Marion
Style:Erie Railroad
Address:532 West Center Street, Marion, Ohio 43302
Coordinates:40.5894°N -83.1406°W
Line:Main Line (Kent Division)
Platform:6 side platforms
Tracks:4
Opened:July 31,1902[1]
Closed:January 6, 1970 (Erie-Lackawanna Railroad)[2]
Code:5909 (Erie Railroad)[3]
Other Services Header:Former services

Marion Union Station is a former passenger railroad station at 532 W. Center Street in Marion, Ohio, United States. As a union station it served several train lines: the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway or CCC & St. L. (acquired in 1906 by the New York Central Railroad), and Erie Railroad (and its successor Erie Lackawanna Railroad). These lines intersected at the station, so it was a significant transfer point between different geographic points.

History

It was built in 1902 (opening on July 31), it featured marble walls and patterned mosaic tiles on the floor. In 1923, it was the last stop on President Warren Harding's funeral train. It was a canteen stop for soldiers during World War II. It had its last long-distance train in 1971 with the end of the Chesapeake & Ohio's connector line to the George Washington.[4]

Into the 1960s, it was a stop for several long-distance passenger trains on the following railroads:[5] [6] [7] [8]

Disposition today

Presently the station is the site of a museum run by the Marion Union Station Association.[4]

About 60 CSX and Norfolk Southern freight trains pass by each day.[9]

Notes and References

  1. News: Railroad . December 29, 2019 . The News-Forum . August 5, 1902 . . 3. Newspapers.com.
  2. Web site: Erie Lackawanna Time Table – Effective June 15, 1969. June 15, 1969. Erie Lackawanna Railway. December 28, 2019.
  3. Web site: List of Station Names and Numbers. May 1, 1916. Erie Railroad. Jersey City, New Jersey. December 28, 2019.
  4. MarionMade, January 17, 2018, 'Marion Union Station' http://www.marionmade.org/2018/01/marion-union-station/
  5. Official Guide of the Railways, June 1961, Chesapeake and Ohio section
  6. Official Guide of the Railways, June 1961, Erie Lackawanna section
  7. New York Central timetable, July 1959, Table 17
  8. New York Central timetable, April 1967, Table 6
  9. Railfan Guides of the U.S.A., 'Marion, OH' https://www.railfanguides.us/oh/marion/