Decatur, IL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Former Wabash Railroad and Amtrak passenger rail station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 780 East Cerro Gordo Street, Decatur, Illinois 62523 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | July 1, 1981 (Amtrak) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | May 1, 1971 (Norfolk and Western) [2] July 10, 1983 (Amtrak) [3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wabash Railroad Station and Railway Express Agency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 780 E. Cerro Gordo St., Decatur, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 39°50′50″N88°56′47″W / 39.84722°N 88.94639°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Area | less than one acre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Built | 1901 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Built by | Menke, Edward H. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architect | Link, Theodore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architectural style | Classical Revival | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NRHP reference No. | 94000029 [4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Added to NRHP | February 4, 1994 |
The Decatur station, also known as the Wabash Railroad Station and Railway Express Agency, is a historic railway station located at 780 East Cerro Gordo Street in Decatur, Illinois. Built in 1901, the station served trains on the Wabash Railroad, the most economically significant railroad through Decatur. Architect Theodore Link designed the Classical Revival building. Service to the station ended in the 1980s, and it has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The railroad first reached Decatur in 1854, when the Great Western Railroad built a line through the city. Decatur built Union Station, its first railway station, in 1856 to serve this line. By 1901, the Great Western Railroad had consolidated into the Wabash Railroad, and the old Union Station had fallen into disrepair. The railroad built the present station that year at a cost of $70,000; railroad superintendent H. L. Magee considered the new building one of the most impressive on the line. The Wabash Railroad was the only east-west railroad through Decatur, and its passenger and freight services in the city were both busy. 72 daily passenger trains brought travelers to and from the city at the line's peak in 1907, and $350,000 to $400,000 worth of freight was shipped through the station yearly. The railroad was also Decatur's largest employer; as Decatur was a major hub, it kept division offices and a large dispatcher force there as well as employing railroad operators from the city. Passenger service from the station began to decline in the 1920s, though the railroad (which later merged into the Norfolk & Western) continued service to Decatur until the formation of Amtrak in 1971. [5] Amtrak attempted to restart service with the Illini in 1981, but the service only lasted until 1983 and the station closed for good. [6] The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 1994; it is the only remaining historic railroad station in Decatur. [7]
Wabash Railroad trains serving Decatur Station: [8]
In 1964 the Norfolk and Western acquired the Wabash RR. The Wabash Cannon Ball lasted until the end of N&W passenger train service at the station in 1971. The Blue Bird was truncated in 1968 to the City of Decatur (Decatur - Chicago); this train lasted to 1971 as well.
St. Louis architect Theodore Link designed the station in the Classical Revival style. The station consists of two unconnected parts, built in a similar style from the same materials; the station building itself and the Railway Express Agency building. Both buildings are two stories tall and were built from yellow brick and limestone with terra cotta and sandstone trim. The station's main and east entrances are topped by a pediment with ornamental modillions and flanked by Ionic pilasters. The station's first-floor windows have arched sandstone frames and sills, and two terra cotta belt courses circle the building above and below the second floor The corners of the building have limestone quoins. [7]
Dearborn Station was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at Dearborn and Polk Streets, adjacent to Printers Row. The station was owned by the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad, which itself was owned by the companies operating over its line. The station is now a shopping mall housing office, retail, and entertainment spaces.
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The Illini and Saluki are a pair of passenger trains operated by Amtrak along a 310-mile (500 km) route between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. They are part of Amtrak's Illinois Service and are primarily funded by the state of Illinois. The route is coextensive with the far northern leg of the long-distance City of New Orleans. The Illini has operated since 1973; a previous version operated in 1971–1972 between Chicago and Champaign. The Saluki debuted in 2006.
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Theodore C. Link, FAIA, was a German-born American architect and newspaper publisher. He designed buildings for the 1904 World's Fair, Louisiana State University, and the Mississippi State Capitol.
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Carbondale station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. The southern terminus of Amtrak's Illini and Saluki routes, it is also served by the City of New Orleans. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach service between Carbondale and St. Louis, Missouri connects with the City of New Orleans. Carbondale is the southernmost Amtrak station in Illinois.
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The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; St. Louis, Missouri; and Toledo, Ohio.
The Blue Bird was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Wabash Railroad and its successor the Norfolk and Western Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri. It operated from 1938 to 1971. Beginning in 1950 it was one of the few Wabash passenger trains to carry a dome car and the first dome train in regular operation between the two cities. The train was cut back to Decatur, Illinois, in 1968 and renamed City of Decatur. Amtrak did not retain the City of Decatur, and it made its last run on April 30, 1971.
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The Wabash Cannon Ball was a passenger train on the Wabash Railroad that ran from 1950 to 1971. The train was named after the song "Wabash Cannonball". It was the second train to bear the name "Cannon Ball"; the first was the fast express Cannon Ball, which ran in the late 1800s to the early 20th century.