# Dayton Union Station

Dayton Union Station was a railroad station serving Dayton, Ohio with daily passenger trains of several railroads. The station was located at 251 W. Sixth Street at the intersection of Ludlow Street, and it opened in 1900, replacing an earlier depot built in the mid-1850s. It was owned by the Dayton Union Railroad Co., which was owned by the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad. Through a series of mergers over the years, it was ultimately owned by the New York Central Railroad, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and Pennsylvania Railroad.
Colloquially called the "Tower Depot," it included a seven-story clock tower. In the first 30 years of operation, the station hosted as many as 66 passenger trains a day. In 1931 the station opened an elevated platform to alleviate congestion between trains, streetcars and automobiles.
Famous people who stopped by the station included child actress Shirley Temple in 1944, President Harry S. Truman in 1948 and President Ronald Reagan in 1983, both of the latter two making campaign stops, Reagan making a whistle stop tour.

## Named trains

| Operator | Named train | Western or northern destination | Eastern or southern destination | Year begun | Year discontinued |
| Amtrak | National Limited | Kansas City, Missouri | New York, New York | 1971 | 1979 |
| Baltimore and Ohio | Great Lakes Limited | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1947 | 1950 |
| Baltimore and Ohio | Cincinnatian | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1950 | 1971 |
| Baltimore and Ohio | Night Express | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1960 | 1967 |
| Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis New York Central (after 1930) | Cincinnati Mercury | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cleveland, Ohio | 1952 | 1956 |
| Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis New York Central (after 1930) | Cleveland Special / Cincinnati Special | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cleveland, Ohio | 1919–1924 1932 | 1957 |
| Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis New York Central (after 1930) | Michigan Special / Ohio Special | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1930 | 1958 |
| Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis New York Central (after 1930) | Midnight Special succeeded by the Night Special | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cleveland, Ohio | 1939 successor: 1958 | 1958 successor: 1967 |
| Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis New York Central (after 1930) | Northern Arrow | Mackinaw City, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1935 | 1961 |
| New York Central Railroad | Ohio State Limited | Cincinnati, Ohio | New York, New York | 1924 | 1967 |
| New York Central Railroad | Queen City | Detroit, Michigan | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1949 | 1957 |
| New York Central Railroad | Florida Sunbeam | Detroit, Michigan | Miami, Florida | 1936 | 1949 |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | American | St. Louis, Missouri | New York, New York | 1925 | 1956 |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | Buckeye | Chicago, Illinois | Columbus, Ohio | 1957 | 1969 |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | Indianapolis Limited | Indianapolis, Indiana | New York, New York | 1950 1953 | 1957 |
| Pennsylvania Railroad Penn Central (1968–1970) | Penn Texas | St. Louis, Missouri | New York, New York | 1948 | 1970 |
| Pennsylvania Railroad Penn Central (1968–1971) | Spirit of St. Louis | St. Louis, Missouri | New York, New York | 1927 | 1971 |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | St. Louisan | St. Louis, Missouri | New York, New York | 1913 | 1967 |

## Decline

In summer 1964 part of the station was demolished to make way for an extension of Sixth Street. Amtrak took over passenger service in 1971, and cut back service to a single train, the Spirit of St. Louis, inherited from Penn Central. That train was subsequently extended to Kansas City and renamed the National Limited.
The last train out of the station was the National Limited, which was eliminated in October, 1979 when U.S. Transportation Secretary Brock Adams opted to eliminate half a dozen Amtrak routes he deemed lower performing. The last remnants of the station were removed altogether in 1989.