Decatur, IL: 1855-1901 Union Station

(Satellite, it was in the southeast quadrant)

This depot was replaced by the Wabash and IC depots at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Sammy Smith -> Follow the Flag Wabash Railroad
Decatur's Union Station before the IC and Wabash stations were built. Sat, I think, basically across the IC from WABIC tower.

Herald-Review
1921: An old Decatur landmark, Union Station was built in 1855, and was torn down Oct. 16, 1901. It served the Illinois Central and Wabash Railroad until each of the railroads built its own station. (H&R file photo

Note the octagon control tower in the foreground of the above two photos. The following photo confirms that this station was across the tracks from the WABIC tower and thus it was in the southeast quadrant.

Steve Gingo posted via Dennis DeBruler

History of the Heartland posted

Decatur's first train station was Union Station, which served both the Illinois Central and Wabash railroads.  Built in 1855, it stood at the southeast intersection of the diamond formed by the tracks where they met near East Cerro Gordo Street and Front Street.  This location is on the opposite side of the IC tracks to the east of where the Wabash Depot stands today.  Union Station was razed after the Illinois Central and Wabash built their own depots in 1900 and 1901, respectively.

Although no one living has any memory of the station, we do have detailed descriptions of the structure. The land where Union Station was erected was a five-acre parcel donated by B.H. Cassell to the Illinois Central on July 4, 1853, for the specific purpose of building a union station. 

The depot was a two-story brick building with an eight-sided three-story tower on its northwest corner adjacent to the track diamond.  There were two wings, one used by the Illinois Central aligned north-south, and one used by the Wabash running east-west.

The Illinois Central wing held the dining room, telegraph office, and baggage room for IC traffic. The Wabash wing held separate waiting rooms for men and women. A large oil painting commemorating General Washington's triumphal return to New York City, hung in the Ladies' waiting room. The ticket offices were in the center of the first floor. The tower section held a smoking room.

The second story was devoted to the Central House Hotel, which had 20 sleeping rooms.  The hotel office was on the first floor. 

A separate building just east of the depot was used for baggage and express agency offices.  The edge of that building can be seen on the left of the photo.

Abraham Lincoln was very familiar with the station. His last visit was on his way to inauguration in 1861.

Bob Sampson: The center of the 1894 Pullman Strike.

Richard Fiedler shared