Abandoned train station in Ohio

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The railroad itself has an early history in Sandusky. Beginning with the Monroeville and Sandusky City Railroad Company, chartered on March 9^th, 1835, several mergers of local lines led to the founding of the Sandusky, Mansfield, and Newark Railroad Company on November 23^rd, 1853. This was the second oldest railway in Ohio. On February 13^th, 1869, to evade an Ohio statute against out of state companies leasing Ohio railroads, this line was leased to the Central Ohio Railroad Company, although the Baltimore and Ohio Company guaranteed the rent and owned most of the stock.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Depot was a wooden house on Market Street until 1910, when the present building was constructed. It accommodated the business offices of the company as well as the passenger service for the city, which often increased during the summer with visitors to the nearby Cedar Point resort area. Regular passenger runs ended in the 1940's, although occasional excursions for summer vacationers ran until the 1960's. The tracks next to the station were used for freight traffic until the mid-1970's when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, owned by the Chessie System, applied for abandonment of the line.

However, the station does have local significance and is an interesting variation of many stations built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in the early 1900's.

Building Description

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Depot stands on a narrow corner lot with the tracks approximately 25 feet from the building. The site is mostly overgrown with weeds.

The structure is of brick with a one-and-one-half story central section flanked by one story side wings. The hip roof, surfaced with red clay tiles, flares slightly at the eaves to create wide overhangs supported by flat wooden brackets. The yellow, iron-spot face brick is laid in a Flemish bond pattern with projecting courses forming a continuous cornice as well as quoins and an upper sill on the main block. The brick also forms a three-centered arch above the two entrances and flat arches above the first floor windows. Stone is used at the ground level watertable, at the continuous chamfered sill under the lower windows, and as keystones above the two main entrances and their four flanking windows.

These entrances also have arched transoms, double paneled doors, and sidelights. Two corner baggage entrances have rectangular transoms and no sidelights.

The interior consists of a central waiting area, with baggage handling facilities to one side and company offices to the other. There have been few changes made to the building except for the enclosure of windows and doors with boards to protect the interior from vandals.

(1977)

(1977)

(1977)