Xenia Station
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Xenia Station, located at 150 Miami Avenue in Xenia, Ohio, in the United States, is a replica of Xenia's 1880s brick railroad station.
Built in 1998 by the city of Xenia, Xenia Station houses a local history museum, a classroom/meeting space and an observation tower called the Hub Lookout.
Xenia Station is the hub for 5 regional rail trails, two of which are segments of the unfinished Ohio to Erie Trail, which will run from Cincinnati to Cleveland.[1][2]
[edit] Facilities
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Xenia Station was custom built in 1998 for the city of Xenia by a local contractor[3] and is located on a 9-acre city park of the same name, which has play equipment, picnic tables, a picnic shelter, nature areas, a caboose and off-street parking. The site is the former B&O freight yards. The building's first floor houses a local history museum which includes railroad memorabilia while the second floor has a classroom/meeting space. Xenia Station is also the hub for 5 regional rail trails, two of which are segments of the unfinished Ohio to Erie Trail, which will run from Cincinnati to Cleveland. In addition to the museum and classroom/meeting space, the building also has restrooms, vending machines and water for the bicyclists, hikers and others who use the park. It also has a large map of the rail trails and the Hub Lookout, which is a tower accessible by spiral staircase that provides a panoramic view of the rail trails.[4][5]
[edit] Railroad history
As late as 1960, Xenia had 3 railroads running through it, as follows:
- The B&O Wellston subdivision, which ran between Washington Court House and Dayton;
- The Pennsylvania Railroad's Little Miami branch, between Cincinnati and Springfield: and
- The Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh to St. Louis mainline. Amtrak used this line for the National Limited until 1979.
All 3 railroads were discontinued and dismantled by 1979 or shortly thereafter.
[edit] Rail trails
The crossing of these 3 railroad rights-of-way created 6 spokes on a wheel with Xenia Station in the center. Of these 6 spokes, 5 have been or are being converted to rail trails. The one exception was the B&O line west to Dayton which did not become a trail because it closely paralleled the Pennsylvania mainline to Dayton.[6]
Clockwise from the north, the 5 rails trails are:[7]
[edit] North
The northern branch of the Little Miami Scenic Trail runs from Xenia to Yellow Springs and on to Springfield.
[edit] Northeast
The Prairie Grass Trail (a part of the Ohio to Erie Trail) runs from Xenia to Cedarville and to London and beyond.
[edit] East
The Xenia-Jamestown Connector will run from Xenia to Jamestown and beyond, but there is now a short gap from Xenia Station to Jasper Road.
[edit] South
The southern branch of the Little Miami Scenic Trail is a part of the Ohio to Erie Trail and runs from Xenia to Milford and beyond.
[edit] West
The Creekside Trail, known as the Creekside Recreation Trail in Montgomery County, runs from Xenia to Dayton.
