Central Station was a major station in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. Built in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

style, it served several railroad companies until the mid-20th century. It was situated at North 7th Street and West River Road, near the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

waterfront, and it was also known as the 7th Street Depot. By 1969, only the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

's ''George Washington'' remained at the station. That train last called at the station in April 1971. Central Station was demolished in 1972 to make way for Interstate 64. 'Official Guide to the Railways' 1936, index Central Station (Louisvile, Kentucky)

The other major station in Louisville was Union Station. There, passenger trains of the

Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Ra ...

(Monon),

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

and

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

were served.

Passenger railroads served and significant services

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

**''Great Lakes Limited'' – day train bound for

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, via

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

(in the southerly direction from Detroit passengers needed to get a local connection for the trip from Cincinnati to Louisville) **'' Cincinnatian'' – beginning in 1950, this name was reassigned from an eastern itinerary to the ''Great Lakes Limited'' route **'' Night Express'' night train to Detroit, on same route as the above **local trains to Cincinnati, making connections to the '' Cincinnatian'' (

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

–Cincinnati), ''

Diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

'' (

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.National Limited The ''National Limited'' was the premier train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) on its route between Jersey City, New Jersey and St. Louis, Missouri, with major station stops in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio. (Buses took passenge ...

'' (Jersey City – St. Louis) * Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad **train sections carrying coaches and sleepers of the ''

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

'' and '' Sportsman'' to Ashland, Kentucky, making connecting to the main part of those Phoebus, Virginia and Washington, D.C.-bound trains; by the early 1950s those trains were shortened from Phoebus to Newport News.

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...

and Lexington ( Union Station) were also on the Louisville - Ashland route. *

Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad and commonly abbreviated CCC&StL, was a railroad company in the Midwestern United States. It operated in affiliation with the New York Central system. ...

(absorbed into the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

in 1930) **local trains to Elkhart and South Bend *

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

**''Irvin S. Cobb'' – train bound for Fulton, Kentucky, connecting to the ''Chickasaw'' train to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, whereupon a connection could be made to the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

–bound ''Lousiane'' (previously, in the early 1940s, the ''Louisiane'' originated in Louisville, and took the entire route above described for the ''Irvin S. Cobb,'' as a secondary originating counterpart to the main train section originating in Chicago) **''Kentucky Cardinal'' – train bound for Memphis, whereupon a connection could be made to the New Orleans–bound '' Panama Limited'' (likewise, until the early 1940s, the ''Creole'' originated in Louisville, and took the entire route above described for the ''Creole,'' as a secondary originating counterpart to the main train section originating in Chicago)'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1941, Illinois Central section, Tables 1 and 28

Notes

External links

Ink drawing of Central Station in its heyday1932 and 1937 images of Central Station
{{coord, 38.2583, -85.7610, type:railwaystation_region:US-KY, display=title Former railway stations in Kentucky Former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad stations Former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway stations Former Illinois Central Railroad stations Former New York Central Railroad stations Former Southern Railway (U.S.) stations Transportation buildings and structures in Louisville, Kentucky Demolished buildings and structures in Kentucky Buildings and structures demolished in 1972