Delaware Big Four Depot was completed in 1887 by the

Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway (CCC&I) was formed from the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad (CC&C) with the Bellefontaine Railway in 1868. The Bellefontaine had been formed by a merger of t ...

(CCC&I). The brick structure is in Delaware, Ohio, on the east side of the

Olentangy River The Olentangy River is a tributary of the Scioto River in Ohio, United States. History It was originally called ''keenhongsheconsepung'', a Delaware word literally translated as "sharp tool river", based on the shale found along its shores. ...

, and opposite side of the river from

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

. The building was a successor to an earlier frame structure built in the 1850s. The CCC&I was absorbed two years later into the

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. ...

, also commonly known as the 'Big Four.' Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway in 1906 acquired the CCC&I; however, the Big Four operated as a separate entity until 1930 when the Big Four was fully absorbed into New York Central operations. In Delaware, Ohio, two other railroads, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 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 ...

had stations with passenger service. Yet, the Big Four Depot was the far busier station. In 1944, in the latter years of World War II there were several trains a day. In each direction (north and south) four trains on the

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 ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

corridor: three daily and one daily except Sunday train; additionally, there was a Cincinnati-Cleveland train making daily stops at the station. By the early 1960s, service declined to a Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland train, the ''Night Special.'' The train ceased stopping at the station on November 19, 1965. The station continued for few years as a freight depot. The building is extant. Preservationists and other community activists have sought protect and renovate the building. In 2018 the building was added to Preservation Ohio's list of most endangered historic sites. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. The city of Delaware had other stations, run by the

and

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 ...

, respectively. The C&O continued to run a train north to Detroit and south to Ashland, Kentucky until 1971."Project 1971," U. S. Passenger Trains operating on the eve of Amtrak, Reference: Journey to Amtrak; Harold A. Edmonson, Ed.; Kalmbach Publications; ©1972 https://www.streamlinerschedules.com/project1971.html

References

{{reflist Railway stations in the United States opened in 1887 Former New York Central Railroad stations Former railway stations in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Delaware County, Ohio Delaware, Ohio Railway stations in the United States closed in 1965