The railroad first reached Decatur in 1854, when the Great Western Railroad built a line through the city. Decatur built Union Station, its first railway station, in 1856 to serve this line. By 1901, the Great Western Railroad had consolidated into the Wabash Railroad, and the old Union Station had fallen into disrepair. The railroad built the present station that year at a cost of $70,000; railroad superintendent H. L. Magee considered the new building one of the most impressive on the line. The Wabash Railroad was the only east-west railroad through Decatur, and its passenger and freight services in the city were both busy. 72 daily passenger trains brought travelers to and from the city at the line's peak in 1907, and $350,000 to $400,000 worth of freight was shipped through the station yearly. The railroad was also Decatur's largest employer; as Decatur was a major hub, it kept division offices and a large dispatcher force there as well as employing railroad operators from the city. Passenger service from the station began to decline in the 1920s, though the railroad continued service to Decatur until the formation of Amtrak in 1971. Amtrak unsuccessfully attempted to restart service with the Illini in 1981, but the service only lasted until 1983 and the station closed for good. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 1994; it is the only remaining historic railroad station in Decatur.
Architecture
architect Theodore Link designed the station in the Classical Revival style. The station consists of two unconnected parts, built in a similar style from the same materials; the station building itself and the Railway Express Agency building. Both buildings are two stories tall and were built from yellow brick and limestone with terra cotta and sandstone trim. The station's main and east entrances are topped by a pediment with ornamental modillions and flanked by Ionic pilasters. The station's first-floor windows have arched sandstone frames and sills, and two terra cotta belt courses circle the building above and below the second floor The corners of the building have limestone quoins.
