BUILDING DESCRIIPTION
The Berea Union Depot was a significant hub in the railroad networks of northeastern Ohio from the time of its construction in 1876 until its closing in 1931.
The Cleveland, Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad was constructed in 1850 and passed through Berea. By the mid-1870s a new passenger station was needed. The growth of Berea and its railroad facilities was due to the fact that the Berea stone quarry industry constituted the world's largest sandstone operations in the late 19th century. Construction of the new depot was completed on May 3, 1876. The Plain Dealer called the building "the finest passenger facility outside the big cities." In addition to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & Indianapolis Railroad, the station was later used by the Big Four (Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Chicago) and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, later combined to form the New York Central and finally the Penn Central. In the 1880s ten trains each day east and west and eight trains each day north and south stopped at the station. The depot also served a local street railway.
The sandstone construction and Victorian Gothic detail of the Berea depot are unusual for northeastern Ohio, where wooden and occasionally brick stations are more common. In addition to its architectural character and its importance in the history of Berea industry, the Berea Union Depot has always been a significant source of civic pride, including its designation as a historic site by the Berea City Council in 1980.
The Berea Union Depot is a two-story building in the Victorian Gothic style with a gable roof and a square tower projecting from the north side of the building. It is a masonry structure of Berea sandstone measuring approximately 24 feet by 70 feet, with load-bearing walls approximately 12 inches thick. The wooden roof joists support a roof of slate shingles. The windows of the first story are rectangular, and there are two Gothic windows in each end of the building, a large pointed window in a south gable, and three lancets on each face of the tower. A large masonry archway in the base of the tower provides the main entrance to the building. The tower originally had a steep mansard roof and elaborate ornamental cresting which have been removed. There are 10-foot wide platforms on the north, east, and south sides of the building which are sheltered by bracketed veranda roofs.
The interior is divided into two waiting rooms, a ticket and telegraph office, a baggage room, and a rest room. The ceilings are 17 feet high. The interior wooden trim of oak, consisting of ceiling moldings, window casings, and walls of vertical siding, is 90% intact.
After sitting unused from 1958-1980 the building was restored and turned into a restaurant. There is also a restored Pullman car onsite.
RAILFANNING
By far, the single busiest railfan location east of Chicago. Berea was the "X" of the Conrail system. The X is where the four busiest lines of Conrail met. Chicago Line (Chicago to Selkirk, NY), Pittsburgh Line (Cleveland to Philadelphia), and the St. Louis Line (Cleveland to East St. Louis, IL). Today Berea is once again a two railroad town. Norfolk Southern operates the Chicago Line west of Cleveland, and the Pittsburgh Line. CSX Transportation operates the Chicago Line east of Cleveland, and the St. Louis Line. Today, traffic patterns have slightly changed since Conrail, but only for the better. Berea is busier than ever, NS may run slightly more trains then CSX through Berea, but who's counting when there are about 100 trains each 24-hours. Every & any kind of train can be seen in Berea (except steam trains).
Expect about 100 trains during a 24-hour period. Two major mainlines can host every type of train CSX / NS have to offer, Merchandise, intermodal / double stacks, automobiles, coal, grain, stone, coke, dimensional, army trains, the list can go on and on. Amtrak passes 4 times daily (#'s 29, 30, 48, 49) all of these Amtrak train pass between midnight and 5am. The regional railroad Wheeling & Lake Erie make an appearance a few times a week, days and times on those trains vary.
CACHE INSTRUCTIONS
At the the posted coordinates you will find a Pullman Car.
To get the coordinates for the Northerly, take the year on the side of the car and add 801 to that number. The total will give you the Northerly coordinates.
To get the coordinates for the Westerly, on the Pullman railcar trucks, look for (AAR-####). Take the year(####) after AAR and subtract 479 from that number. The total will give you the Westerly coordinates.
CONTAINER IS NOT LOCATED NEAR ANY RAILROAD TRACKS. THERE IS NO NEED TO CROSS OR GO NEAR ANY RAILROAD TRACKS IN ORDER TO FIND THE CACHE.
Parking is available at the West end of the parking lot from the station and is available 24/7. Berea police and Norfolk Southern/CSX police and employees regularly patrol the area and while it is ok to stay in the grass area and parking lot, DO NOT TRESPASS ONTO RAILROAD PROPERTY.
Here are the links to my other railfan park caches in Ohio:
DESHLER CROSSROADS RAILFAN PARK
FOSTORIA RAIL PARK
KEMPER RAIL PARK
MARION UNION STATION
RAILFANNING AT THE BEREA UNION DEPOT
TRAINSPOTTING IN LEIPSIC
WORTHINGTON TRAIN OBSERVATION PARK