VERMILION — Traffic hurries by the old, white-washed building that sits a few hundred feet from the railroad tracks it once served.

This one-time train depot fell out of use decades ago when trains faded into memory as a major means of transporting people for work and pleasure.

But now the old Nickel Plate Train Station located off State Route 60 has become a focus of attention for area railroad buffs who want to restore the structure into a rail museum celebrating the glory days of railroading across northern Ohio.

Ron Shobert, 79, chairs the Vermilion Train, Rail and Depot Buffs, whose members have donated lots of hours over the last few years to clean and pressure-wash the structure, chip away old paint, tear out old electrical wiring and add a new roof.

More work needs to be done before the building can house a museum. The group will discuss avenues of raising money and other efforts at its next bimonthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17 in the Ritter Room of Ritter Public Library. The group invites anyone with an interest in old railroads and preserving the region’s railroad history.

To date, the rail group has gathered railroad memorabilia, including vintage photos and documents, and equipment that includes two railroad freight wagons now stored in the depot.  

A former railroad worker, Shobert’s love of the rails is no mystery. His father, Dewitt, was a Pennsylvania machinist for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for 51 years. Before working for 20 years at the former General Motors plant in Elyria, Shobert repaired and rebuilt boxcars, hoppers and coal tenders for the B&O line.

He also worked as a B&O security agent for some time, patrolling railroad property.

In addition to saving the building for a museum, the rail group hopes to see the depot used once again should a much-discussed commuter rail service materialize along railroad lines from Vermilion to Cleveland, as proposed by the Northern Ohio Commuter Rail Coalition.

“I hope they get it running,” Shobert said. “I’ll ride it to death.”

The Vermilion train buffs group is working with Friends of Harbour Town Inc. on the depot project. The depot now sits behind the city’s old red brick schoolhouse on Route 60 after being moved from its original site alongside the old Nickel Plate Railroad tracks a few hundred yards to the south.

“It was decided to move it out of the railroad’s way before they tore it down,” Shobert said. “They didn’t have any use for it anymore.”

Created in 1881, The Nickel Plate Railroad, more commonly known as the Nickel Plate Road, ran from New York City to Chicago. The Vermilion depot served the line for decades. The Nickel Plate’s life as an independent rail line ended in 1964, when it and other Midwest railroads merged to form the Norfolk and Western Railway.   

While the exact date of the depot’s construction isn’t known, the structure is believed to date to the mid-1800s, according to Shobert, who recalled boarding trains locally for school field trips to Detroit.

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.
 

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TO HELP

Anyone wishing to donate money or items to the group may contact Ron Shobert at (440) 967-5227 or send donations to: Vermilion Rail History, P.O. Box 274, Vermilion, OH 44089, c/o The Friends of Harbour Town Inc.

 

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