Washington Train Stations

The stone Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) station ( WS8.1; 1892; 273 S. Main Street) is one of five Richardsonian Romanesque railroad stations designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin (1837–1916) and Josias Pennington (1854–1929), who produced more than one hundred railroad buildings during a twenty-year stint with the B&O. The slate hipped roof forms porches over the platforms on all sides and is pierced by a variety of shingled dormers, including hipped, gabled, and faceted. The brick Waynesburg and Washington station ( WS8.2; 1905–1906; 404 S. Main Street), designed by William L. Price (1861–1916) and M. Hawley McLanahan (1865–1929) on the east side of S. Main Street, is highlighted by an ornate round-arched portico with a steep roof. Price worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad earlier in his career, and McLanahan was a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College. This might explain their interest in designing for a narrow-gauge rail line in western Pennsylvania when their practice was headquartered in Philadelphia. The windows lining the side elevations are sheltered by deep eaves and echo the round arches of the facade. The “Waynie,” as locals fondly called this line, ran in a steep and circuitous route between the county seats of Greene and Washington counties. It closed in 1929, when it was no longer able to compete with buses and automobiles.