Samuelsville Union Station (Samuelsville, Ind.); built in 1935 and expanded in 1949-50 with some significant changes in the early 70s. the design is a scaled-down copy of Cincinnati’s Union Terminal (10 track concourse rather than 16) by Fellheimer and Wagner with a new Railway Express/mail wing and an Emery Roth [& Sons]-designed art moderne 16 story office tower added in 1949–a scaled-down copy of NYC’s Look building. The structural members of the additions are reinforced concrete due to the postwar steel shortage. all office tower windows are aluminum and were made by the William Bayley company of Springfield, Ohio
HISTORY:
this station was constructed to replace a smaller 1890s union depot and four separate stations. The highest record of passengers was during WW2 and Korea. passenger traffic started declining in 1958 and the city proposed other uses for the property; the first being a new public auditorium/arena in 1963; a second was a two-level shopping mall seven years later as a final effort to keep some retailers downtown (which somewhat worked in the end). One by one, the private railroad services disappeared over the course of the decade (also due to industrywide mergers). The last private passenger train left on the last day of April 1971. (only six Amtrak services stop here and two tracks are used for light rail service in 2025.) Half of the train concourse was demolished two years later for a nearby freight yard expansion and parking garage; most of the main building was later converted into a mall, which opened in 1973, since there was already a significant presence of office space. the remainder was remodeled as the official Amtrak station. fast-forward to 2016, the mall began losing tenants due to online shopping and “big-box” chains. four years later, the whole property was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the office tower nearly abandoned (with the exception of medical offices). once the restrictions were lifted, the mall+office tower were never the same again, with a quarter of tenants fleeing after declaring bankruptcy. over the next two years, the vacancies increased, attracting many dead mall enthusiasts. The decline finally ended with an announcement to repurpose the office tower for mixed use–a mid-tier hotel in the upper half, with the lower half still being office space and a mini AI data center for the mostly empty basement slated to start operations in early 2026. The hotel opened in 2024.
original station tenants were the B&O, CI&L (Monon), CMSTP&P (Milwaukee Road), C&O, Erie, KI&S, New York Central, NYC&STL (Nickel Plate Road), PRR, & Wabash. This property was owned by the city until 2023, when it was sold to a local commercial real estate firm. The office tower’s tenants were a mix of various accountants, advertising agencies, insurance agencies, employment agencies, law firms, medical practices, six local corporations leased halves of three floors, a handful of national corporations had sales offices in this tower as well. A branch of a national bank was present on the first floor.
FA Systems:
–main station
Coded IBM system with Autocall-designed NYSP pulls (semi flush in common areas; surface in lower material handling rooms) and 10" SS bells (OEM was also Autocall) in the common areas with Faraday-designed 4030-1s/2s in the baggage/parcel/express back rooms; 1949 expansion uses the same hardware except the 4030s are Benjamin Electric-designed. two four inch RV-4016–4 trouble bells (yet another Autocall design) are on the system; one in the stationmaster’s office and the other next to the panel. A sprinkler system was installed by Grinnell in the lower handling rooms and has a flow switch tied in.
Part of the system was upgraded for the 1973 mall conversion (the current one still in use). this is tied into the original IBM system still protecting the back areas. The set up is a Simplex Time Recorder 4247-4 with S. H. Couch-designed 4263 coded pulls and Statitrol-designed 4262 ionization smoke detectors. Signals are early 4050-80s with Faraday-designed 4080 10" SS bells.
–office tower
The office tower uses a similar system as the main station with a few differences: Fenwal heat detectors in closets, mechanical rooms, penthouse, and basement; Photoswitch beam smoke detectors on the HVAC fan-coil units; signals are flush mount versions of the 10 inch SS bells; a second trouble bell is in the lobby
the upper half was upgraded to a Simplex 4007 ES voice system in 2023 with ADA addressable T-bars and TrueAlarm smokes (sounder base equipped units in all the rooms) along with TrueAlert ES wall speakers (49SO-APPLW); a mix of wall and ceiling speaker strobes are in the hallways and common areas (49SVC-WWFIRE; 49SV-APPLC); all signals are white. A sprinkler system was also added to the whole tower as part of the hotel conversion–includes various Potter Electric Signal Co. sensors. The lower section is a separate system
The AI data center will have a Stat-X clean agent fire suppression system.
no system in 1974 parking garage, though it is protected with a Grinnell sprinkler system and Protectowire, tied into a supervisory zone on the IBM/Simplex 4247-4 system
Clock & communication systems:
All IBM; the master program clock (model 17) controls a bunch of early “digital” clocks using a series of B&W dots on rotating drums (Plato clock): The exterior clock is 10 feet in diameter with the movements being made by Seth Thomas. 2100-series employee punch clocks are also used on the system. The office tower system is a later IBM 25MC master clock, model 780 punch clocks, and round white (hallway units are double sided) slave/remote clocks. The remote clocks were re-installed as functional decorations during the hotel conversion.
PA systems:
RCA MI-6719 with an MI-6226 microphone and MI-6294 12" wall speaker cabinets; MI-6260 horn units are used in the back handling rooms. part of the system was replaced with Soundolier equipment; including model 310 wide angle ceiling and 420/60 wall speakers during the mall conversion. The office tower uses a Stromberg-Carlson system for radio programs and BG music with “round air diffuser-style” ceiling speakers and RH-26 molded plastic wall cabinets (many of these were modified for use with TV “surround sound” systems during the hotel conversion); the hotel received a generic Pyle Sound amp to power the original S-C speakers of the upper half.
Elevators are all Otis and consist of the following: “signal control” in the main station building; Two hydraulic scenic “Lexans” were installed during the mall conversion; office tower uses early Autotronics with the black “pop-out” buttons (the latter were surprisingly left alone during the hotel conversion except for one bank, which had newer MAD buttons installed alongside the existing fixtures to meet ADA requirements). The 1974 parking deck also has five story traction “Lexans.”
Electrical:
–original
all equipment is Westinghouse; wiring devices are a mix of Harvey Hubbell and Pass & Seymour; lighting fixtures are a mix of Lightolier (including exit signs) and Holophane units in lower back rooms.
–1973 mall conversion
newer Westinghouse equipment; light fixtures (and exit signs) were replaced with Keene Corp. fluorescent units (along with some newer Lightolier suspended fixtures) when the Armstrong drop ceiling grids were installed. exit signs were also installed by them Newer Hubbell wiring devices were installed too. The 1974 parking garage has Holophane mercury vapor fixtures
–office tower
original:
BullDog/I-T-E equipment with a mix of Hubbell and Leviton wiring devices; lighting fixtures and exit signs are all Day-Brite; emergency lights are U-C Lite MFG. Co. units. all wiring is run through channels in the floors.
all the equipment in the upper half was replaced with Siemens featuring newer Leviton wiring devices and newer Lithonia LED light fixtures and exit signs (also emergency lighting units)
HVAC systems:
–original
all air diffusers and reigsters were made by Anemostat and Hendrick MFG Co. (custom art deco design) all equipment was made by Boston’s [B. F.] Sturtevant Co. (purchased by Westinghouse in 1945.) with AAF filters. the 1949 mail wing uses L. J. Wing Co., “revolving” vertical discharge heaters; the original Sturtevant ones were subsequently replaced with these in the lower back rooms and the originals were scrapped; other equipment was made by successor Westinghouse. roof ventilators are all powered units made by DeBothezat. Boilers are H. B. Smith Co. “HY-TEST” oil-fired units.
1973 mall conversion:
some HVAC units were replaced with Buffalo Forge Co. units; boilers were converted for natural gas operation; newer air diffusers were made by the Carnes Co.
–office tower:
supply diffusers were made by Air Devices, Inc. with return vents made by A-J MFG. Co.
all equipment was made by the York corporation with AAF filters and blower fans made by New York Blower Co. Boilers are York-Shipley packaged units installed in the penthouse. ducts are aluminum to save on weight and have silencer sections in key areas made by Industrial Acoustics Co. Roof ventilators are ILG PRV units.
hotel conversion:
everything in the upper half was replaced with newer York equipment. boilers are still the originals that were rebuilt. roof ventilators were replaced with Greenheck spun-aluminum units
cooling towers of both buildings were made by the Marley Co. of Kansas City
Plumbing:
all piping is a mix of rolled steel and copper (supply lines). Roof drains are cast-iron units made by JOSAM MFG. Co.. all fixtures were made by the Kohler Co. The 1973 mall conversion had Elkay refrigerated drinking fountains installed; ADA units were installed during the hotel conversion of the office tower.
door hardware:
mix of LCN (concealed overhead and floor type door closers on all exterior doors and some interior ones), Corbin “Unilocs”, Von Duprin panic bars & Best Lock Co. Model B emergency exit alarms; Independent Lock Co. RFID locks used in the hotel conversion
other things:
Cutler Co. mail chutes and Wilkinson waste disposal chutes (located in a separate room with a fire rated door) in the office tower. (halved during the hotel conversion) all high rises in downtown Samuelsville have these. The whole complex has four large Onan emergency generators to power essential systems in the event of a power failure
The control tower (above the start of the train concourse) uses a large General Railway Signal interlocker. controlling the approaches on either end and two nearby junctions. some sections were removed in the early 70s when the concourse was halved. The tower is still active in 2025.