 The first railroad station in Erie was built in 1851 and consisted of a " clumsy looking " or " rude brick structure " . President @-@ elect Abraham Lincoln addressed a crowd outside of this station on February 16 , 1861 , while traveling to Washington , D.C. , for his inauguration . Construction on a new station was started in early 1865 as a joint venture between the Cleveland , Painesville and Ashtabula , and Buffalo and Erie railroads , and was completed in February 1866 . Both the Erie and Pittsburgh , and Philadelphia and Erie railroads also leased portions of the new station for their services as well . In addition to the leased space , the Philadelphia and Erie continued to maintain a freight station on State Street below Hamot Hospital for several years afterward . 
