Glen Mills station explained

Glen Mills
Type:West Chester Railroad tourist train station
Style:SEPTA
Style2:SEPTA Former
Coordinates:39.9199°N -75.4904°W
Line:Pennsylvania Railroad, SEPTA R3 West Chester Line
Structure:Queen Anne gothic
Tracks:1
Opened:1882, 1997 (as heritage railway)
Closed:September 19, 1986[1]
Rebuilt:1991
Electrified:December 2, 1928[2]
Owned:West Chester Railroad
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Other Services Header:Former services
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Shape:none
Line:none
Marker:rail
Marker-Color:
  1. 888
Zoom:14

Glen Mills station is a railroad station in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania currently used by the West Chester Railroad heritage railway. It is located at 130 Glen Mills Road, and owned by the Thornbury Historical Society.

History

The site was a stop on the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad beginning in 1858.[3] The original station was located across the track where the Glen Mills Store now stands. In 1880, the railroad became the Pennsylvania Railroad's West Chester Branch. The current station was built in 1882, and is believed to have been designed by Frank Furness.[4] It later became a part of SEPTA's West Chester line. SEPTA discontinued regular passenger service in September 1986, due to deteriorating track conditions and Chester County's desire to expand facilities at the nearby Exton station on the Paoli/Thorndale Line.[5]

In 1997, the station was reopened by the West Chester Railroad, a privately owned and operated heritage railway running between Glen Mills and West Chester on weekends. However, due to what their website calls "hazardous and limited parking", the West Chester Railroad does not pick up passengers at Glen Mills. Instead, it serves as a 20-minute layover spot, where passengers can explore the station and picnic grove, and use bathrooms.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Potential of Rail Service to West Chester Borough. Borough of West Chester. February 4, 2020. 24.
  2. News: Electric Trains to Start Sunday . August 21, 2020 . The Chester Times . November 30, 1928 . 1. Newspapers.com.
  3. Book: Ashmead, Henry G. . History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania . 1884 . L.H. Everts . Philadelphia . XX. Traveling and Transportation . 199 . February 24, 2011 . December 5, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101205021908/http://www.delcohistory.org/ashmead/ashmead_pg199.htm . dead .
  4. News: Marie. McCullough. 10 July 1992. Thornbury neighbors help to get an old station back on track. Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 9 January 2021.
  5. News: Sprucing up a SEPTA station in Delco . Philadelphia Inquirer . 1992-07-10.