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.
Glen Mills | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| West Chester Railroad tourist train station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Restored Glen Mills station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 130 Glen Mills Road Glen Mills, Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°55′12″N 75°29′25″W / 39.9199°N 75.4904°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | West Chester Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Pennsylvania Railroad, SEPTA R3 West Chester Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Queen Anne gothic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1882, 1997 (as heritage railway) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | September 19, 1986[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrified | December 2, 1928[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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History
editThe 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][5] 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.[4]
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.
References
edit- ^ "The Potential of Rail Service to West Chester Borough". Borough of West Chester. p. 24. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- ^ "Electric Trains to Start Sunday". The Chester Times. November 30, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved August 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ashmead, Henry G. (1884). "XX. Traveling and Transportation". History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts. p. 199. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "Sprucing up a SEPTA station in Delco". Philadelphia Inquirer. July 10, 1992.
- ^ Marie, McCullough (July 10, 1992). "Thornbury neighbors help to get an old station back on track". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
