Strafford station

Strafford
General information
Location97 Old Eagle School Road, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Owned byAmtrak[1]
Operated bySEPTA
Line(s)Amtrak Keystone Corridor
(Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line)
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Construction
Parking289 spaces (115 daily, 103 permit, 71 remote permit)
Bicycle facilities4 racks (8 spaces)
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone3
History
ElectrifiedSeptember 11, 1915[2]
Passengers
2017780 boardings
621 alightings
(weekday average)[3]
Rank25 of 146
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station
Devon
toward Thorndale
Paoli/​Thorndale Line Wayne
Former services
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Devon
toward Paoli
Paoli Line Wayne
Preceding station Philadelphia and Western Railroad Following station
Terminus Strafford Branch
Until 1956
Wayne
Strafford Railroad Station
Map
LocationStrafford, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°02′59″N 75°24′14″W / 40.0496°N 75.4038°W / 40.0496; -75.4038
ArchitectJoseph M. Wilson and Frederick G. Thorn
Architectural styleStick/Eastlake
NRHP reference No.84003226
Added to NRHP1984[4]

Strafford station is a commuter rail station located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia at Old Eagle School Road and Crestline Road,[5] in Tredyffrin Township,[6] and it is served by most Paoli/Thorndale Line trains.

The ticket office at this station is open weekdays from 5:50 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., excluding holidays. There are 289 parking spaces at the station, including SEPTA permit parking in nearby lots.

This station is 15.4 track miles from Philadelphia's Suburban Station. In 2017, the average total weekday boardings at this station was 780, and the average total weekday alightings was 621.[7]

History

[edit]

From 1873 to 1883, the building served as the railway station for Wayne, Pennsylvania. In 1883, the building was moved to its current location in Strafford, which was then called Eagle. The name was changed to Strafford in 1887. The landmark building was constructed in the "Eastlake" or "Stick" architectural style popular from 1855 to 1877.[8] In 1911 the Philadelphia and Western Railroad extended their Strafford Branch to the station;[citation needed] this line lasted until 1956.[9] The train station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

In 1966 the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society stated that a group of Japanese people built the structure in Japan to exhibit at the Centennial Exposition. According to the society, the building was placed into parts while it was shipped and reassembled in the United States, exhibited, and then acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1885.[10] Rumors that the station had originally been one of the buildings used in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia are unfounded.[citation needed]

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) restored the station between 1999 and 2002 after damage from a June, 1999 fire. Work included restoring the historic station building as well as the outbound shelter. The station was made accessible-compliant with ramps to the platforms. Mini-high-level platforms will be installed after the Amtrak Keystone Corridor project is complete.

Station layout

[edit]

Strafford has two low-level side platforms with pathways connecting the platforms to the inner tracks.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Transportation Planning for the Philadelphia–Harrisburg "Keystone" Railroad Corridor" (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Electric Service Begins on the P.R.R." The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 12, 1915. p. 4. Retrieved August 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Fiscal Year 2021 Service Plan Update". SEPTA. June 2020. p. 24. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  4. ^ Chester County Listings at the National Register of Historic Places
  5. ^ Google map
  6. ^ "Community Facilities". Tredyffrin Township. Retrieved September 1, 2019. - Also see Land use map
  7. ^ "Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. p. 43-46.
  8. ^ John Milnes Baker, A.I.A. (1994) American House Styles p.86.
  9. ^ Mocarski, Monica (March 1, 2006). "Tracking the history of Radnor's trolleys". Main Line Times & Suburban. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  10. ^ Weller, Cordelia (April 1966). "The Strafford Railroad Station". Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society History Quarterly. Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society. pp. 2–4.
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Media related to Strafford (SEPTA station) at Wikimedia Commons