Station Review #23: Tacony (SEPTA)


Tacony Station is a train station on SEPTA's Trenton Line, located in the Tacony neighborhood of Lower Northeast Philadelphia. The station is located next to Disston Park, while also being sandwiched next to a highway as well.

History
Old picture of the old Tacony Station building 

Tacony station has a long and storied history. At first, Tacony sprung up as a town on the Delaware river, fueled by its importance to transportation in the area. You see, Tacony station existed as the end of the line for the southbound version of the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, which was banned from going towards Kensington and ultimately Philadelphia. Thus, they created a ferry wharf very close to the station for ferries to Walnut Street dock in Philadelphia. This arrangement existed for about 40-50 years. During this time, Tacony was a major transportation hub. Sometime in the 1870s, the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad was bought by the Pennsylvania Railroad. 

it was during this time that Henry Disston came to Tacony and decided to open Disston Saw Works, and make the original Tacony street grid, making Tacony into a company town that was located inside city borders. It was during this time when the old Tacony Station was built. It was a grand building, made to signify the grandness of Tacony. 

And then the wind storm of March 27th, 1911 happened. With this, the original station was completely destroyed, along with many other things. 

I could not find any information about what happened to the train station afterwards. If I were to take a guess, the Pennsylvania Railroad created them to be a temporary replacement for the old station, and then never created a new station. If that is the case, then the current station has been there for over 110 years. 

It shocks me that nobody has attempted to replace it by now. 

Inadequacy Showcase

The peak of train station design

The station is two ugly green shelters off the sides of the tracks. That's it. Nothing else. 
The pinnacle of station design

Inside each, there is a bench, and nothing else. 

It's like Eddington all over again

Also, you can obviously tell which shed had more importance, as the Trenton side's shed us much uglier, though probably also more sturdy

100/10 for aesthetic purposes only

Wait. What's this? The Septa Key Card validator looks off? It can't be! They made it impossible to pay at this station! What a travesty! 

Seriously?

All jokes and sarcasm aside, they actually put metal plates in front of the screens on the SEPTA key card validators, so you can't pay for your train here. Absolutely amazing, in my opinion. The Hastings (MBTA) comparisons write themselves here. 

And despite all of this, they had the gall, the audacity, to put advertising here.

Hey at least there is a direct pathway to the station from Disston Park, which is DEFINITELY better as a park than Tacony is as a station. 

Bus Connections at Tacony Station


Tacony has two indirect bus connections: route 70 to the Frankford-Gregg loop, and route 84. In addition, Tacony station is within walking distance of Torresdale - Cottman Loop, which has connections to routes 28 and 56. 

The bus connections at Princeton avenue mostly lack signage, by the way.

Points of Interest in Tacony

Torresdale Avenue in Tacony

Tacony has many points of interests! These include: 

• The Torresdale Avenue commercial strip, which is basically the "main street" of Tacony
• The Tacony library
• Disston Park
• The Tacony Office
• The Music Hall
• Curran's Inn
• A lot of interesting architecture
• The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
• Lardner's Point (technically in Wissinoming), a park where you can get good views of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
•Torresdale - Cottman loop, where you can connect to the 28 and 56 buses

Amenity Checklist

Some vestige of accessibility: ×
Clean: ×
Connections to other transit routes: ~ (Not a very intuitive one, and not officially listed by SEPTA) 
Easy passage to either side: ×
Fare Payment Kiosks: ×
Lighting: ✓
Maps: ×
Adequate Parking: ×
Shelters: ✓
Seating: ✓
Station in Good Condition: × (constantly graffitied)
Train Departure/Arrival Info: ,×
Updated Signage: ×

Final verdict: .7/10

I can't wait until this place eventually gets replaced by something better. I just wish it happened 112 years ago. 

Station Directory

--------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Center City Zone''''''''
Jefferson (Market East)
Suburban
30th Street
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
Tacony
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
--------Bucks County--------
Cornwell Heights
Croydon
''''''''Zone 4''''''''
Bristol
Levittown
--------New Jersey--------
--------Mercer County--------
''''''''NJ Zone''''''''
Trenton Transit Center

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