Station Review #54: Gwynedd Valley (SEPTA)


Gwynedd Valley is a station on SEPTA's Lansdale - Doylestown line at its intersection with Plymouth Avenue in the small village of Gwynedd Valley, PA. 

History

Information about the history of Gwynedd Valley station is scarce. This station dates back to the 1850s. It's unknown if the station building is that old, or if it's actually a newer station built by the Reading Railroad after the acquisition of the North Penn Railroad main line.

Not long after Gwynedd Valley station was built, wealthy people started moving to that area in droves. Today, many very wealthy people still live in the area. 

Gwynedd Valley station is well known for an illustration of it being on the October 7th, 1961 cover of the Saturday Evening Post. This is illustrated by well-known illustrator John Falter, at the time a resident of Whitpain Township, PA.  

Tour

Much as you'd expect, this station really has not changed all that much in the last century or so. 

The main station building 

Despite still standing, the main station building is actually technically not part of the station anymore, having been converted into an upscale restaurant. 

See? restaurant

Although it would have made a fine ticket office, it works well as a restaurant too.

No, I was not standing on the tracks when I took this. The platforms really are just that low.

The shelter on the Center City side

Considering that all of the actual structures of the station that is used as a station at this point is just this shelter, I'd say it's pretty complete. 

Bench inside shelter

Schedule, in the front of the shelter.

The bench is pretty ordinary, though like the rest of this station, it's very old. This shelter is pretty okay, I'd say. I wish newer station shelters were made to be this roomy. There is plenty of space for about a dozen people to be sheltered from the rain and wind.

Auxillary parking lot, since the main parking lot became part of the restaurant property.

Nearby the small shelter, there's parking, but not really too much of it. I'm going to come back to this in a moment. 

Pedestrian pathway

There's also a pedestrian pathway to some nearby houses, which is pretty neat, I'd say. It's nothing special, but still a pathway linking two otherwise unlinked places. 

Future Plans

SEPTA wants to make major changes to this station in the next few years. These changes will result in what is basically going to be a completely new station. 

There are plans to make a new Gwynedd Valley station at US-202, with this station being a large park-and-ride station, akin to something like Colmar, Lansdale, or Fort Washington. However, these plans have existed for years, and it's unknown if or when they will ever happen. 

Bus Connections 

SEPTA 96 bus on DeKalb Pike

SEPTA has one bus connection to Gwynedd Valley, the Route 96 bus, a bus that runs from Lansdale to Norristown TC. This bus runs on US-202, which is not super close by. It's about a 20 minute walk to the bus, and that walk requires one to possibly cross DeKalb Pike, the stroadiest of stroads. 

Points of Interest in Gwynedd Valley

The post office

There's very little in Gwynedd Valley. The Gwynedd Valley post office is next to the train station, and the old station house is now an upscale restaurant. Montgomery County Community College's Main campus is located nearby, but just far enough away that it is an absolute pain to get to it by foot. Also nearby is Gwynedd Mercy University, but that is one and a half miles (two and a half kilometres) of walking on roads with little to no sidewalk to assist you in order to get to that. 

The rest of the area is either giant houses for the people who earn way more money than most of the people who read this that live there, or this beautiful sight that is clearly pedestrian-friendly:

Stroad.

Yeah, I wouldn't exactly say this place is exactly a location I really want to go to much ever again. 


Statistics:


Name: 
Agency:
Line(s):
Locality:
City/Township:
County:
State:
Ridership: 

Amenity Checklist:

Accessible: ×
Bathrooms: ×
Bicycle parking: ✓
Clean Station: ✓
Connections to other transit routes: ✓
Easy passage for each side: ✓
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): ×
Good Wayfinding: ✓
Indoor Shelters: ×
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ✓
Adequate Parking: ✓
Seating: ✓
Shelters: ✓
Station In Good Condition: ✓
Ticket Kiosks (if applicable): ×
Ticket Offices: ×
TOD: ×
Train Departure/Arrival Info (signs that update/screens): ×
Updated/Useful Signage: ✓

Final Verdict: 3/10. I hope it actually does finally get replaced.

Station Directory

--------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Center City Zone''''''''
30th Street
Suburban
Jefferson (Market East)
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
Wayne Junction
--------Montgomery County--------
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
Melrose Park (Weekends Only)
Elkins Park (Weekends Only)
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
Jenkintown - Wyncote
Glenside
North Hills
Oreland
Fort Washington
Ambler
Pennlyn
Gwynedd Valley 
''''''''Zone 4''''''''
North Wales
Pennbrook
Lansdale
9th Street
--------Bucks County--------
Chalfont
New Britain




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