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Showing posts with the label 2/10

Station Review #101: Darby (SEPTA)

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Darby is a station on SEPTA's Wilmington-Newark Line. The station is located in Colwyn, PA. History This station was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1872 as part of the "Darby Improvement Line". This was the second station built for the town, the first being built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  The station was eventually demolished, and replaced by another station by the PRR. This station's depot was on the opposite side. By the time this depot was eventually demolished as well (most likely in the 1990s), it had been in such bad condition and vandalized so often that it was better off not being saved.  The depot was replaced by what is essentially a bus shelter, and nothing else has changed since then.  Tour The main shelter building Darby is a sad station. The entire station is two shelters, asphalt platforms, and absolutely nothing else.  The northbound platform There's some apart...

Station Review #77: Lyndhurst (old) (NJT)

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Lyndhurst is a station on NJT's Main Line. The station is located on Stuyvsant Avenue in Lyndhurst, NJ.  History In 1868, the Morris and Essex Railroad created a line called the Boonton Branch, as a freight bypass for their main line. This line went from Hoboken Station to Dover, NJ via Paterson and Towaco, linking with the current Montclair-Boonton line somewhere a bit past Midland Park. Along the line the station Lyndhurst was built in the small village of Lyndhurst.  In 1928, the current station was built to replace an older variant of the station. Over the years, this station was left in disrepair, barely maintained. Not much has changed in that regard since then, although the line it was on has changed hands multiple times.  The station depot has not been a ticket office in decades. Although it is shuttered and closed now, it used to be a restaurant in the 1990s or so. The exact timeline for the depot is unknown, and there is a possibility tha...

Station Review #76: Kingsland (NJT)

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Kingsland is a station on NJT's Main Line. The station is located on Ridge Road in Lyndhurst, NJ.  History In the 1860s, the Delaware and Lackawanna railroad created a railway branch called the Boonton Branch. This branch was to be a freight bypass of their main line, going via Paterson and Totowa.  Among other stations on this line was two in Lyndhurst Township, Kingsland and Lyndhurst. The reason there were two is because the Kingsland family had a manor named Kingsland Manor there. The small village of Kingsland got a station for this reason alone.  Around the time the station was completed, there were also railway shops made for the line that were at Kingsland station. These shops then burned down in 1875, before being rebuilt. The shops were expanded in 1903 when the station itself was rebuilt and grade separated. It's unknown when the shops were removed. In 1916, there was a major accident at the station that caused a new westbound signal to ...

Station Review #69: Wister (SEPTA)

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Wister is a station on SEPTA's Chestnut Hill East line, located on East Ashmead Street in the East Germantown Neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia.  History The now demolished station house The history of Wister station is somewhat unclear, but traces back to at least the 1860s, though possibly all the way to 1832, when the Germantown railroad was built. In 1854, the Chestnut Hill Railroad was completed, giving Wister station newfound service to Germantown, Chestnut Hill, and Center City. Wister station got its name from its original location, which was at the railroad's intersection with Wister Street. Some time around the 1880s, the station was renamed to Duys station. This name didn't last all that long, and by 1925 it was back to Wister station.  In 1929, the old station was demolished, with the station grounds being moved to Ashmead street. This was done in accordance with the grade separation project that the Reading Railroad was performing o...