Ranya's Ramblings

Thorndale is a station on SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale line, in fact it's the western terminus. The station is located along US-30 in the village of Thorndale, itself in Caln Township, PA.  Tour Train at Thorndale Thorndale station is on a hill, meaning that there are stairs and a ramp to it, shown below.  Both sides look about the same, they both have a ramp, and stairs and both have the same exact station shelters. Side of one of the station buildings On the inside of each shelter, there are three benches, and not much else.  Outside the shelters, there are also benches, as shown below Behind that, there is a giant parking sea for the station. I doubt you need this much parking for a station as small as this in a town as small as Thorndale. Why is there this much parking? This amount is expected for a large plaza, not for a train station!  Seriously? Gallery  ...

Sign on the side of the shelter North Philadelphia Main is a station serving both as an Amtrak train station on Amtrak's Keystone Service and as a SEPTA train station on the Trenton Line. This station is the most built out and most used station in the North Philadelphia Station Complex aside from North Philadelphia BSL station. The station is located on a large lot between Broad Street and 16th, just south of Indiana Avenue. Until 2022, this station held the award for being the least-used Amtrak station in Pennsylvania, though now that award goes to Cornwell Heights. This is unsurprising considering the sheer amount of decay and neglect this station has faced over the last few decades. I'll show you what I mean about that in a moment, but first, a very depressing history lesson. Services Southbound platform view This station has two services that stop here:  Amtrak: Five Keystone Service trains stop here, Four southbound and one northbound. This service ...

Ah yes, part two of my ongoing series on the North Philadelphia Station Complex  North Philadelphia CHW is a station on the Chestnut Hill West line, located in North Philadelphia (hence the name), near 16th and Indiana. Much like most of the other North Philadelphia stations, this station is absolutely awful, and it's not hard to see why.  History  I can't find any old photos of this area directly, but it was always an extra area just off of the main station, as seen from the only aerial photo I found of the station. The station used to at least have a station house and shelters. Those are all gone, and replaced by... Nothing. Concrete Platform Tour Chestnut Hill West Train There isn't much of anything here. There are two bus stop type shelters, and nothing else.  Everything To add insult to injury, the shelters are in very bad condition. The Center City shelter has all of its glass broken, and papers are taped to the pillars of th...

Lawndale Station is a SEPTA station on the Fox Chase line, in the Lawncrest neighborhood of Philadelphia. As the portion of the Fox Chase line this station is on is also part of the Philadelphia city line, Lawndale Station is also in Cheltenham, PA. However, Lawndale station cannot be accessed from Cheltenham, PA. Lawndale Station is a Zone 2 station.  History Lawndale station on an old map Lawndale Station has a very vague history. The station itself was established in the 1890s, leading to the neighborhood gaining that name. That much is known. Information gets much murkier when trying to figure out what the station originally looked like. What is known is that the current shelters most likely date ti the 1960s, most likely predating SEPTA's acquisition of the station.  Station Tour The shelter View of the entire station from south to north As you can tell, there is very little at Lawndale Station. A closer look at ...