Glen Mills (West Chester Railroad station)

GLEN MILLS
West Chester Railroad tourist train station
Restored Glen Mills Station
Location	130 Glen Mills Road Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.
Coordinates	39°55′12″N 75°29′25″W / 39.9199°N 75.4904°WCoordinates: 39°55′12″N 75°29′25″W / 39.9199°N 75.4904°W
Owned by	West Chester Railroad
Line(s)	Pennsylvania Railroad, SEPTA R3 West Chester Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Construction
Structure type	Queen Anne gothic
History
Opened	1882, 1997 (as heritage railway)
Closed	1986
Rebuilt	1991
Electrified	1928
Services
Preceding station   West Chester Railroad   Following station Locksley toward West Chester West Chester Railroad Terminus   Former services   Preceding station   SEPTA   Following station Locksley (closed 1986) toward West Chester West Chester Line R3 West Chester Darlington (closed 1986) toward Suburban Station Pennsylvania Railroad Locksley toward West Chester West Chester Branch Darlington toward Suburban Station

Glen Mills is a West Chester Railroad train station located at 130 Glen Mills Road in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. The station was a stop on the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad beginning in 1858.^[1] In 1880, the railroad became the Pennsylvania Railroad's West Chester Branch: it later became a part of SEPTA's West Chester line. The station is currently used by the Thornbury Historical Society.

SEPTA discontinued regular passenger service in September 1986, due to deteriorating track conditions and Chester County's desire to expand facilities at Exton Station on SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line. Service was restored by the West Chester Railroad in 1997, a privately owned and operated heritage railway that operates between Glen Mills and West Chester on weekends. However, due to what their website calls "hazardous and limited parking", trains that are operated by the West Chester Railroad do not pick up passengers at Glen Mills when they make their return trip back to West Chester. Instead, the Glen Mills Station is used as a layover spot where for 20 minutes passengers on board the West Chester Railroad train can explore the station, picnic grove and use the bathroom.

Built in 1882, Glen Mills Station is considered an architectural gem, and is believed to have been designed by Frank Furness.^[2] Prior to the opening of this building, the station was located in the Glen Mills Store on the opposite side of the track.

References

1. Ashmead, Henry G. (1884). "XX. Traveling and Transportation". History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts. p. 199.
2. waymarking.com

External links

• Thornbury Historical Society
• West Chester Railroad