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Shawmont station

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Coordinates: 40°2′38″N 75°15′0″W / 40.04389°N 75.25000°W / 40.04389; -75.25000
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Shawmont
Former train station
The former Shawmont Reading station in 2010
General information
Location7700 Nixon Street
Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Owned bySEPTA
Line(s)Norristown Branch
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
Construction
Platform levels1
History
Opened1834 (PG&N)
Closed1996
ElectrifiedFebruary 5, 1933[1]
Former services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station
Miquon
toward Norristown–Elm Street
 Manayunk/​Norristown Line Ivy Ridge
toward Penn Medicine
Preceding station Reading Railroad Following station
Miquon
toward Elm Street
 Norristown Branch Glen Willow
toward Philadelphia
Shawmont Train Station, Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
Map
Coordinates40°2′38″N 75°15′0″W / 40.04389°N 75.25000°W / 40.04389; -75.25000
Part ofUpper Roxborough Historic District (ID01000463[2])
Added to NRHPJuly 21, 1995

Shawmont is a former train station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located on Nixon Street in the Roxborough section of Lower Northwest Philadelphia. Built by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad, it later became part of the Reading Railroad and ultimately SEPTA Regional Rail's R6 Norristown Line. SEPTA made the station a whistle stop and closed its waiting room in 1991.[3] SEPTA later closed the station in 1996.[4] In 2018, $1 million was set aside for repairs and rehabilitation.

History

Station platform signage
The Shawmont station platform

The building that became Shawmont station was constructed in 1826 as the private country residence of Nathan Nathans.[5] The 18′ by 36′ stone house was constructed of local schist and its design is attributed to renowned architect William Strickland.[3] Nathans owned this house for only four years, as in 1830 he sold it to a local grain mill operator John Wise. The area soon entered a phase of rapid industrialization. The following year the Pennsylvania Legislature granted a charter to the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N). The line's southern route along the Schuylkill River came through by 1834 and in close proximity to the house. In 1835 rail service started and the house was sold to lumber businessman Henry Croskey who added it to his adjacent property. Croskey renovated the building as a passenger shelter and freight office for his lumber business and named it “Green Tree Station”. In 1857, Croskey sold Green Tree Station and its grounds to the Railroad.[6]

On December 1, 1870, the PG&N was leased by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway (later the Reading Company). The station then underwent extensive renovations. A bay window replaced the center doorway and the first floor altered to accommodate a telegraph operator and ticket window. A waiting room was created by removing the windows toward the platform and converted them into doorways. A rear addition provided housing for a resident Station Master. In 1873 the competing Pennsylvania Railroad had built a station in nearby Chester County, which was also named “Green Tree”. The Reading then changed Green Tree Station in Philadelphia County to Shawmont Station, for local resident and inventor Thomas Shaw.[6]

By 1884, the Pennsylvania Railroad had joined the competition with the Schuylkill Branch, a line that ran parallel to the Norristown line with a Shawmont station of its own.

In 1909, the Brendel family took up residence in Shawmont station to become permanent stationmasters.[3]

The Pennsylvania Railroad electrified its line in 1930, and the Reading Company followed suit a year later.

Railroad service declined after World War II, and the Pennsylvania Railroad closed its Shawmont station on October 30, 1960,[7] terminating all passenger service north of Manayunk. SEPTA began arranging new contracts with the PRR and RDG to continue commuter rail services in the Philadelphia region in 1966. In 1968, the Pennsylvania merged with their much larger rival, the New York Central Railroad to form the Penn Central Railroad. Penn Central filed for bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. In 1971, the Reading filed for bankruptcy as well. In 1976, the Reading and Penn Central were both acquired by Conrail, which provided commuter rail services under contract to SEPTA until January 1, 1983, when SEPTA assumed operations. SEPTA had already ended diesel service to Reading and Pottsville in 1981.[3]

Shawmont station became a contributing property of the Upper Roxborough Historic District in 1995,[citation needed] but was closed by SEPTA in 1996.[8] The last of the Brendel's descendants moved out of the station in 2013 after occupying the property for 104 years.[3]

In 2009, the building was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, preserving it from potential destruction.[9] In 2018, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission gave $1 million to rehabilitate the former station.[9] Structural repair work finally began in February 2023.[10] As of August, the exterior work was nearing completion, with the façade restored to its 1870 appearance.[11] When completed, SEPTA will seek a tenant for the building.[10] There are no plans to reactivate it as a train stop.[12]

References

  1. ^ "New Electric Schedule". The Scranton Times. February 4, 1933. p. 12. Retrieved August 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA) Railroads -- the Shawmont Station and the History of Roxborough / Manayunk".
  4. ^ "Endangered: Manayunk's Historic Shawmont Station". December 11, 2013.
  5. ^ Shaver, Davis (May 15, 2022). "Capturing Shawmont Station before its $1,000,000 preservation begins – the oldest extant passenger rail station in America". davisshaver.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Breard, William Louis. "Shawmont Station Addendum (1826-2014) July 2014" (PDF). preservationalliance.com. Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  7. ^ "PRR to Stop Service at Norristown Oct. 31". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 18, 1960. p. 35. Retrieved October 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ Dougherty, Frank (October 25, 1996). "Septa Board Cuts Service But Opposition Is Spirited". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Historic Shawmont Train Station to be restored with $1M boost". Curbed Philly. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Cawley, Rick (February 17, 2023). "SEPTA begins work on Shawmont Station restoration". The Times Herald. Norristown, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Bagenstose, Kyle (August 29, 2023). "Restoration of Historic Shawmont Station in Roxborough Nearing Completion". Hidden City Philadelphia CultureTrust. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  12. ^ Burkhart, M. T. (December 16, 2021). "SEPTA Looks to Restore Oldest Surviving Passenger Station". Railfan & Railroad Magazine. White River Productions. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
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