Whitford
Whitford station in January 2013
General information
Location1597 South Whitford Road and Spackmans Lane, Exton, PA 19341 USA
Owned byAmtrak[1]
Operated bySEPTA
Line(s)Amtrak Keystone Corridor
(Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line)
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks3
Construction
Parking229 spaces (daily)
Bicycle facilities2 racks (4 spaces)
Other information
Fare zone4
History
Opened1880
ElectrifiedJanuary 15, 1938[2]
Passengers
2017408 boardings
420 alightings
(weekday average)[3]
Rank64 of 146
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station
Downingtown
toward Thorndale
 Paoli/​Thorndale Line Exton
toward Temple University
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Downingtown
toward Harrisburg
 Keystone Service
Before 1988
 Exton
toward Philadelphia–Suburban
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Bradford Hills
toward Chicago
 Main Line Whiteland
toward New York or Exchange Place
Whitford Railroad Station
The NRHP-listed station house
Whitford station is located in Pennsylvania
Whitford station
Whitford station is located in the United States
Whitford station
Location405 South Whitford Road
Exton, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°00′53″N 75°38′17″W / 40.0147°N 75.6381°W / 40.0147; -75.6381
Built1880 (1880)
Architectural styleClapboard
NRHP reference No.84003324
Added to NRHP1984[4]

Whitford station is a commuter rail and former intercity passenger rail station located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia at South Whitford Road and Spackman Lane, Exton, Pennsylvania. It is served by most SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line trains and until 1998 some of Amtrak's Keystone Service trains.

Whitford Flyover

Whitford station is best known for the abandoned railway bridge that sits directly above the station site. The current station sits along the once-busy former Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) four-track Main Line, which, in its prime, hosted a constant flow of commuter and long distance trains. To circumvent constant bottlenecks near Philadelphia, the PRR constructed a low-grade double-track electrified line in 1906 to host its freight traffic. This was done to bypass the steep grades and busy Philadelphia suburbs. Known as the Philadelphia and Thorndale Branch, the line ran alongside the current Paoli/Thorndale Line, crossing (or "flying") over it via a massive truss directly above the Whitford station. After the sharp decline in rail traffic in the 1970s, the freight line was abandoned outright by Conrail in 1989. In addition, the current passenger line was reduced from four tracks to three in the 1960s.[5]

In its heyday, the PRR produced a series of calendars that included paintings of scenes throughout the extensive rail system. Artist Grif Teller captured a busy moment at Whitford in his "Main Lines—Freight and Passenger" painting from 1949, when the overhead trestle was still in use.

Artist Grif Teller's classic Main Lines—Freight and Passenger painting captured Whitford Flyover in its prime, circa 1949.
The station house is just visible under the bridge in this 1904 photograph by William H. Rau.

Current station

On August 2, 1984, the station house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[6] There is no ticket office at the station. There are 229 parking spaces at the station for daily parking, some of which sit on the abandoned freight line that crosses over the station site.

This station is 28.7 track miles from Philadelphia's Suburban Station. In 2017, the average total weekday boardings at this station was 408, and the average total weekday alightings was 420.[7]

Station layout

Whitford has two low-level side platforms. A center track is not used for passenger service.

P
Platform level
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Track 2 ←      Paoli/​Thorndale Line toward Thorndale (Downingtown)
← Amtrak does not stop here
No service ← No regular service →
Track 1 Amtrak does not stop here →
     Paoli/​Thorndale Line toward Suburban Station or Temple University (Exton) →
Side platform, doors will open on the right
G Street level Exit/entrance, parking

References

  1. ↑ "Transportation Planning for the Philadelphia–Harrisburg "Keystone" Railroad Corridor" (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "Pennsy Completes New Electric Link". The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. January 15, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved August 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2021 Service Plan Update". SEPTA. June 2020. p. 24. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  4. ↑ Chester County Listings at the National Register of Historic Places
  5. ↑ Pennsylvania Railroad Stations Past and Present
  6. ↑ NRHP.gov
  7. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. p. 43-46.
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