Parking 20 spaces Electrified no Tracks 1 | Closed January 14, 1983 Opened 1902 (Reading Company) | |
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Location 2586 Fetters Mill RoadBryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009 Similar Huntingdon Valley station, Newtown station, Ryers station, Fox Chase station, Bryn Athyn Cathedral | ||
Rail and tie removal south of bryn athyn station 6 24 2014
Bryn Athyn station is a former railroad station in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. Built by the Reading Railroad, it later served SEPTA's Fox Chase/Newtown Line. It is located on Fetters Mill Road near the Pennypack Creek.
Contents
History
Bryn Athyn station, built in 1902, was a stop on the Reading Railroad's Newtown Line. On December 5, 1921, the stretch of single track between Bryn Athyn and Southampton stations was the site of the Reading Railroad's deadliest accident at that time. Two trains met in a head-on collision, killing 27 and injuring 70. The route later became a part of SEPTA's Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line. The station, and all of those north of Fox Chase, was closed on January 14, 1983.
In addition, a labor dispute began within the SEPTA organization when the transit operator inherited 1,700 displaced employees from Conrail. SEPTA insisted on utilizing transit operators from the Broad Street Subway to operate Fox Chase-Newtown diesel trains, while Conrail requested that railroad motormen run the service. When a federal court ruled that SEPTA had to use Conrail employees in order to offer job assurance, SEPTA cancelled Fox Chase-Newtown trains. Service in the diesel-only territory north of Fox Chase was cancelled at that time, and Bryn Athyn Station still appears in publicly posted tariffs.
Though rail service was initially replaced with a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus, patronage remained light, and service was later canceled. The surviving trackage near the station is becoming part of the Pennypack Trail, with the bridge soon to be fixed.
Station building
The building is currently used as a post office and community building. The former station canopy retains SEPTA signage installed in 1984 — one year after train service had ended.