Owned by SEPTA Platform levels 1 Electrified 1931 Owner SEPTA Level 1 | Tracks 2 Closed 1996 Opened 1834 Added to NRHP 21 July 1995 Platforms in use 1 | |
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Location 7800 Nixon Lane
Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Address 7800 Nixon St, Philadelphia, PA 19128, USA Similar St Martins station, Ivy Ridge station, Wayne Junction station, Miquon station, Allen Lane station | ||
Shawmont station early philadelphia railroad history
Shawmont is a former train station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located on Nixon Lane 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 line. SEPTA closed the station in 1996 and it now serves as a private building.
Contents
The glen at shawmont station
History
The Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N) was opened on June 7, 1832, from downtown to Germantown (now on the Chestnut Hill East Line), and was the first railroad in Philadelphia. Later, they built another line to Norristown, including the Shawmont Station, which is believed to have been built by renowned architect William Strickland.
On December 1, 1870, the Philadelphia and Reading Railway (later the Reading Company) leased the PG&N. By 1884, the Pennsylvania Railroad built the Schuylkill Branch in an effort to compete with Reading, and ran it parallel to the line near the station with a station of their own. Both the Reading and Pennsylvania Railroad lines were electrified in the early-1930s. Pennsylvania electrified their line in 1930, and Reading electrified theirs in 1931.
As railroad service began to decline in the post-World War II period, Pennsylvania Railroad closed their own Shawmont Station in 1960, terminating all passenger service north of Manayunk. The Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority began arranging new contracts with the PRR and RDG to continue commuter rail services in the Philadelphia region in 1966. Two years later, Pennsylvania merged with their much larger rival New York Central Railroad to form Penn Central Railroad. The Reading filed for bankruptcy in 1971, a year after their competitors Penn Central, went bankrupt on June 21, 1970. In 1976, Reading and Penn Central were both acquired by Conrail, who provided commuter rail services under contract to SEPTA until January 1, 1983, when SEPTA assumed operations. Two years before this took place, SEPTA ended diesel service to Reading and Pottsville.
Shawmont station became a contributing property of the Upper Roxborough Historic District in 1995, but was closed by SEPTA in 1996. The station is a private residence that is accessible by way of the Schuylkill River Trail, which was once part of the Schuylkill Branch.