Overbrook Station - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Train Stations/Depots on Waymarking.com

From the Pennsylvania Railroad Stations Past & Present web site - (visit link) This is purported to be the oldest station on the Main Line from Overbrook to Paoli, dating from the 1850s. It is built entirely of wood and has seen much use and wear. There is a splendid brick interlocking tower about 50 yards east of the station, and an artfully-built concrete bridge which carries City Line Avenue over the tracks. The westbound passenger shelter is on the Drexel Road side of the tracks. The inbound (Eastbound) station/ticket office/ newsstand/residence near the signal tower is on the 63rd St. side of the tracks. -- James Boylan

From the 'Living Places' web site - (visit link) The railroad station, of cottage design with lacey brackets, predates Overbrook Farms, having been built in 1858. The station, a major stimulus to the initial development, remains an important factor in the community's popularity.

Prior to the development of Overbrook Farms the Overbrook train station had long been serving the needs of the local populace. The stop dates from 1840 on the Columbia-Philadelphia Railroad and was originally a flag station. The present station house was built in 1858 and served the local farmers and estate owners whose land straddled both sides of the city line boundary. Gentlemen farmers like Captain Alfred Pleasanton, Wistar Morris and John M. George as well as future president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Frank Thompson and the Godey family "Godey's Lady's Book", were being serviced by the station. Students at St. Charles Boromeo Seminary gained access to both the city and Villanova by train. In the years before the development of commuter enclaves along this line of the Pennsylvania Railroad system the summer hotel and boarding house trade at Overbrook's Mrs. Wannamacher's and beyond all traveled to or through Overbrook station.

Railroad companies at the turn of the century saw the commuter system to the suburbs as a potential way to build capital. If communities were built along the line, commuters would use the trains to travel back and forth to the city to work. When George Roberts was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad (1880-97) suburbanization began in earnest.

The Wikipedia article is located at the link below.

Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: Yes Is the station/depot open to the public?: Yes If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?: The station building is a residence, while the platforms and shelters are in regular train service. What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: Pennsylvania Railroad; Conrail; SEPTA; Amtrak Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]

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