Whitford station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Whitford
Whitford station in January 2013
Location	1597 South Whitford Road and Spackmans Lane, Exton, PA 19341 USA
Owned by	Amtrak
Operated by	SEPTA
Line(s)	Keystone Corridor (Main Line)
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3
Construction
Parking	229 spaces (daily)
Bicycle facilities	2 racks (4 spaces)
Other information
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	1880
Electrified	January 15, 1938
Traffic
Passengers (2017)	408 (weekday boardings)
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 Downingtown toward Chicago Main Line Whiteland toward New York or Exchange Place Bradford Hills toward Chicago
Whitford Railroad Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The NRHP-listed station house
Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	405 South Whitford Road Exton, Pennsylvania
Built	1880 (1880)
Architectural style	Clapboard
NRHP reference No.	84003324
Added to NRHP	1984

Whitford station is a train station in Exton, Pennsylvania. It is located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. The station is served by most SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line trains. Until 1998, some of Amtrak's Keystone Service trains also stopped here.

The Whitford Flyover Bridge

Whitford station is famous for an old railway bridge that sits right above it. This bridge is called the "Whitford Flyover." A flyover is a bridge that allows one railway line to cross over another.

The station is on what used to be a very busy railway line called the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Main Line. This line once had four tracks and was always full of trains. To avoid traffic jams near Philadelphia, the PRR built a special double-track line in 1906. This new line was for freight trains and helped them avoid steep hills and busy towns.

This freight line was known as the Philadelphia and Thorndale Branch, or the "High Line." It ran next to the current Paoli/Thorndale Line. It crossed over the main passenger line using a huge bridge right above Whitford Station. This is why it's called a "flyover."

After the 1970s, fewer trains were using the tracks. The freight line was completely closed by Conrail in 1989. Also, the passenger line was reduced from four tracks to three in the 1960s.

Artist Grif Teller's painting Main Lines—Freight and Passenger shows the Whitford Flyover in 1949, when it was still in use.

This 1904 photo by William H. Rau shows the station house just below the bridge.

About the Station Building

The main station building is quite old and important. On August 2, 1984, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's a special historical site.

There is no ticket office at the station. However, there are 229 parking spaces for daily use. Some of these parking spots are on the land where the old freight line used to be.

Whitford station is about 28.7 miles away from Philadelphia's Suburban Station. In 2017, about 408 people got on trains here each weekday. About 420 people got off trains here each weekday.

Station Tracks and Platforms

Whitford station has two low-level side platforms. A side platform is a platform next to the tracks. There is also a middle track that is not used for passenger trains.

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-522, "Pennsylvania Railroad, Whitford Bridge"