Lenni station

Lenni
The former Lenni station site in March 2017
General information
Location	Station Lane and Lenni Road Middletown Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°53′39″N75°26′55″W / 39.8942°N 75.4486°W / 39.8942; -75.4486
Owned by	SEPTA
Line	West Chester Line
Platforms	1 side platform (former)
Tracks	1
History
Closed	September 19, 1986 [1]
Former services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station Wawa Station toward West Chester West Chester Line Glen Riddle toward Suburban Station Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Wawa toward West Chester West Chester Line Glen Riddle toward Suburban Station Terminus Chester Creek Branch Rockdale toward Lamokin Street
Location

Lenni station was a commuter rail station on the SEPTA Regional Rail R3 West Chester Line, located in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The station and several others were closed in September 1986, and subsequently demolished. The site now serves as the location of a crew base building that was constructed in connection with the 2022 restoration of service to Wawa Station.

History

SEPTA training facility at Lenni in 2017

Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, Lenni station stood on the corner of Station Lane and Lenni Road. It served as a stop on the West Chester Branch, which was electrified on December 2, 1928. ^[2] It later became a part of SEPTA's R3 West Chester line.

The PRR's former Chester Creek Branch terminated at Lenni. The line sustained heavy flash flood damage in September 1971 (not due to the later Hurricane Agnes as is sometimes claimed), and was taken out of service at that time. The railway was never officially abandoned and has since been deeded to SEPTA via PennDOT. ^[3]

The station, and all of those west of Elwyn station, was closed in September 1986, due to deteriorating track conditions and Chester County's desire to expand facilities at Exton station on SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line. Service was suspended at that time, with substitute bus service provided. Lenni station still appears in publicly posted tariffs. The station shed itself was demolished in the 1990s; the asphalt platform and signage remained extant until around 2019.^{[ citation needed ]}

Since passenger service ended in 1986, vandals began stealing the copper catenary wire. A live SEPTA substation exists nearby with transmission lines connecting to Amtrak's Lamokin converter station. The line remained electrified as far west as the former Darlington station. The wire was removed for the remainder of the line out to West Chester over the summer of 2005 to prevent further theft.^{[ citation needed ]}

The resumption of SEPTA service to Wawa Station, which opened in August 2022, did not include an intermediate stop at Lenni. However, a layover yard was constructed just to the west of the former station site, with a crew base building at Lenni Road. ^[4]

References

1. "The Potential of Rail Service to West Chester Borough". Borough of West Chester. p. 24. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
2. "Electric Trains to Start Sunday". The Chester Times. November 30, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved August 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
3. chestercreektrail.org Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine
4. Gabriel, John M.; Sartain, Robert L. (November 2022). "SEPTA Opens Wawa Station". Railpace Newsmagazine. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024.

External links

Media related to Lenni station at Wikimedia Commons

• Picture of original Lenni Station