Oakbourne station

OAKBOURNE
Former railroad station
Oakbourne station, c. 1907.
Location	Oakbourne Road Westtown Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°56′31″N 75°34′20″W / 39.9420°N 75.5722°W / 39.9420; -75.5722Coordinates: 39°56′31″N 75°34′20″W / 39.9420°N 75.5722°W / 39.9420; -75.5722
Owned by	West Chester Railroad
Line(s)	Pennsylvania Railroad, SEPTA R3 West Chester Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Construction
Platform levels	1
History
Opened	1854
Closed	1961
Rebuilt	1871
Electrified	1928
Previous names	Lecompton Hemphill
Services
No services   Former services   Preceding station   SEPTA   Following station West Chester University (closed 1986) toward West Chester West Chester Line R3 Elwyn/West Chester Pennsylvania Railroad Westtown (closed 1986) toward Suburban Station Pennsylvania Railroad West Chester Terminus West Chester Branch Westtown toward Suburban Station

Oakbourne station was a railroad station on Oakburne Road in Westtown Township, Pennsylvania. Established by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it closed in 1961 and was subsequently demolished. SEPTA Regional Rail later used the line for R3 West Chester Line, but did not use the Oakburne stop.

History

Oakbourne Station was originally called Lecompton Station, and later Hemphill Station after a neighboring landowner, but was changed to Oakbourne when a post office was established there in 1883, with Ellen Jane Speakman serving as postmistress. During the American Civil War, the station was used as a marshaling point for the neighboring Camp Elder, which housed Union prisoners captured by the Confederacy and unofficially paroled during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

A post office was located in the station building until it closed in 1928, when Ellen Speakman retired. A small single-track siding served as a freight yard for the Oakbourne Epileptic Hospital and Colony Farm and other local industries. Service to the station was terminated in 1961, and the building was razed several years later.

SEPTA subsequently took over the Pennsylvania Railroad route for SEPTA Regional Rail's R3 West Chester Line. However, it did not reopen the Oakbourne stop. SEPTA discontinued regular passenger service to the line in September 1986, due to deteriorating track conditions and Chester County's desire to expand facilities at Exton station on the Paoli/Thorndale Line. The West Chester Railroad heritage railway restored the line for weekend excursions in 1997, but does not use Oakburne station.

External links

• West Chester Railroad's official website