by queenlnr8
Can someone explain what the hell Millbourne Station is? Is it supposed to look like a ride from Coney Island?
Railroad Forums
Millbourne Station
- Discussion relating to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Philadelphia Metro Area). Official web site can be found here: www.septa.com. Also including discussion related to the PATCO Speedline rapid transit operated by Delaware River Port Authority. Official web site can be found here: http://www.ridepatco.org/.
Moderator: AlexC
by JeffK
It's very much a real station. It just seems, well, "different" because it is at ground level and is in a residential community. It looks more like it belongs on the P&W than on a subway-elevated line.
The current station dates back almost a century. The PRT's Market Street line originally stopped at 63rd Street while the Red Arrow trolleys ran down Market to connect, including a station in Millbourne. When the Taylors and the PRT agreed on a joint terminal at 69th Street, the El was extended 6 more blocks and Millbourne service was now provided by the PRT. The first trains ran to the new terminal on March 5, 1907.
Millbourne itself remains kind of an oddity (please don't take offense, any visiting Millbournians). It has less than a square mile of land and a minimal tax base but because it's an independent borough it has to provide many of its own services. There was a newspaper story a couple of years ago about why and how it continues to exist as it does.
The current station dates back almost a century. The PRT's Market Street line originally stopped at 63rd Street while the Red Arrow trolleys ran down Market to connect, including a station in Millbourne. When the Taylors and the PRT agreed on a joint terminal at 69th Street, the El was extended 6 more blocks and Millbourne service was now provided by the PRT. The first trains ran to the new terminal on March 5, 1907.
Millbourne itself remains kind of an oddity (please don't take offense, any visiting Millbournians). It has less than a square mile of land and a minimal tax base but because it's an independent borough it has to provide many of its own services. There was a newspaper story a couple of years ago about why and how it continues to exist as it does.
by AlexC
Here's a link to some pictures of Millbourne Station.
VFL #1
NYC Subway #1
NYC Subway #2
NYC Subway #3
Never been down that far on the El... Hmmph. Certainly is an odd ball.
How far is the Cardington Branch from here?
VFL #1
NYC Subway #1
NYC Subway #2
NYC Subway #3
Never been down that far on the El... Hmmph. Certainly is an odd ball.
How far is the Cardington Branch from here?
by Matthew Mitchell
queenlnr8 wrote:What was behind that station? There appears to be traces of asphalt and some 70's era parking lot lights. If you notice in Photo #2 above, there is an MFL sign at the end of some stairs leading to the now dirt patch behind the station.There was a Sears store that represented much of the Millbourne Borough tax base before it moved to 69th Street. SEPTA also used part of the lot for park/ride purposes.
by JeffK
Also, if you look between the El tracks and the parking lot, you might be able to see traces of the old track that was used for interchanges in the long-gone days when freight motors sometimes plied the P&W. There's probably still more track and even some 3rd-rail stanchions visible in the wooded area just before the El turns to go into the terminal. On the upper P&W level, the stub that descends along the side of the passenger platform is the only live track that remains from the original connector. 
On a lighter note, even the people who did the voice announcements for the M-4s didn't seem to know quite how to handle Millbourne. Release 1.0 of the computerized announcements distinctly referred to the station as "Mail Barn". That was later modified, but it's still not 100%.
On a lighter note, even the people who did the voice announcements for the M-4s didn't seem to know quite how to handle Millbourne. Release 1.0 of the computerized announcements distinctly referred to the station as "Mail Barn". That was later modified, but it's still not 100%.
by chuchubob
This photo
http://community.webshots.com/photo/285 ... TCNmiHfRAD
shows the back portion of the Sears parking lot which terminated near the Milbourne station. The PC connector track was on parking lot level between the lot and the el tracks, behind the bushes.
During the mid 1970's I would see a train every 3 months of about three empty box cars come in on the connector and set out at 69th Street Terminal to be loaded with used bus tires, which were then hauled back along the connector along Cobbs Creek. The creek flooded during a hurricane and the track was covered by mud. The mud was not cleared off, then Sears paved over part of the track when they repaved a driveway into their parking lot. The railroad was never used again.
At the time I commuted to Radnor using the el
http://community.webshots.com/photo/285 ... QBEgQlDsIF
amd the P&W.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/285 ... YmKmjHYgIY
http://community.webshots.com/photo/285 ... TCNmiHfRAD
shows the back portion of the Sears parking lot which terminated near the Milbourne station. The PC connector track was on parking lot level between the lot and the el tracks, behind the bushes.
During the mid 1970's I would see a train every 3 months of about three empty box cars come in on the connector and set out at 69th Street Terminal to be loaded with used bus tires, which were then hauled back along the connector along Cobbs Creek. The creek flooded during a hurricane and the track was covered by mud. The mud was not cleared off, then Sears paved over part of the track when they repaved a driveway into their parking lot. The railroad was never used again.
At the time I commuted to Radnor using the el
http://community.webshots.com/photo/285 ... QBEgQlDsIF
amd the P&W.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/285 ... YmKmjHYgIY
by chuchubob
by Trails to Rails
That last time I rode the el, (about 2 years ago) there was STILL some X-Cardington Branch track barely visible on the inbound side of the MFE beyond the Millborne Station. You have to look hard but it's still there.
On another note, in the 70's Millborne station was a fare jumpers paradise. As kids we used to climb over the fence at the far end of the platform out of site of the fare booth. When the train came into the station, we'd run into the rear cars and smile politely to the token booth clerk as the doors closed.
Jeez that was fun, I wonder if I still could do it?
Beating SEPTA out of a few quarters partially makes up for the misery I've suffered over the years since the days of free rides at Millborne.
On another note, in the 70's Millborne station was a fare jumpers paradise. As kids we used to climb over the fence at the far end of the platform out of site of the fare booth. When the train came into the station, we'd run into the rear cars and smile politely to the token booth clerk as the doors closed.
Jeez that was fun, I wonder if I still could do it?
Beating SEPTA out of a few quarters partially makes up for the misery I've suffered over the years since the days of free rides at Millborne.
by worldtraveler
I think this is a cool station because its so different. I like to wooden platform. Most of Chicago's EL stations are still wooden. I also like how it runs right through a residential area. NY and Chicago's EL also run through nice residential areas. It's ashame that most on the buildings along Market Street and Front Street in Frankford looked bombed out.
by matt1168
worldtraveler wrote: It's ashame that most on the buildings along Market Street and Front Street in Frankford looked bombed out.Unfourtunetely, that's Philadelphia for you.
Althogh I've never gotten off at the Millbourne station before, I've ridden the El through it on trips out to 69th St. The station looks nice and "quaint" and rather out of place on the MFL, and one day I'd like to get off to have a closer look. It reminds me a little bit of some of the stations on the CTA Purple Line in Chicago.
by JeffK
Yes, "quaint" is the best way to describe it. With the old houses, ironwork stairs and lamps, and wood platforms it's kind of like a time-warp back into the 1920s.
I've used the station on a few occasions, though never voluntarily - always as a result of a power failure or some other "diversion", in SEPTA-speak. There was even one time they had to evacuate the train and everyone walked through the power station to get to a road where we could be picked up by shuttle buses. (Don't ask - we were just following orders.) It was ultra-inconvenient but at least I got an up-close look at some cool equipment.
I've used the station on a few occasions, though never voluntarily - always as a result of a power failure or some other "diversion", in SEPTA-speak. There was even one time they had to evacuate the train and everyone walked through the power station to get to a road where we could be picked up by shuttle buses. (Don't ask - we were just following orders.) It was ultra-inconvenient but at least I got an up-close look at some cool equipment.