PRR 52 st street station

Any intel?

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Does any one have some intel on it's history it lived till septa was under contract with con rail?

I believe there was a fire in the station around 1980 and it was decided not to rebuild. It was the last place one could change between the Cynwood line and the Paoli line.

FRN9 wrote:I believe there was a fire in the station around 1980 and it was decided not to rebuild. It was the last place one could change between the Cynwood line and the Paoli line.

Yes, I heard that this was used after the fire and had something like 200 boardings a day. Why would they close it if it was still in working order?

Maybe the people from the main line were scared of the people from west philly.

FRN9 wrote:Maybe the people from the main line were scared of the people from west philly.

Hmmm, but if Septa or PRR was making money why close it? Back then west philly was actually nice.

Check the last schedules, the stopping times at 52nd St. weren't for business people.
Reverse commuters, especially of the wrong race, don't count. Also, the Main Line maids and chauffeurs have been escaping from the ghetto and finding houses more convenient to Overbrook station.
Actually, even white people have to ride to Center City to be counted. S.E.P.T.A. also wants to close North Philadelphia station on the Chestnut West branch because most of the passengers there are transferring to Trenton or New York trains. Very few are boarding for Center City.

rbreslow wrote:

FRN9 wrote:Maybe the people from the main line were scared of the people from west philly.

Hmmm, but if Septa or PRR was making money why close it? Back then west philly was actually nice.

West Philly is great today.

Well if they close down the R8 np station then no one would be able to transfer.

For the station's last four passenger censuses, the number of boarding Paoli Line passengers at 52nd Street station were:
Fall 1978=6
Spring 1979=4
Fall 1979=3
Spring 1980=7.
There is no listing for Fall 1980 (closed by that time). The Ivy Ridge Line did not serve 52nd Street during this time period.

John, do the 52nd St. boarding counts include reverse commuters, or just riders inbound towards Center city?

delvyrails wrote:For the station's last four passenger censuses, the number of boarding Paoli Line passengers at 52nd Street station were:
Fall 1978=6
Spring 1979=4
Fall 1979=3
Spring 1980=7.
There is no listing for Fall 1980 (closed by that time). The Ivy Ridge Line did not serve 52nd Street during this time period.

It's safe to assume 52nd Street was a flag stop by 1978?

Wow, why did they even make the damn waste of money?

rbreslow wrote:Wow, why did they even make the damn waste of money?

Because when it was built, West Philly was an affluent area with business out the wa-zoo. West Philly suffered hard at the hands of white flight, and the condition of the neighborhood led right to the closure of the station.