Lenni station

Lenni station is a defunct 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.

Lenni
Former SEPTA Regional Rail station
Former Lenni station site, March 2017.
LocationStation Lane and Lenni Road
Middletown Township, Pennsylvania.
Coordinates39.8942°N 75.4486°W / 39.8942; -75.4486
Owned bySEPTA
Line(s)West Chester Line
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
History
ClosedSeptember 19, 1986[1]
ElectrifiedDecember 2, 1928[2]
Former services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station
Wawa
toward West Chester
 West Chester Line Glen Riddle
toward Suburban Station
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Wawa
toward West Chester
 West Chester Branch Glen Riddle
toward Suburban Station
Terminus Chester Creek Branch Rockdale
toward Lamokin Street

History
SEPTA's training facility at Lenni

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. 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 that time, with substitute bus service provided. Lenni station still appears in publicly posted tariffs.

The station shed itself was demolished in 1990s; the asphalt platform and signage remained extant until around 2019. Resumption of SEPTA service to Wawa station does not include an intermediate stop at Lenni, although the service restoration project provides for construction of a new station if demand warrants.

Since passenger service ended in 1986, vandals began stealing the copper catenary wire. As Lenni is currently used by SEPTA to train new railroad division engineers, and a live SEPTA substation exists nearby with transmission lines connecting to Amtrak's Lamokin converter station, the line remains electrified as far west as Lenni. Wire was removed for the remainder of the line out to West Chester over the summer of 2005 to prevent further theft.

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

Media related to Lenni station at Wikimedia Commons

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