Historic Shawmont Train Station to be restored with $1M boost

A bunch of bike trails, streets, and other transportation-related projects in the Philly region were just awarded $12 million, including the oldest passenger railroad in the nation, Shawmont Station in Manayunk.

As part of its Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) awarded $1 million to go toward the restoration of the nearly 200-year-old train station, which sits along the Manayunk Canal Towpath at Shawmont Avenue. The plan for the station, which is owned by SEPTA but is not in service, to be rehabilitated using the $1 million.

The modest building was originally a country home, until the owner sold it. The buyer then turned the home into a service stop along the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad and named it Green Tree station. At the time, trains were pulled by horses, so the station only saw one train service per day.

In later years, Shawmont Station was a stop along the Manayunk/Norristown line on the Regional Rail, until SEPTA cut its service in 1996. Over the years, it has fallen into disrepair, though in 2009 it was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and thus saved from demolition.

DVRPC also awarded $300,000 to North Broad Street, which was identified as a “Vision Zero Priority Corridor.” Those funds will be used to construct medians and make pedestrian safety improvements North Broad Street between Girard Avenue and Cecil B. Moore Avenue.

In addition, $1 million will go toward restoring Thomas Paine Place in Society Hill and make ADA improvements to the site.