ROXBOROUGH (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA and the city are considering a plan that would store a historic, but vacant, railway station in Roxborough.
The 200-year-old Shawmont Station on SEPTA’s Manayunk-Norristown line is widely regarded as the nation’s oldest passenger rail stop. SEPTA trains haven’t stopped at the station since 1996, and while its exterior was renovated three years ago, the interior has fallen into disrepair.
SEPTA Real Estate Manager Casey Everlof said the station needs nearly $1 million of work.
"We just don't have the funding to renovate it ourselves and open it up to the public since it's not in service,” she said.
Next week, the SEPTA board is set to consider a resolution to lease the station to the city for $1. The city would then restore the station and sublease it to the nonprofit Historic Shawmont Station Society, which would operate it as a museum and learning center.
John Johnstone, a historian with the historic society, helped get Shawmont added to Philadelphia's register of historic places.
"Any historical site within Philadelphia should be considered very significant and worth saving," said Johnstone.
The 20-year lease agreement will need approval from both SEPTA and City Council.
