Reading Company's Sellersville Station: TracksideThis station, built in 1902, was formerly operated by the Reading Company and later by Conrail and SEPTA. Today, the Pennsylvania Northeastern runs the section from Lansdale to Telford, while East Penn handles Telford (and Sellersville) to Quakertown. SEPTA Regional Rail stopped service on July 29, 1981 after the commuter agency cancelled its diesel train routes.
The line through Sellersville, PA - known as the Bethlehem Line, was started by the North Pennsylvania Railroad in Fort Washington, PA, (just outside Philadelphia) in 1853, and was completed to Bethlehem in 1857. Formed in 1852, the NPRR began operation in 1855. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway, predecessor to the Reading Company, leased the North Pennsylvania in 1879. By 1892 there were 22 trains on this line. The Cannonball train made the trip from Philadelphia and Bethlehem in 1 1/2 hours. In 1885 work which lasted one year double tracked the line from Philadelphia to Bethlehem.
5 Years, 4 workers and 5,000 hours...
A group of mostly volunteers restored the station, using equipment that cost the borough a mere $2.200, back in the early 1980's. Today, the station stands proud as a monument to the community's early development and rich history. Today it is used as a small meeting center, a center for the Scouts, for civic groups and others, including at one time, the district's congressman, who used it for meetings, and for elections.
