Remembering Ed

The Quakertown Train Station Chugging along memory lane and soon back on line again

Imagine a time in Quakertown where the center of town, the center of life and our town’s connection to other cities and towns was a simple train station. Simple, but critically important to our quality of life.

I had the pleasure of a sitting with Richard Mindler, the President of the Quakertown Historical Society which home bases at the Quakertown train station. Mindler tells me the station at Front and Broad Street was originally put up by the Reading and Philadelphia Railroad companies, later just maintained by the Reading Rail Road. Our train station was an integral place where people in our town could get news from outside our borders. Can you imagine?

You want to catch up on the news head down to the train station. Today you and I can pop open our PDA’s, cell phones, palm pilots and laptops and get news in time that feels like before it happens. The train station was where our parents, grandparents, great grandparents may have left for service in World War Two. Our train station is where our service men and women left and where the fortunate ones came back.

It was a hang out for kids back in the day. Ice cream shop, hobby shop and general commerce commenced. Norman Rockwell probably could stop by and paint a portrait that’s as Americana as apple pie. Times changed, the area began to grow, the station became less relevant and shut down in 1981. Service still ran from the station even though the structure was closed. Passengers could board here and buy their tickets aboard. In 1983 the tracks in our area fell into disrepair, the sorry state of the tracks kept Septa from keeping service alive after 1983. From 1983 to 1989 the building just mostly sat there. A shadow of its former self. Sometimes the station was rented, you could maybe still see a store or two clinging to life in the station, hardly with the hustle and bustle of years gone by.

In May of 1989 an arsonist decided to torch this great landmark. Now apparently gone for good the station lay in mostly ashes after being blazed. Then in December of 1990 something remarkable occurred. The Quakertown Preservation Committee today known as the Historical Society was formed. This noble group stabilized the building, cleaned out and straightened what it could with little to no funds. For ten years the society toiled and sweat to keep a big part of our history alive. Without their stepping in, this piece of who we are would go the root of demolition and become a parking lot. That’s just wrong. In ten years the group raised money selling hot dogs, hoagies, cakes, pies and you name it to get the cash up to convert this station back to its former grandeur. The biggest grant money that was a huge shot in the arm for the project came from the Federal Government transportation enhancement initiative. This grant netted the society’s effort nearly 600 thousand dollars to go against the nearly 1,000,000 needed to get the train station back to looking new and improved.

It all started coming together in 2003 when the work began in earnest. Then last year the station was reopened and now shines as one of our towns most talked about landmarks. Have you been? If not, stop by. You can once again rent the space for your next party or affair. Santa arrives by train at the station on Saturday December 9th beginning at 10am. Bring the kids for photos with the king of Christmas and enjoy some holiday fun.

The fact that the station is back open again is nothing short of miraculous, but you know it’s even more remarkable what’s on the horizon. Train service on the ‘R5’ line is slated to begin again in about three years. By about 2009 you and I will be able to take the train from Quakertown to Lansdale then switch to a train dropping you at Market East/The Gallery in Old City Philadelphia. Phase 2 service means you can take the train to Lansdale, then to Norristown and into 30th Street Station into the heart of Center City. That will be a great day. Take the train, leaving the fuss and muss of traffic hassle, parking and driving craziness behind and be in town in about the same time it takes to drive, saving on fuel and aggravation. What a day that will be. It’s coming. It’s an amazing time to live here. To watch the progress of the little station that could is a testament to the dedication and devotion of a few forward thinkers who convened back in 1990. Now, isn’t that a lot better than another parking lot? I think so.

The freight warehouse adjacent to the station is also in the process of a fashion makeover. In the future you may find boutique shops in this space making that whole part of town have a new and dynamic look. Quakertown, the hippest part of Bucks County. Can you see it? Keep looking because this train’s coming in and I’ll bet it will be on time. To learn more call the station to rent space or check it out. 215-538-0501 or visit online www.qtowntrain.com More cleaning up of the facility comes in the way of newer walkways, benches and some cosmetic upgrades. Mindler’s mission along with his colleagues is taking shape. Mindler says there’s many days he felt like throwing in the towel as their efforts felt as though they were moving backwards. Well, forward progress sometimes masks as reverse until finally the light shines through. See the light and bask in the shining new station at Front and Broad. Watching with pride in our town, see ‘ya round town.