Friends of St. Davids Station
 
 

 

What We're Doing

 
 

In 1995, the Wayne Station Historic Preservation Association was formed to begin historically sensitive repairs to Wayne Station. With that effort as inspiration, the Friends of St. Davids Station was formed in 2011 with the intent of helping to restore the remaining historic portions of St. Davids Station, a mile east of Wayne. Such a project will be considerably less complex than the restoration of Wayne, but the station at St. Davids is just as much a gateway to its surrounding communities, and just as much a part of the Main Line's railroad heritage.

The Friends of St. Davids Station intends to initiate several tasks to restore the station's historic character and to make it a more attractive and inviting gateway to the St. Davids community. We plan to undertake the project in three phases:

Phase I - Reproduce and install cast iron station signs
Phase II - Repair woodwork and reproduce missing posts and brackets (north canopy)
Phase III - Repaint both canopies in historically accurate colors

We plan to re-cast this original station sign and install copies on either end of both existing canopies.

We hope that gardening will be done throughout the process. In addition, thanks to the generosity of a St. Davids resident, the Friends of St. Davids Station has access to an original Pennsylvania Railroad cast iron station identification sign. These signs were found at all PRR stations from about 1900 until the late 1960s. They were made of cast iron and painted in red and gold. Most of these signs were discarded, but a few survivors were rescued from scrap heaps. The original sign can be used as a pattern from which reproductions can be made with new materials and placed back on the station canopies where the originals once hung.

For this phase of station restoration, the creation and installation of these signs will be the most visible and important change we will be able to make. It will also be the most expensive. If you would like to see these signs proudly hanging from the station canopies once again, please consider making a contribution!

 

A great deal of the north canopy's woodwork remains, but some is damaged and needs repair, such as the PRR-standard gryphon cutouts in the trackside gable. The north canopy still exhibits the great craftsmanship and attention to detail that the PRR created in the late 19th century. Some of the canopy's original brackets and columns have been replaced with simpler supports. A long-term goal will be to replicate the original designs.
 
     
 

Associated Organizations

Radnor Historical Society SEPTA Suburban Philadelphia Depot Coalition