Parkesburg Train Station

Story

Parkesburg is an Amtrak train station located between Lancaster and Philadelphia at West First Avenue and South Culvert Street in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. It is served by most Amtrak Keystone Service trains. A station building exists at the stop, but is not currently used as a ticket office. The distance between Parkesburg and the next westbound station (Lancaster) is the longest distance between stations (23 miles) anywhere within the Pennsylvania section of the Keystone Service.From circa 1914 through 1972, Parkesburg Tower was located near the Atlantic Avenue bridge. The tower served as a communication/signalling point for westbound (to Lancaster and beyond) trains, and a routing location for eastbound trains entering the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Rail Road. A small service yard was also located nearby for both track service and to assist with sideling switching. Parkesburg Station once was the western-most stop for the SEPTA R5 commuter line (now the Paoli/Thorndale Line). It was truncated to Downingtown in November 1996 because of the need for trains to deadhead to Lancaster to turn around. It has since been re-extended to Thorndale, a few miles west of Downingtown.In 1984, the station appeared in the movie Witness. Filming took place over a three-day period, and devout fans of the film make annual pilgrimages to the station and other select stops each year.