Five Correct Guesses in This Week's Photo Challenge

Within just 36 minutes, Larry Ritter jumped on Phoenixville Patch and

Others soon seconded Larry, noting that the photo was of Columbia Station. Congrats to Larry, Ed Jones, Jennifer Daywalt, Jennifer Steinmayer and Donna Bucelli for correctly idenitfying the location in the photo.

Here's the explanation, courtesy of The Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area:

“If you guessed it was the Columbia Station you were correct. In the foreground of the old photograph, taken circa 1970, are railroad tracks belonging to the Pickering Valley Branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.

“The Pickering Valley Railroad brought milk and other farm products from the outlying areas into Phoenixville. Passengers used the line to get from their farming communities into the metropolis of Phoenixville, then on to Philadelphia or Reading. The most noted event in the history of this railroad was a wreck on Oct. 4, 1877. Several members of the Pennypacker family returning from a family reunion were injured or killed.

“A study was commissioned by the State Bureau for Historic Preservation in order to determine whether any elements of the Pickering Valley Branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad still remain between Phoenixville and Byers Station. Byers Station was located 11 miles southwest of Phoenixville near the area known today as Eagle.

“The following is a description of their findings:

A field investigation in April 2011 revealed that the vast majority of the Pickering Valley Branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad between Phoenixville and Byers Station had been removed; only two elements from the railroad could be found.

On the site of the Columbia Station at 4 Bridge Street in Phoenixville Borough, Chester County, approximately 150 feet of rail can be seen southeast of the former train depot (see Photograph 1). At the southeastern corner of the intersection of Kimberton Road and Pikeland Road, in West Pikeland Township, Chester County, are four concrete piers (see Photograph 3), presumably from a small railroad bridge constructed to accommodate the hilly landscape.

Several sections of the railroad berm are still visible, but the tracks and ties have been removed and many sections of the berm have been interrupted and altered by modern development. No associated buildings, such as rail stations, could be found. The National Register-listed Byers Station Historic District, located at the terminus of the Pickering Valley Branch, does not describe a train station, indicating its absence when the district was placed on the National Register in 2002.

“The demolition of the Phoenixville Iron Company buildings, with which the significance of the Pickering Valley Branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was associated, and the widespread absence of remaining railroad elements support CHRS, Inc.’s 2009 decision to change the status of the Pickering Valley Branch from eligible to not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

“To see the full article and neat maps go to this website.”