SEPTA representatives, elected officials and the Morton Borough community celebrated the recently-completed,year-long station improvements project at the authority’s Morton Station, which serves passengers on SEPTA’s Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line.
The station has played a key role in the borough’s development from farming community and summer vacation hot spot to a first-generation commuter suburb. The renovations recognize the station’s place in borough history and restore the station to its original 19th century appearance.
“Morton Station has been a landmark and hub of borough activity for more than 120 years,” said SEPTA General Manager Joseph Casey. “The renovations pay homage to the station’s rich history.”
Morton Station was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1880. The High Victorian Gothic-style facility includes its passenger and freight stations and outbound shelter, making it the last completely intact station in Delaware County and one of the last remaining 19th century suburban complexes in the Delaware Valley.
Renovations were part of a three-station capital construction contract funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The project, which included improvements at Clifton/Aldan Station on SEPTA’s Media/Elwyn Line and Folcroft Station on the authority’s Wilmington/Newark Line, cost approximately $1.37 million, Work included replacing the roofing with architectural asphalt composite shingles; patching, painting and cleaning the existing brick walls; repairing all existing wood windows and doors; replacing all existing window security guards; removing the existing enclosed room located on the porch (facing Yale Avenue) and installing new porch decking; stairs and railing; installing new decking, stairs and railings on the porch facing the tracks; repainting all windows, doors and trim; and placing new landscaping around the Station Building.
“We cannot thank our passengers enough for their patience during the renovations to the station,” said Casey. “Rail transportation has had an important role in this community’s past and the improvements made to Morton Station ensure that rail transit will have an equally important role in the Borough’s future.”