Lewistown station

Lewistown is an Amtrak railway station located about 60 miles northwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at PA 103 and Helen Street in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. The station is actually located across the Juniata River from Lewistown proper, a little less than one mile south of the center of the borough. It is currently only served by Amtrak's Pennsylvanian, which operates once per day in each direction, though until 2005, Lewistown was served by a second daily train, the Three Rivers (a replacement service for the legendary Broadway Limited), an extended version of the Pennsylvanian that terminated in Chicago. Upon its cancellation, the sole Pennsylvanian marked the first time in Lewistown's railway history that the town was served by just a single, daily passenger train.

For the historic station in Missouri, see Lewistown station (Missouri).
Lewistown, PA
Location150 Helen Street, Lewistown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40.5882°N 77.5803°W / 40.5882; -77.5803
Owned byPennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society
Line(s)Keystone Corridor (Pittsburgh Line)
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
Construction
ParkingFree
Other information
Station codeLEW
History
Opened1849
Rebuilt1985[1]–1999
Traffic
Passengers (FY 2017)9,147[2]  3.9%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Huntingdon
toward Pittsburgh
 Pennsylvanian Harrisburg
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Huntingdon
toward Chicago
 Three Rivers
1995–2005
 Harrisburg
toward New York
Broadway Limited
Until 1995
Huntingdon
toward Kansas City
 National Limited Harrisburg
toward New York or Washington, D.C.
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Huntingdon
toward Chicago
 Main Line Harrisburg
toward New York or Exchange Place
Granville
toward Chicago
 Hawstone
toward New York or Exchange Place

A station building exists at the stop, which is open before and during train departure times. However, there is no ticket office at this station, as Amtrak closed the ticket office in 1977.[3] The distance between Lewistown and the next station eastward, the Harrisburg Transportation Center, is the longest distance between stations (61 miles) anywhere along the route between Pittsburgh and New York.

The station house, according to volunteers that staff it, is the oldest structure built by the Pennsylvania Railroad which is still standing. The current passenger depot was constructed in 1849 as the freight station, while the Pennsylvania used a nearby three story hotel building as the passenger depot until 1868. Operations were moved into the freight station, while the old brick building became a hotel, restaurant, and a Railway Express Agency. That building was demolished in the 1950s,[4] and currently sits as a small lot.[5] "J" Tower, which was added in the 1870s as a two story-brick tower within the depot, was removed in the 1950s,[3] During restoration of the depot, a replica of "J" Tower was installed into the building.[1]

External audio
Devoted Volunteers Keep History Of Pennsylvania Rail Company On Track, NPR[6]

In December 2019, the Mifflin County Planning Commission announced a two-phase transportation study on the improvements needed to the station and infrastructure, and the transportation and traffic flow. This would be a first step toward possibly reopening Amtrak service to Lewistown on the Keystone Corridor.[7]

References
  1. Yanosey 2010, p. 57.
  2. "Amtrak State Fact Sheet, FY2017, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  3. Yanosey 2010, p. 56.
  4. Yanosey 2010, p. 55.
  5. Microsoft; Nokia (March 3, 2013). "overview map of Lewistown Station" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  6. Klibonoff, Eleanor (November 22, 2016). "No fast track to expanding passenger rail in Western Pennsylvania". Keystone Crossroads. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  7. "Planning Committee analyzes Lewistown Train Station study | News, Sports, Jobs - The Sentinel". Lewistown Sentinel. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.

Bibliography
  • Yanosey, Robert (2010). Pennsylvania Railroad Facilities in Color: Volume 8 Allegheny Division: Banks to Antis. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books. ISBN 978-1582482897.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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