Wayside: Train Station

The train station was added in 1911 to accommodate visitors to Valley Forge State Park.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

On the railing beside the train tracks on the platform adjacent to the Valley Forge Train Station building

Designation:

Valley Forge Then and Now wayside exhibit

Amenities

2 listed

Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Train travel was popular, available, and affordable in the early 1900s. People wanted to travel to sites of national significance, especially after the American Civil War, and Washington’s Headquarters was an appealing stop.

Originally installed in 1842, these tracks connected western Pennsylvania to Philadelphia for the transportation of coal. The Valley Forge Park Commission (1893-1923) worked with the Reading Railroad to replace an existing freight station with the Valley Forge Train Station seen today. In 1911, the new stop was added to accommodate the thousands of visitors who wanted to see the historic area.

Boy Scouts from all over the nation arrived at this station for the National Boy Scout Jamborees. The events were held at Valley Forge State Park in 1950, 1957, and 1964.

The station closed its doors as a passenger train stop in the 1980s. The National Park Service restored the building in 2009, converting the interior into a museum. The tracks are still in use today as a freight line for Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Tags: valley forge national historical park, valley forge train station, valley forge then and now, 50 years of valley forge, valley forge 50