Allen Lane station

Allen Lane
SEPTA regional rail
Allen Lane station during construction of the high-level platforms
Location	200 West Allens Lane Mount Airy, Philadelphia, PA
Coordinates	40°03′27″N 75°11′42″W / 40.0575°N 75.1950°WCoordinates: 40°03′27″N 75°11′42″W / 40.0575°N 75.1950°W
Owned by	SEPTA
Line(s)	Chestnut Hill West Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	6 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	2
History
Opened	1880
Electrified	1918
Services
Preceding station   SEPTA   Following station St. Martins toward Chestnut Hill West Chestnut Hill West Line Carpenter toward Temple University   Former services   Pennsylvania Railroad St. Martins toward Chestnut Hill Chestnut Hill Line Carpenter toward Suburban Station Germantown Road toward White Marsh Fort Washington Branch Terminus

Allen Lane station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station in Philadelphia. It is located at 200 West Allens Lane in the Mount Airy neighborhood and serves the Chestnut Hill West Line. The station building was built circa 1880, according to the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings project. Like many in Philadelphia, it retains much of its Victorian/Edwardian appearance. The High Point Cafe is in the station building.

The station is in zone 2 on the Chestnut Hill West Line, on former Pennsylvania Railroad tracks, and is 10.1 track miles from Suburban Station. In fiscal 2012, this station saw 307 boardings on an average weekday.

The name: "Allen" vs "Allen’s" vs "Allens"

Allen Lane station got its name from the adjoining street, Allens Lane, which was named for William Allen, a prominent man of colonial-era Pennsylvania. His estate, Mount Airy (from which the surrounding Mount Airy neighborhood got its name), was at the top of the hill where Allens Lane meets Germantown Avenue. (The site is now the campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia). Since at least the 19th century, there has been variation in the lane's name between "Allen", "Allen’s", and "Allens". Today, through maps and signage, the names have reached a level of written codification that leaves the lane's name written consistently as "Allens" and the station's name written consistently as "Allen". Colloquially, the Allen/Allen’s/Allens variation persists in local speech, such as when train conductors sometimes announce the stop with the genitive inflection. The non-genitive variation that became the codified station name may have been reinforced by a timetable printer's error—the Pennsylvania Railroad's timetables were printed by the firm of Allen, Lane & Scott.

Restoration and renovation

The Allen Lane station in October 2012 after construction of the high level platforms.

Allen Lane Station underwent a two-phase restoration and renovation project in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first phase of work on the historic station building and shelters was completed in September 1999. The second phase, which included the construction of high level platforms, a rebuilt pedestrian overpass, and ramps for handicapped access, was completed in 2011.

External links

Media related to Allen Lane (SEPTA station) at Wikimedia Commons

• SEPTA – Allen Lane Station
• Existing Railroad Stations in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
  • Old Allen Lane PRR Station photo
  • 2005 Rob Mandeville photo
• Allens Lane entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Station House from Google Maps Street View