Highland Avenue
Chester Transportation Center was a major station on the Northeast Corridors. It was a on Pennsylvania Railroad intercity trains in the 1940s. In the Amtrak era, the only train I could find that stopped in the station was the Chesapeake, a weekdays only commuters-oriented local train that operated from 1978 to 1983 that ran from Philadelphia to Washington, DC using leased Arrow equipment from New Jersey Transit.
The historic station was built in 1903. The station house was built directly alongside the two-story clad in stone viaduct with the historic building extending to canopies that surround both of the low-level side platforms for the four-track line. These each have wooden boarding crossings to allow trains to board on the express tracks. The canopies end with circular columns along the platform edges. The station contains a historic two-story station house along the Philadelphia-bound platform. The look of the railroad ROW being encased in a building extends to the Delaware-bound platform with windscreens behind this platform's conapy containing windows.
The station has been retrofitted to be wheelchair accessible with elevators in shafts that arrive at the platform clad in more modern off-white panels. These elevators have brown trim around the windows and green roofs that try and blend in with the historic architecture of the station. These elevators are located just south of the canopied areas of the platform, and near the pedestrian tunnel that connects the Delaware-bound side of the station with the depot. For accessible access to trains, the front of each platform contains a mini-high platform. The Delaware-bound's is completely exposed to the elements. While the Philadelphia-bound mini-high platform is tucked directly beneath the canopy that extends out from the station house.
This station depot has marble clad walls, interior staircases and includes a ticket office on the first floor. Doors lead out to the platform on the second floor with the first floor leading out to multiple-bus stops (this is the Chester Transportation Center) on what at a normal station would be the station's passenger pick and drop-off area. Bus passengers for certain stops wait under the porch that extends from the brick depot held up by columns along the street edge. These columns extend out to the edge of the street and have the Bus Stop signs hanging directly on them. Inside the depot doors also lead out to a white tunnel beneath the tracks connecting to the Delaware-bound platform.
When the depot is closed passengers can leave the Philadelphia-bound platform via two additional staircases. There is a doorway next to the northern edge of the depot (and start of the ramp up to the mini-high platform). This leads to a covered staircase down to the depot's driveway at its intersection with Welsh Street that crosses through the railroad viaduct.
At the southern end of the platform there is a special canopy over just a staircase that has stonework on both sides and leads down to the station's driveway and intersection with Market Street. The sidewalk at street level has a canopied connection hanging onto the stone sides of the railroad viaduct. This canopy provides protection from the elements for passengers waiting at additional bus stops directly along this sidewalk.
The Delaware-bound side of the station is directly alongside 6th Street that includes additional bus stops directly below the railroad viaduct. These bus stops include a small section of canopy that extends from the brick sides of the railroad viaduct right next to the pedestrian tunnel covering some benches for bus passengers. There are clearly some non-passenger accessible rooms tucked under the viaduct, with some nearby windows and doors. I think these lead to a bus operator breakroom.
In addition to the elevator there are three staircases up to this platform. One is a staircase that can be closed off directly down to the pedestrian passageway through the viaduct before it emerges through a gate out to the street (it is closed overnight). At the northern end of the platform is a unique spiraling staircase (it's not a proper spiral staircase, because the stairs run around a square central post of concrete). This leads down to the corner of the station's driveway and Welsh Street. There is a final, completely exposed staircase off the southern end of the platform down to the angled intersection of 6th Street and Avenue of the States/Market Street, right near the railroad bridges over this street.
Photos 1-13: September 13, 2011; 14-45: October 23, 2013;
