Talk:Franklin Square station

Station closings
Does anyone know when the station closed for the first time? --Boothy443 | trácht ar 09:34, 11 March 2006 (UTC)


 * It's hard to judge what's the best version to put in the article. The station's operating dates were probably something like "1936–1939, 1943–1946, 1952–1953, and 1976–1979." Unfortunately, the online info is pretty murky (especially for the WWII period), and none of these 6 sources can be considered precise & reliable enough by itself. Until someone finds a more-solid reference, I've edited the Wikipedia article to cite all 6 sources and say "approximate years of operation ... with sources varying on the details." See what you think. —Patrug (talk) 08:47, 21 August 2014 (UTC)


 * Below, #3 and #4 appear to be the most-reliable sources supporting the summary statement in the article. So, I trimmed back the footnotes to just those two, and added a "better source needed" tag. All six sources below shed some light on the situation, until we find something more reliable. —Patrug (talk) 08:51, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

Source #1, dated 2001
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/phl.transportation/wKQMRlK0IKA

On Wed, 24 Oct 2001 03:38:18 GMT, "Thomas Hickey" wrote:

>The openings and dates I've been quoting are:

>1. 1936 to 1942 (when the Bridge Line first opened) The station closed in 1939. >2. 1953 (nine months) (when the Bridge Line holed through to Locust Street.       It re-opened at some point in 1952, after the PRR ferries shut down.  I don't think that it was open when the Locust Street Subway finally opened, but I could be wrong(I wasn't around yet!). >3. 1976 to 1979 (Bicentennial)        That's OK. >If someone doesn't correct me soon, I'll keep repeating these dates until they become "official."        Hey, that's what we're here for.        Michael T. Greene

Source #2, dated 2004
http://talk.nycsubway.org/perl/read?subtalk=703401

Posted by American Pig

As for Franklin Square, its operating dates were:

June 6, 1936–July 10, 1939 and May 14, 1976–September 9, 1979.

Source #3, dated 2005
http://PhillyArchaeology.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Franklin-Square1.pdf

An Archeological Sensitivity Study of Franklin Square

Douglas C. McVarish, Rebecca Yamin, Daniel G. Roberts

John Milner Associates, Inc.

When the Delaware River Bridge was first planned, a high-speed rail link was envisioned between Philadelphia and Camden. Construction of the underground portion of the link took place in the 1930s with excavation for the Franklin Square Station. The station opened with the rest of the Bridge Line on June 7, 1936. The station remained open for only three years and was briefly reopened in 1952 as a transfer point for passengers on the Philadelphia to Camden ferry service. Reopened again for the Bicentennial, it closed again in 1979 (NRHS 2002).

... Originally built in 1934, it was closed for lack of patronage in 1939 and reopened briefly in 1952 (Lordon 1969).

Lordon, Francis M. "Franklin Sq. Station Will Become Stop on N.J. High-Speed Line." Philadelphia Inquirer. May 13, 1969.

Source #4, dated 2009
http://articles.philly.com/2009-05-21/news/25273354_1_philadelphia-stations-subway-station-benjamin-franklin-bridge

Franklin Square PATCO stop to be reopened

By Paul Nussbaum

Inquirer Staff Writer

This will be at least the fifth opening for Franklin Square Station.

It debuted in 1936 as the first Philadelphia stop on the Camden-Philadelphia rail line owned by the Delaware River Joint River Commission and operated by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co.

The station soon closed because it got little use. Increased activity on the riverfront during World War II prompted its reopening.

Closed again after the war, the station was reactivated in 1953 when the line was extended from Eighth and Market Streets to 15th and Locust Streets. It was soon closed again for lack of use. PATCO took over the line in 1969.

In 1976, when Philadelphia was a centre of the nation's Bicentennial celebration, PATCO spent $1.1 million to renovate and reopen Franklin Square Station. It closed again in 1979.

Source #5, dated 2009
https://web.archive.org/web/20140821165013/http://www.examiner.com/article/patco-bridge-line-subway-stations-to-get-makeovers-and-one-to-reopen-for-a-fifth-time

PATCO "Bridge Line" subway stations to get makeovers — and one to reopen for a fifth time

Sandy Smith

Philadelphia Public Transportation Examiner

When the station reopens, it will be the fifth go-round for the historically low-traffic facility. The station opened along with the rest of the Bridge Line, which ran from 8th and Market to downtown Camden, in 1936, but was closed within a few years due to low patronage. The surge in transit ridership during World War II led to a reopening of the station; when traffic returned to prewar levels after the war, it closed again. When the Bridge Line subway was extended west to 15th–16th and Locust in 1953, the station reopened again, only to close once more a few years later. In 1976, PATCO gave the station a facelift and opened it a fourth time in anticipation of traffic from Bicentennial visitors; in 1979, it closed the station again.

Source #6, dated 2011
http://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2011/12/there_is_interst_in_reopening.html

There is interest in reopening long-shuttered Franklin Square station on PATCO Line

By John Barna/Gloucester County Times

Franklin Square dates to 1936 as a train stop. It debuted as one of the two Philadelphia train stops along the Camden Bridge Line that provided train service between Camden and Philadelphia. It closed after World War II due to lack of patronage. It was reopened in 1953, according to DRPA archives, but then closed shortly afterwards — again due to a lack of patronage.

The DRPA — which debuted its PATCO line in 1968 — refurbished the station for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. On July 4, 1976, some 23,000 people exited the station en route to bicentennial activities. Another 37,000 patrons used the station in the week to follow, according to the DRPA.

By 1979, patronage dropped to the point where the DRPA said it could save $46,000 by closing it and directing train patrons to the 8th and Market Street stop four blocks away.