Mars Station, Pennsylvania
Mars | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location |
Brickyard Road Mars, PA 16046 |
| Owned by | Mars Area History & Landmark Society |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Tracks | 1 |
| Construction | |
| Disabled access | Yes |
| History | |
| Opened | 1897 |
| Rebuilt | 2000–2007 |
The Mars Station in Mars, Pennsylvania, was constructed in 1897 by the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad. For nearly fifty years, the station served the community by helping to transport freight and passengers in the area. The station is located halfway between the cities of Pittsburgh, and Butler.
History
During the 1920s, a freight train derailed and crashed into the station, which knocked it off its foundation. The station would eventually be repaired. A few years later, residents gathered around the station and tracks to witness President Warren G. Harding's funeral train passing by on its way to Washington, D.C. The station closed down in the early 1960s, and it would sit vacant until the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the station was once again in use by the railroad and there was an agent located at the station. The agent that was at the station when it finally closed was J.T. Scott. After it closed again in the early 1980s it would remain closed.
In 2000, the Mars Historical Society purchased the station, and through many donations it was relocated and restored at a new site in the borough. The station is now in the process of becoming a museum. According to Railpace Newsmagazine, the Mars station is the last station still standing on the P&W Subdivision.[1]
In 2006, the Mars Train Station was featured on The History Channel as part of the Save Our History program.
References
- ↑ Wagner, Todd V.: "Fresh Paint", page 19. Railpace Newsmagazine, September, 2006
Coordinates: 40°41′41″N 80°00′31″W / 40.6948°N 80.0085°W