Strafford station
commuter rail station located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia at Old Eagle School Road and Crestline Road
Strafford station is a commuter rail station located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia at Old Eagle School Road and Crestline Road, in Tredyffrin Township, and it is served by most Paoli/Thorndale Line trains.
The ticket office at this station is open weekdays from 5:50 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., excluding holidays. There are 289 parking spaces at the station, including SEPTA permit parking in nearby lots.
This station is 15.4 track miles from Philadelphia's Suburban Station. In 2017, the average total weekday boardings at this station was 780, and the average total weekday alightings was 621.
History
From 1873 to 1883, the building served as the railway station for Wayne, Pennsylvania. In 1883, the building was moved to its current location in Strafford, which was then called Eagle. The name was changed to Strafford in 1887. The landmark building was constructed in the "Eastlake" or "Stick" architectural style popular from 1855 to 1877.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Strafford station” is commuter rail station located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia at Old Eagle School Road and Crestline Road. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Strafford, station and commuter, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “commuter rail station located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia at Old Eagle School Road and Crestline Road” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7620934. Authority coordinates are 40.050, -75.404. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2017, 1873, 1883 and 1887.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Strafford station”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Strafford station primary sources, Strafford station archive and Strafford research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Strafford station”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Strafford station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.