Why isn'xt there an Amtrak Lehman Place Station for Strassburg? - Trains Magazine
Okay, folks, first, it's spelled LEAMAN place, and yes, it's pronounced "Lemon" as far as most folks can tell.
Second, the idea of a transfer station has been batted about for at least 20 years, and probably closer to 40 or even 50 years. The most serious effort I can remember by far was a proposal by the Amish community that basically offered to pay for AND BUILD a station at Leaman Place, IF the "powers that be" could be persuaded to stop the trains there. I can't remember exactly when this was, but I remember it being around the 1990s or 2000s when SEPTA was forced to run trains as far west as an interlocking just east of Lancaster to change tracks during a major interlocking reconstruction project. At the time, SEPTA service had been extended west from Paoli to Downingtown and Parkesburg because of a major reconstruction project on Rt. 30 or the Schuylkill Expressway, and SEPTA ended up running those trains both ways through Leaman Place just to cross over from one main to the other. Amish residents saw the SEPTA cars/trains rolling by, and decided to ask for service. Needless to say, it wasn't that easy, and the service/station never materialized.
Some of the problem has to do with the location. Even after the notoriously narrow and ancient Rt. 30 overpass over the location was replaced, the roadway traffic patterns locally just aren't conducive to a passenger stop--one would have to condemn, and pay for, the large lumberyard across the line from the Strasburg runaround siding, plus add more parking, roads, lanes, etc. Plus, there are ADA requirements for such a station, even if only a dozen or fewer such passengers might use it in a year. Your costs just went up exponentially. You really can't get away with stopping at an old low-level platform like Clemson, SC, Winslow, AZ, or Lewistown, Pa. anymore, sorry to say.
Factor in another problem: The "East Strasburg" terminal is not exactly pedestrian-friendly to Strasburg proper itself, nor is Strasburg quite the pedestrian-friendly town many may think it to be. The big attractions--the outlet malls, the Amish Farm tourist trap, the big Christian-themed theater--are all up Rt. 896 from Strasburg proper, by several miles. Railfans would certainly appreciate a two-train ride from Philly or the suburbs to the Strasburg RR and the RR Museum of Pa., but once you get past those fans the concept is a harder sell than we want for the reasons I just described.
There have been proposals to extend SEPTA service westward to Lancaster and even Harrisburg, making it really an intercity service rather than a commuter/suburban service. Only if/when that happens can the concept of a station at Leaman Place become a reality, not just as a local stop for a few tourists or Amish folks.
