The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Train Depot, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

The town of Gettysburg in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is famous for the battle in the American Civil War.  The town is also a famous railroad town where the railroad had a small role to play in the battle.  President Abraham Lincoln arrived in this town to deliver his famous ‘Gettysburg Address’.  Today, passenger trains no longer stop here, but the trains still come through town, and the old train station, commonly called the ‘Lincoln Train Station’, is now a museum.  So much of the railroad history of Gettysburg is centered around the Lincoln Train Station, but years later, a second train station was built one block west of the Gettysburg Train Station.

Welcome to the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Train Depot.  It is often overshadowed by the Lincoln Train Station as it was erected in April of 1884 long after the big war took place.  Well, it did play a role in the 50^th and 75^th Anniversary Reunions of the Battle of Gettysburg as it brought the former troops, both of the Union army and the Confederate army, to the reunion site at the Eternal Flame.  The rail line had regular passenger train service that connected the people of Gettysburg to the city of Harrisburg.  Originally owned by the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad, it was later overtaken by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad who ceased passenger service on the line in 1941.  There was a tourist railroad that served the line until the 2000’s.  It continues as a freight line today, but the old train station remains.

The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Train Station is located on N. Washington Street at W. Railroad Street.  It is two blocks north of U.S. Route 30 and one block west of U.S. Business Route 15.  Parking is metered street parking.  The station is not open to the public.

Next time you are in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania visiting the Lincoln Train Station, talk a walk to the other train station that helped make post war history.