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19-726: Built as the Philadelphia & Delaware County Railroad in 1888, it was taken over by a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1894. The Cardington Branch to Millbourne Mills opened the following year in 1895, establishing a connection for freight interchange between the PRR system and the Philadelphia & Western Railroad . Passenger service ran on the Newtown Square Branch until it was terminated in 1908 due to competition from

38-480: A large trestle over Bryn Mawr Avenue. The stone piers from the Darby Creek bridge are still extant, while large concrete abutments remain visible on the west side of Bryn Mawr Avenue south of Goshen Road. Service past Grassland station (Eagle Road) ended in 1963 due to the deterioration of several bridges west of that point, and service on the remainder of the line ended in 1981. Conrail obtained permission to abandon

57-502: A miller with Thomas Steel, took charge of the new mill. A stream which empties into the Millbourne dam supplying the water to Millbourne Mills, in 1800, was an oil-mill, which continued until 1848. The old grist-mill stood above the present mill. In 1820, it was used for grinding gypsum . As late as 1830, Augustus C. Jones was operating the old mill in grinding logwood , spices , etc. It was later discontinued. The new mill, built in 1814,

76-460: A plan of grist and saw-mills to his son John, Jr. These mills were built before 1749. The mills were owned by the elder Sellers and were operated by James Steel. James continued to operate the mill until 1805 when his son, Thomas Steel, took over. Thomas Steel purchased the Darby Mill in 1814. In that year, Sellers erected an old part of the now Millbourne Mill. John Jr., after learning the trade of

95-647: A weaver. He was appointed surveyor by the governor to run a line from Schuylkill to Lancaster to prepare for the Strasburg Road . He was appointed as road commissioner of the Strasburg Road. He was appointed as a surveying engineer of the Union Canal . He was also involved in the Schuylkill-Susquehanna canal study of 1783 and the boundary commission for the newly created Delaware County in 1789. Sellers

114-680: The Millbourne Station on the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line . John Sellers (scientist) John Sellers (1728 – February 2, 1804) was an American scientist, politician and surveyor from Pennsylvania. He served in the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly , representing Chester County from 1767 to 1771. He also served in the Pennsylvania Senate , representing Delaware and Philadelphia counties and

133-652: The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company . No interchange of cars was possible with the latter two railroads due to the difference in rail gauge . The mill produced flour under the King Midas Flour brand. Millbourne Borough was first occupied by Samuel Sellers. The land was used for living and farming for over half a century. His grandson, John Sellers , purchased plots of land in the borough. Before Sellers' death in 1804, he devised his estates to his sons, Nathan, David, John, and George. Sellers devised

152-540: The bridge over Baltimore Avenue located at the Upper Darby/East Lansdowne border having been removed in 2003. The only remaining visible rail is at the junction just west of SEPTA 's Fernwood-Yeadon Station . Through Upper Darby Township, PECO 's high tension power lines run along the right-of-way from Fernwood to the Upper Darby/Haverford border at Lansdowne Avenue and Township Line Road . At

171-568: The Shane brothers, Gardner Mills was renamed the King Midas Mill. The name was taken from the brand name of the flour that had been produced at Millbourne Mills. Millbourne Mills closed in 1927. A Sears store later occupied the location, which was later torn down. Millbourne exists today as a borough in Delaware County, between Upper Darby Township and the city of Philadelphia. It is served by

190-604: The city of Philadelphia from 1790 to 1794. He was a founding member of the American Philosophical Society and observed the Transit of Venus in 1769. John Sellers was born on September (or November) 19, 1728, at Sellers Hall in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania , to Sarah (née Smith) and Samuel Sellers. His grandfather Samuel Sellers worked as a weaver and emigrated from Derbyshire . Sellers worked as

209-590: The first session of the Pennsylvania Senate . He represented Delaware and Philadelphia counties and Philadelphia from 1790 to 1794. He was appointed by Governor Thomas Mifflin as associate judge of the Delaware County Court, but declined the appointment. Sellers grandson James Sellers was an inventor and had a wire weaving business. His great-great grandson James C. Sellers was a Philadelphia lawyer. Sellers died on February 2, 1804, in Upper Darby. He

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228-461: The intersection of Darby Road and West Chester Pike, Haverford Township has created a small park, Llanerch Crossing Park. The Park commemorates the "Battle of Llanerch Junction", an 1895 confrontation at that site between track workers from the P&;DC and the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company. Interpretive signs and two murals describe the history of Llanerch Junction. The western terminus of

247-639: The line in 1982 and removed the tracks and most bridges in 1985. The roadbed remains largely intact, though some parts are overgrown with weeds and trees. In some cases, private business has obliterated portions of the right-of-way . Several areas of the roadbed are accessible to the public, mainly in Naylor Run Park in Upper Darby Township, and along the Pennsy Trail in Havertown. Few bridges remain, with

266-695: The line was the Powell Lumber Yard on Newtown Street Road in Newtown Square. The lumber yard burned down in the 1980s. The old freight station was threatened with demolition in the late 1990s. The Newtown Square Historical Preservation Society raised money to have the old freight station moved to its current location west of town at the Drexel Lodge property on West Chester Pike. The Newtown Square Railroad Museum has been created at that location, with engines and other rolling stock, and memorabilia related to

285-506: The line. Millbourne Mills (Pennsylvania) Millbourne Mills was a flour mill owned by the Sellers family in Upper Darby Township , Pennsylvania , U.S., as well as the name of a former railroad station located there. The Pennsylvania Railroad's Cardington Branch ended there, where interchange was made with the Philadelphia and Western Railroad . Deliveries were also made to the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company and to

304-551: The parallel West Chester Traction Company trolley lines. Of the ten passenger stations along the line, all except Llanerch and Newtown Square were flag stops. These latter two stations featured single-story frame station houses. The physical plant of the Newtown Square Branch consisted of a yard at Pembroke just past Fernwood Junction, and seven stations. The stations were Garrett Road, Arlington, Llanerch, Grassland, Brookethorpe, Foxcroft, The Hunt, and Newtown Square. Major bridges were at Baltimore Avenue, Naylor's Run, Darby Creek, and

323-641: Was appointed one of the Boston Port Bill Committee and was a deputy in the first Provincial Conference of Representatives at Philadelphia on July 14, 1774. These activities on behalf of the Revolution and particularly Sellers' role in signing the Continental currency led to his disownment by the Society of Friends. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1789, representing Delaware . He served in

342-554: Was one of the original members of the American Philosophical Society . He joined the organization in 1768. Sellers and David Rittenhouse and others were members of the society's committee that observed the Transit of Venus in 1769 and reported their observations for the benefit of science. Sellers was a Federalist . He was a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly (later the Pennsylvania House of Representatives ), representing Chester County , from 1767 to 1771. He

361-495: Was placed under the charge of John Sellers, Jr., and was fitted with all the improved machinery of that time. Fred Shane and George Shane were the owners of Millbourne Mills in the early 1900s. In 1912, the Shane brothers worked with W.J. Wilson to purchase a flour mill in Hastings, Minnesota called Gardner Mills. Although initially successful, the rapid expansion led to the mill's economic difficulties. After its purchase by Wilson and

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