Building on the Pemberton Branch?

Hey guys,
While on our "route 206 tour" a few weeks back, David and I came across the building pictured below very close to the ROW of the Pemberton Branch at the corner of Mandras and Indian Trl. in Ewansville, just off route 206. It was overgrown with brush, and although the doors you see in one photo look relatively new, the rest of the structure is definitely very old. Was this a railroad building of some sort? It's VERY close to the ROW, and in fact was probably on railroad property before the property was apparently sold to a developer, who constructed the front lawn for a new house there. This building was apparently included in the sale as it's DEFINITELY older than the house, and is now being used as a shed. The concrete is def. new, probably laid when the home was built. The building is constructed of brick and concrete, and the roof is concrete, but looks like it's ancient. Any ideas?

Photos attached.

Mike DiMunno

For those curious about the topic, I've found through other sources that the structure in question is the Ewansville passenger shelter for the PRR. Apparently they had a station stop there into the 60's which I wasn't aware of, and that was it.

Photo below courtesy Dave Homer, of the same structure in 1961.

Thanks,

Mike DiMunno

Hello all: I read with interest the subject of the building in Ewansville. The building is definitely the Ewansville station. I was raised in Ewansville, we moved there from Mt. Holly in 1954. We lived in a house directly facing Rt.206, and to the south facing the Pemberton Branch, about 25 feet from my bedroom window. The station was visible from my house. The line crossed 206 on a two track bridge made by Ft.Pitt Bridge Works. The bridge came out in 1987 and I watched the whole process. The line was abandoned in the mid eighties, I saw that too. The line was double tracked from Smithville to Ewansville to allow trains to pass in the times when the line was busier. This track was removed in the 1950's, around 1958 I think. I watched them take it out also. I rode trains from the station to Camden and crossed to Phila. on the Bridge Trains, this was before PATCO. I often rode the doodle bugs, there were two that used the branch, I remember the 4668 being the regular one that I rode. I was fortunate enough to see the steam power go past my window, K4's, G5's, and H-10's on freight. This all ended in 1957, and I saw the last steam powered train go by. This also would be the last regular steam powered passenger train on the PRR. The passenger trains were taken over by Baldwin RS diesels and the doodlebugs. They were also sometimes powered by Sharknoses down from the NY&LB. Also an occasional RS-3. In the beginning the station had large cast steel signs, the type with they big Keystone in the middle. I always thought they were really fancy for such a small station. In the early sixties they disappeared, the rumor was later that the track forman stole them to sell. If you note on the photo posted, there are little windows. They were not windows, as the signs covered them. If you look at the building today, you will see the bolt stubs still there for the signs. The station was made of solid rebarred concrete including the roof. I think it was built in the 1920's after the original station was torn down when the west side of the wye was removed.The original station was located there.It platformed both lines,both to Pemberton and Vincentown. The wye's grade to the west is still visible. I will post more, out of room.

Ewansville Station continued. The wye was taken out because of the removal of the grade crossing in Ewansville after the Vincentown service ended. This included the installation of the two track bridge. That is when the original wooden station was removed. I never saw photos of this station, but it was described to me by the old timers who lived in town. It was similar to the Vincentown station, which has now also been just recently removed.I t had survived so long because it was an office for a packing company there. The east side of the wye survived all the way up to the intersection of Rt. 206 and Rt. 38. There was a surplus dealer there who used to get stuff shipped in by freight car. And as also mebntioned on this site, the Pettinos Sand Co. loading point. Pettinos also had a pit at Birmingham and loaded cars there along the Toms River line where it cut off in front of the station. Pettinos loaded cars there until about 1959. Then it was bought by a developer and is now Mobile Estates. The track was removed by mobile estates up to the end of their property. But still a piece of the wye survived because boxcars were delivered there across from the station for farmers to unload feed and fertilizer. The last of the wye was pulled up in the sixties. If you know where to look along Rt. 206, there is still a piece of roadbed there. Just east of the east end of the wye there was a semaphore signal. This was the home signal for Birmingham and showed either clear or approach,depending on the signal at Birmingham. Passenger service continued to operate until spring of 1969, in various degrees of cutting back until there was only a one car train with a Baldwin road switcher.I rode the last train, they had to add a PRSL coach that night because of all the railfans. I rode in on it in the morning, with only the one car consist. I got on the train at Birmingham, and made a request for that night that after the train left Pemberton to return to Camden could I deadhead and be dropped off at Ewansville station. The request was granted and that is what I did. I was the last passenger to use the Ewansville station. I hope this confirms to you that the building today used as a shed is the station. Write for more info.

Was this structure portable? Where there more like it? Being of concrete, I would think of temporary structures that could be placed by a MOW crane anywhere needed, like CNJ's concrete telephone booths.