Valley Girl Views: Third Street Station, Sunbury

The Sunbury Train Station, located at Third and Arch Streets, was built in 1872. It's on the Register of Historic Places. The last passenger train stopped at Sunbury Station in April of 1971.

March 1971

Today, the building is an antique and craft mall.

1884

The Sunbury Train Station, 1910
		Railroad employees climbed a flight of stairs at the rear of the building to set their watches to the stations clock.

Cabs ready to take passengers to the various hotels in Sunbury. The City Hotel [Hotel Edison] had a carriage house at the back, where the horses were kept.

On April 27th 1891, George M. Oberender, a freight conductor on the P & R.R.R. was killed at Sunbury Station. He had been filling in as a substitute conductor on the east bound freight train. When nearing Sunbury station, before the train stopped, Oberender jumed off. On a siding stood a long string of freight cars, and he was thrown against them at a force that bounced him back under the wheels of the train he had jumped from. His injuries were severe, and after an hour or two of intense suffering, he died. Oberender was formerly from Union County, a native of White Deer Mills. He had been employed by the railroad for a number of years.

1917 - Families seeing the soldiers off to war

The Aldine Hotel, next to the train station, was famous for their baked beans
Read More About The Aldine Hotel Here:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-aldine-hotel-sunbury-pa.html

Find the baked beans recipe here:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-famous-aldine-baked-beans.html

Walking bridge over the railroad tracks

The station was a hub of activity, not only where passengers caught the train, but also where locals would stop to buy the newspaper or a candybar.

More than 40 passenger trains a day stopped at Sunbury station in the 1920s.

The train Station can be seen all the way on the far left of the photo.

1963

At the north end of the station, workers loaded, unloaded, sorted mail and packages.

1963

In the 1960s, there were 50 to 60 car loads of freight arriving in Sunbury every day.

1967 Buffalo Flyer just past Sunbury Station

The Railroad division of Penn Central Transportation Co went bankrupt in 1970.

In 1979, Penn Central still owned the train station. At that time, the building needed $7,000 in roof repairs, and many windows were broken and boarded up.

A spokesperson for the company said the options under consideration involved tearing it down, renovating and selling it, or selling it in it's current condition.