Visiting Philadelphia's Abandoned Subway Stations

Two closed subway stations underneath Center City Philadelphia - Spring Garden on the Broad Street Line and Franklin Park on PATCO - can be seen from moving trains. So of course I had to visit them both.
More about Spring Garden: hiddencityphil...
More about Franklin Park: www.ridepatco.o...
Classy Whale - at-least-weekly adventures, featuring trains and more!

[@jamin4556]

His brows are one fleek!

[@brunhildevalkyrie]

You’re not wrong

[@donaldsteele5238]

A mask sheep

[@kellyjohnson9394]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Ostermond]

@@donaldsteele5238

[@TuneStunnaMusic]

Going by the abandoned stations at 50% speed with blurred video and the xmas music at 50% is so spooky. Its like the eerie suspense to a jump scare.

[@user-lb9zf2on9k]

That station reeks of urine and rats. It's very fitting lol

[@tomjones407]

Nice video. Here's a quick note. The Franklin Square station was used for about an hour back in the early 2000's when a PATCO train derailed near the station and riders were forced to walk to the station, underground, and come up through an escape stairwell.

[@Lbree1077]

You know they're re opening it in 2025 too

[@zaidmusawwir5591]

Most people don't know on the Broad Street Line there's another hidden station called somerset station.its between North Philadelphia station and Glenn woods

[@calinahernandez6775]

The station is not hidden the station is called North Philadelphia Subway Station and is still active. The Station stretches 2 blocks from Lehigh Avenue to Glenwood Avenue. Somerset Street just happens to be the middle street between Lehigh and Glenwood Aves the Local and Ridge Avenue Spur trains stop there only. They call it North Philadelphia Station because it links the 2 Railroads at each end Amtrak's North Philadelphia Station at the Glenwood avenue exit and Septa North Broad Station at the Lehigh Avenue Exit. I believe what your talking about is theyre was a stairway from Somerset to get to the underground concourse that stretch from North Broad Regional Rail Station to North Philadelphia Station without coming above ground. The concourse is still there but long since sealed off . Septa uses it for storage.

[@thedunking_marine3604]

Never seen the Patco up close in my 22 years of living Idk why I just became interested in abandoned stations this last hour 😂😂 Good video

[@brownfudge2653]

Me either and I’m 37 😂

[@1stwonder788]

I recently road it over the Ben Franklin, I was amazed how interesting and smooth the ride was, it has the vibe of the regional rail and the BSL kinda

[@ClassyWhale]

Who all is here after watching It's History's piece on Philadelphia's subways?

[@casbrowne9055]

Here

[@solonsaturngaming3727]

same I legit love seeing old abandoned places.

[@carriec9121]

It's so old.... the trains is very outdated.... Thanks for showing us

[@ozgreen2843]

The trains were refurbished. Alstom only kept the shells and the trucks. Everything else is new tech

[@Jessica-xv8et]

That spring garden station is so spooky every time I pass it

[@kitchin2]

Well done. Glad you included the maps too.

[@BigKy-Mart]

I find it interesting that they have the same chime as the San Diego Trolley!

[@bobski7032]

As a kid I lived in feltonville we use to walk to sears at Roosevelt and Whitaker there was a tunnel underneath the 12 lanes of traffic on Roosevelt Blvd it was considered a safer way to cross the Blvd ,in the middle of the tunnel was a abandoned subway station that was meant to be a spur from the Frankford El it was never completed or used it had a roll down security gate closing it off but you could see the station clearly does any on remember this or have pics that tunnel has been sealed off for at least 30 years now ,also we could go in the department store find the hallway that led to the corporate offices next door and take the elevator to the top floor , the site had a dedicated fire station on the grounds that was a miniature replica of the main bldg which still stands today

[@ozgreen2843]

The Tunnel is still there but gated off. There is still the ventilation shafts for the train station, You can see them in the middle of the median at Adams Ave. Rumor is that the train station was not demolished in the implosion of the Sears tower. Fire Station is still there and active

[@marilovepink83]

I remember this!!

[@beingheardmedia6339]

I think Wikipedia has pix. At least I remember seeing pix when I was looking up the possibility of the subway system being extended to the Northeast.

[@martincruz8319]

Also, there was speculation (mostly from cyberspace) that the Roosevelt Ave. Extension of the Broad Street Subway may yet become a reality - in 50 years (give or take a decade).

[@Dwall44]

Is the store still there? How do I get to that hallway elevator you’re talking about?

[@butth3ad]

I live in philly one time i accidentally got on the spur, thinking it was the bsl express, at girard and i was so scared when we got to spring garden station bc i had no idea where we were and i lost cell service and there was literally only 1 other person on the train

[@libertubey2199]

Great video. However, there is one station that is partially closed. It is the Fairmount Station on the Broad-Ridge Spur. The part that is opened connects to the northbound side of the Fairmount Station on the main subway. A wall was built in the middle when the Spur was brought back as a two-car spur in 1982, three years after SEPTA originally shut down the line (the train was 8 cars long). In the closed section, there are two staircases, which led to the mezzanine, which you can see. Two of the stairways were to Wallace Street. Needless to say, they have been sealed off and there are no traces of the entrances on the street.

[@Metsfan30]

I’ve heard people refer to the lower platform at Pattison/AT&T/NRG as an abandoned station as well but opinions differ on that one

[@libertubey2199]

@@Metsfan30 I could be wrong, but those lower platforms may be used whenever any of the local pro sports teams have home games and SEPTA runs "Special" (i.e. Express) trains to handle the crowd.

[@Metsfan30]

@@libertubey2199 Nope. Only for really special events. Like when the Pope visited about six years ago (that was the last time). Before that was the Phillies World Series celebration in 2008

[@MarkWaller2]

Thanks for another interesting video - not just for the oddity of abandoned stations on busy transit, lines, but also all the content showing the day-to-day operational stuff: tickets, rail vehicles, ordinary stations. I definitely need to come back to Philadelphia and explore more of the system!

[@ilyalayton6139]

Such eerie, much interesting.

[@MyYoutube215]

It’s so many more you missed but I never seen the franklin square station before !!! Good Job

[@kaylagriffin8872]

I live right across the street from the Spring Garden stop you mentioned and even the covering over the entrance is creepy! I had no idea there was a whole station under there!

[@Akabbul]

I love watching about abandoned structures, they give me a nostalgic and suspenseful feeling. Great video

[@johnchambers8528]

Thanks for the views of the abandoned stations. When I worked for the state of Pennsylvania our regional office was at Broad and Spring Garden Street. I used that station almost every day when I was working in the office. If I was near the 8th street station of the Broad street spur line I would ride it to the Spring Garden Street station and walk over to Broad Street to my office. In most cases I was the only person getting off the train at that station and before I retired SEPTA closed the station. It made scene since so few people used the station. I am sure when it was first opened there was more offices and business in the area and was used more. The PATCO station I never used even when it was open for the Bicentennial celebration but again was not used by many people. With the newer development in the area and the improvements made to the park where the station is located it may do better when it is reopened.

[@crabring]

I always find abandoned places fascinating! I'm assuming access was closed from top side?

[@maxaronow712]

Yes sealed with concrete albeit as of July 2022 they are rebuilding the entrance ramps to reopen the station in 2024

[@user-mq9dn2hn2v]

What an honor to grace these abandoned stations with your visitation. cool

[@history_leisure]

I’m a Philly native but I’m studying abroad in Madrid currently and they have a Ghost Station called Chambreí. It was one of the metro’s first stations back in 1919 that was closed when capacity was increased at the nearby Iglesia and Bilbao and it’s location made it not conducive to upgrade. It weird because I think it’s free to go to but are required to reserve a tour-with the earliest ones being in November and I’ll be back in the states May 20. I already have a reason to return to Spain in the near future for Parque Warner Madrid’s next coaster (interesting fact is that it was initially operated by Six Flags back in 2002)

[@mycobacteriem2540]

madrid is such a cool city, i also stay there a lot and am a philly native. I vaquely rememebr seeinf the entrence to the museum at some point but never went, def on my list for when i go back. parque warner is pretty fun, though parque de atracciones is my fav. what new coaster are they supposed to get?

[@history_leisure]

@@mycobacteriem2540 a Multilaunch similar to Pantheon that just opened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. France is also getting a similar ride next year

[@AdonisHolland]

So when you got off the Patco at 12th 13th (the second from last stop) you actually could have stayed on because the same train is the one that comes back

[@andrewdiamond2697]

I was about to say that.

[@Caroljoh]

I love public transit! Thanks for making this video. Can't wait for the Franklin Square station to reopen.

[@Izzymeyokee1]

Franklin Park station looks like a lot of space. Need to do something with it

[@melanie19524]

4:02 this bridge is related to the Manhattan bridge in new york

[@1stwonder788]

Could definitely be inspired by one another

[@philnaegely]

There's also a lower terminal abandoned at the end of the broad st line too

[@AlyxCouch]

Need to do the Henry ave line, part of it was built.

[@Trainwizard]

Ah so I am not the only one who sometimes mixes up the PATCO's direction at 8th, getting on the wrong train.

[@tonysegro]

Used to ride the Broad St line when I went to veterans stadium to see the Phillies

[@rasuljohnson3300]

Spring Garden Station was built in 1930 to 1989 I was close it wasn’t use that much

[@mattmac5605]

Cool video!

[@go-goyubari8776]

Glennwood station too can be seen

[@marccheban194]

This is an excellent video! You seem like a very affable young man. Congratulations!

[@peterfrey6062]

good ride.

[@LaQen25X]

Two creepy stations, made even creepier by that music...kudos! I kinda wanna explore that PATCO one...got a whole "Walking Dead" feel... LOL

[@cedricye1767]

Nice video!

[@douglasmiller8176]

There is another old station from the thirties and forties near broad and pine. There used to be an entrance between juniper and Watts that was useful for the train worker as a workshop?

[@MetroMenTransitProductions]

Interesting! 😮

[@robm328]

So that is what Fern Rock looks like with the BSL. Have only ever seen it from the train platform.

[@ntg98]

Watching the abandoned station go by for me is like looking for the monster that swims around in the water surrounding the deeprun tram...iykyk

[@tealmer3528]

*Franklin SQUARE

[@dysontyronetd]

I heard Franklin Square was trying to be restored

[@ClassyWhale]

Target opening this year!

[@rasuljohnson3300]

I like that you know why is Spring Garden was closed it was billed 1930 to 1989 I was close I wasn’t born

[@crabring]

Also: a Wilbur's factory in Philly??

[@hoodlifehiphop4032]

where u able to access it ?

[@ClassyWhale]

I just filmed through the window. If there's ever an event where they open the stations I'll definitely try to make it out there!

[@calypso_the_freak]

you look a lot like alex davis. he's my sisters boyfriend and he makes a lot of videos of septa

[@AkimxGoki]

💫💢🧐💢💫

[@thedukeofswellington1827]

1:28 the whole city would look like this if the adults weren't the ones actually running the city. Trash everywhere, yards overgrown, kids wild

[@jamesbfaber7770]

Your choice of music makes no sense and makes it hard to hear what you are saying.

[@ClassyWhale]

Thanks!

[@andrewfrancoeur4693]

This is soooo lame

[@ClassyWhale]

Thank you! 😊

[@BlazeOfGlory742]

South of the city?? WTF ITS SOUTH PHILLY!!

[@ClassyWhale]

The exact quote was "in the south of the city"