Stokesdale
In 1996, the Stokesdale passenger shelter was donated to Tioga Central Railroad (TCRR). Shortly thereafter it was restored by Tioga Transportation Society member, the late Paul Smith. For many years it was used only as storage.
About 2005 the inside was restored by other members of the TTS and converted to a tourist information center and mini museum. In the late winter of 2007/2008 the then owners of TCRR donated the shelter to the TTS.
The Stokesdale shelter currently sits track side at Wellsboro Junction next to its “sibling” structure the Round Top passenger station which the Society acquired in February of 2007. According to the Interstate Commerce Commission Valuation engineering field notes performed and recorded in 1919, of which are currently in the possession of the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland, the Stokesdale shelter was built in 1900.
The acquisition of the Stokesdale shelter will help the Society ensure that some of the very few remaining and rate railroad structures that were part of Tioga County’s rich railroad heritage remain in Tioga County and are available for inspection by the public during the operating season of TCRR.
The current paint scheme is a result of matching paint chips taken from areas not exposed to the elements, a newspaper article which mentioned two tone drab and an elderly gentleman who remembers the structures being brown in color.
Photo shows Stokesdale in its original location, circa 1919. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.
This photo shows the results of the original restoration.
This photo shows part of the interior.
This photo shows the shelter in its current paint scheme.