The Strafford Mystery
The 2 documents that pertain to track alignment are the 1851 and 1918 plans. The 1851 plans were created by the distinguished engineer,. The 1918 plans are from the Pennsylvania Railroad. Both sets of track plans show the track alignment at the time. The 1918 plan also shows the 'old' track, while the 1851 plans shows suggested improvements, most of which were implemented in the 1870s. The 'old' track from the 1918 plan and the 1851 track are very similar except for the section around Old Eagle School Road.

The 1851 track around the Road curves north and seems to run close to the Old Eagle School. The alignment follows the contours, which was the standard practice when the line was first built and there are similar examples of curves to reduce the climb at Devon and Tredyffrin. But the 'old track fromt he 1918 plans does not follow this alignment, rtaher it follows the suggested re-alignment on the 1851 plans.

This suggests that between 1851 and the 1870s the track was re-aligned at Old Eagle School road. This would have involved building an embankment to span the hollow near the Road. No deeds or other evidence has been found of this re-alignment.

June 23, 1881 The Pennsylvania Railroad Company are now engaged in building four tracks from Philadelphia to Malvern. The two on the south side of the road will be used exclusively for freight trains, and the two on the north side for passengers. This will necessitate the removal of some of the stations on the road, two of them being very fine ones – the one at Bryn Mawr and the other at Ardmore.

Daily Local News (West Chester)

March 8, 1882 Joseph Mullen, of Tredyffrin township, has sold his farm of 56 acres between the Eagle and Wayne Stations on the north side of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The property was purchased by Lewis Brookes, agent for a Philadelphia party. It is said that a new station is to be built by the railroad company within 500 yards of the property.

Daily Local News

The purchaser was Robert Smith actually, Chester County deed N9-399. The property was on the east side of Old Eagle School Road between Hillside and Deepdale Roads. - MB

1883 - During this year the third track on the Philadelphia Division was extended from Beaumont to Devon … The alignment was greatly improved … at Eagle.
Source: Maintenance of Way Report; Thirty-Seventh Annual Report, Pennsylvania Railroad Company, January 1, 1884.