By Fran Maye

When Greg Suplick and his wife, Dr. Amy Kidd bought the Pocopson Train Station three years ago to start a veterinary practice, they had no idea how much interest would be generated by people trying to recapture the charm of the 107-year-old building.

“People come in and ask for a tour or want to take pictures,” Amy said. ‘People set up outside and paint the building. This building really draws attention.”

Now called the Pocopson Veterinary Station, located on Route 926 near Pocopson Elementary School, the building is an eye-catcher to motorists coming down the hill on Route 926. Most people, Greg said, don’t even realize it’s home to a veterinary practice. The building is listed on the Chester County Register of Historic Places, and according to a recent survey by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the building has a good chance to eventually be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The original site was purchased in 1892 by R.S. Wood, an agent for Wilmington and Northern Railroad Co. from Emlen Darlington and Hannah Darlington. Prior to 1893, the the station had been located on the northeastern corner of Route 926 and Pocopson Road and functioned as a freight station.

The Pocopson Train Station is just one of eight remaining of the original 27 train stations in the county. The other seven are Cossart (near Del.-Pa. State line), Northboook, Modena, Beaver Dam (Honey Brook), Fontaine (Honey Brook, near Struble Lake), Isabella (West Nantmeal), and Springfield (Elverson).

There’s no doubting the unique character of the old train station. It was built in 1893 as a passenger train station for the Wilmington and Northern Railroad Co. The Wilmington and Northern Railroad network consisted of passenger, flag and freight stations totaling 57 and covering 88 miles of track. In Chester County alone, 27 stations were located along approximately 54 miles of track.

When built, it was initially painted red like most other train stations of the era, but shortly later repainted yellow. It was built with serpentine stone, a stone found in few areas around the world , mostly in California and Newfoundland. At the time, builders didn’t know the multi-colored serpentine rock with an olive green sheen was soft and fragile, but it’s easily withstood more than a century.

In May of 1952, a fire caused $600 to the Pocopson Train Station, but it was refurbished to original standards. As demand for passenger train service dwindled because of the popularity of automobiles, the train station was abandoned and then used for a post office in 1947. When the post office moved to its present location across the street in the early 1970s, Ted Duchak, a local beekeeper, bought it at auction for $40,000. He sold it to Gary Wiedwald in 1991, who used it for his veterinary practice. Wiedwald assists Kidd today part-time at her practice.

Greg and Amy bought the building for $425,000 and put some work into it. They replaced the roof with dimensional asphalt shingles, and painted the cedar siding. And now, they are trying to rent out the upstairs portion of the building that was once used as quarters for the postmaster and the “zoo keeper,” an old term used to refer to the gate tender at a passenger station. It is quite roomy with original pine flooring still intact, and has two bedrooms. And the elevated view of the Brandywine in the spring from the bedroom window is breathtaking.

Many unique items remain in the old train station, and Greg and Amy say clients ask about them all the time. There’s the old original clock that train patrons relied on to tell them when their train would arrive or depart. The tender would be certain to always have it wound. The original key remains in its case.

Then there’s two citations on the wall, one from President Herbert Hoover, the other from Calvin Coolidge, issued when the station was converted into a post office. The great-granddaughter and granddaughter of Hoover, in fact, are customers of Amy’s.

What was once the waiting area for train patrons is now the reception area. The ticketing office is now the examining room.

The building is so unique, it was the top building design winner in the Veterinary Economics magazine in 1993. Today, the winners of this award are typically multi-million dollar veterinary practices.

Both Greg and Amy realize they are care keepers of a part of local history.

“I feel a sense of responsibility,” Gregg said.

Said Amy: People tell me all the time thanks for taking care of this building.”

But the atmosphere and charm offered by the building comes at a cost. Greg and Amy know they will never be able to expand their business. But that’s OK with them.

“Perhaps we can build an annex not too far from here,” Greg said. “I’m just too fond of this building.”

Adding to that charm is the beauty of seeing the Brandywine Scenic Railway that runs past the train station, and still today there are usually 2 runs per day.

Despite the charm from the exterior, the Pocopson Veterinary Station is a top-notch practice with modern technology. They have a digital X-ray machine, a surgical laser, surgery monitoring equipment, and full dental facilities. In fact, the facilities are so accommodating that the Chester County Sheriff’s Office uses the Pocopson Veterinary Station for one of its two K-9 dogs.

Greg and Amy both enjoy giving back to their community. Greg, who works in West Conshohocken for a pharmaceutical company, is a member of the Longwood Rotary Club, and Amy a volunteer with the SPCA. They have three children, Emilea, a student at Unionville Elementary, Noah, 5, and Nathaniel, 3. They also have three dogs, three cats and six fish. It’s a big family, but Greg and Amy want their children to learn by example, a big reason for volunteering to help community efforts.