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CONRAIL’S CAST-OFF COMMUTERS: 3 30 YEARS OF SEPTA


to Bethlehem, Allentown


Allentown extension operated 1978-1979, Bethlehem service discontinued July 1, 1981.


QUAKERTOWN


Quakertown service discontinued July 27, 1981


to Newark


to Pottsville READING


Sellersville Telford


Souderton Birdsboro Pottstown


AMTK- Amtrak CSAO- Conrail Shared Assets CSXT- CSX Transportation ESPN- East Penn Railroad NS- Norfolk Southern NHIR- New Hope & Ivyland NJT- NJ Transit RDG- Reading Company PN- Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad PRR- Pennsylvania Railroad PRSL- Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines SEPTA- Southeastern Penn. Trans. Auth. WCR- West Chester Railroad


Service to Reading and Pottsville discontinued July 27, 1981


Hatfield WEST TRENTON Lansdale


Pennbrook North Wales


Royersford Phoenixville Valley Forge Radnor Frazer Shops Bryn Mawr Ardmore Merion


to Pittsburgh and Chicago


WEST CHESTER Oakbourne Glen Mills Discontinued September 19, 1986


Extension to Wawa under consideration


Marcus Hook Claymont


0 5 MILES WILMINGTON MARYLAND NEWARK to Washington, D.C.


nal to Lansdale, Doylestown, Hatboro, and West Trenton. The Reading con- tracted with the Harlan & Hollingsworth division of Bethlehem Shipbuilding at Wilmington to build electric m.u. cars for the new suburban service opening on July 26, 1931. Addi- tional routes were quickly added to Norristown and Chestnut Hill and these routes were opened on February 5, 1933. The electric zone on the Read- ing Company remained static until catenary was extended in 1964 to Fox Chase on the Newtown branch and a two-mile stretch from Hatboro to Warminster was completed in 1966.


Setting the Stage for Public Involvement In the years following World War II, the railroads were in no shape to make


improvements to infrastructure or equipment even as the suburbs grew and ridership increased. Prewar equip- ment ruled the rails, and the incredible tax burden coupled with mounting loss- es from passenger service compounded the issue. In 1958 the city of Philadel- phia implemented the Passenger Serv- ice Improvement Corporation (PSIC) to provide subsidies to the PRR and the Reading for operation of both Chestnut Hill Branches (located entirely within the city limits). In 1960, PSIC institut- ed subsidies on all citywide commuter rail lines. The first new equipment fi- nanced by PSIC were the Silverliner II cars (38 PRR, 17 Reading) built by the Budd Company in nearby Red Lion. The PSIC was expanded in 1962 to include surrounding Bucks, Chester,


Delaware, and Montgomery counties and renamed the Southeastern Penn- sylvania Transportation Compact (SEPACT). In addition to the city and county of Philadelphia additional sub- sidies were contributed from the Com- monwealth of Pennsylvania. On February 1, 1968, the Pennsylva- nia Railroad and the New York Central merged to the form the colossal Penn Central. In 1969 the Penn Central was forced to fold the former New Haven Railroad into the mix. This gave the new railroad ownership of the entire “Northeast Corridor” between Boston and Washington along with the respon- sibility for commuter operations in Boston, New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Due to a number of fac- tors, Penn Central was doomed to fail


37 SEPTA Commuter Rail Churchmans Crossing


Map illustration by Otto M. Vondrak ©2013 Carstens Publications, Inc. Not an official map. Not all routes and stations shown.


ELWYN Wawa Chester


Crum Lynne Eddystone


PHILADELPHIA 30th St. Sta.


Miquon Ivy Ridge


Discontinued 1986 Manayunk


CYNWYD North Philadelphia


Suburban Sta. Temple Univ.


Market East CAMDEN Darby


Eastwick PHL


Lindenwold to Atlantic City 10 15 Haddonfield Pennsauken Elm St. NORRISTOWN Glenside


CHESTNUT HILL E. Jenkintown CHESTNUT HILL W.


Upsal Mt. Airy Wayne Jct. Rydal


FOX CHASE Cheltenham


Lawndale Olney Holmes Tacony


Gwynedd Valley Penllyn


Ambler Ivyland WARMINSTER Hatboro


Willow Grove Crestmont


Somerton Bristol Eddington Torresdale


■ Airport Line ■ Chestnut Hill East Line ■ Chestnut Hill West Line ■ Cynwyd Line ■ Fox Chase Line ■ Lansdale/Doylestown Line ■ Manayunk/Norristown Line ■ Media/Elwyn Line ■ Paoli/Thorndale Line ■ Trenton Line ■ Warminster Line ■ West Trenton Line ■ Wilmington/Newark Line


Croydon Cornwells Heights NEWTOWN


Discontinued January 14, 1983


Holland Woodbourne Langhorne Neshaminy Falls Levittown Yardley TRENTON


Perkasie


New Hope


DOYLESTOWN Wycombe


Joint SEPTA-NJT through service to Newark, NJ, discontinued 1981


to New York


NS (RDG)


NHIR (RDG)


P


WCR (PRR)


NEW JERSEY


e D


SEPTA/CSXT (RDG)


SEPTA (RDG)


E E D


N


Delaware Ri ver


e


Y S


AN L


AMTK/SEPTA/NS (PRR)


v l


A RV A L W


i


NS (RDG)


I N E


r a


A


r NEW JERSEY


CSXT (RDG)


AMTK/NS (PRR)


AMTK/NJT (PRR)


SEPTA/PN (RDG)


NJT/CSAO (PRSL)


New Britain Del Val College


Chalfont Link Belt


Strafford Wayne


Berwyn Paoli Malvern


Lansdowne Secane


Swarthmore


Wallingford Media


Exton Whitford Downington THORNDALE


SEPTA/CSXT (RDG)


CSXT (RDG)


Frankford Jct.


a


R


w


NS (PRR)


CSAO (PRR-RDG)


AMTK/SEPTA (PRR)


e


NS (PRR)


AMTK/NS (PRR)


SEPTA (RDG)


SEPTA (PRR)


SEPTA/ESPN (RDG)


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