SEPTA managed the money prudently and also attributed cost savings to good weather and “hungry” contractors for a savings of about $90 million. In addi- tion schedules were changed to reflect decreases in operating times, with time savings throughout the system.
Cutbacks in Service
All diesel services were discontinued prior to SEPTA’s takeover in 1983, though insufficient operating funds would lead to further cuts in electrified territory as well. In May 1986, service was cut back from Ivy Ridge to Cynwyd over SEPTA’s concerns that the mas- sive Manayunk Bridge was deteriorat- ed to the point of being unsafe. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1999, but service to Ivy Ridge did not resume. In- stead the rails were lifted in 2008 and the right of way is now used for a trail. The West Chester Branch was cut back to Elwyn and Media in September 1986 due to
poor track conditions (with
tourist operator West Chester Railroad eventually operating from its name- sake town to Glen Mills). Meanwhile, SEPTA is working on re-extending service from Elwyn to a new park-and- ride facility at Wawa.
Equipment
SEPTA is unique amongst commuter operators as their current fleet is all- electric. SEPTA started out on January 1, 1983, with a collection of electric m.u. cars of both PRR and Reading her- itages. The five Budd built ex-PRR Pio- neer III cars were branded as Silverlin- er I’s, which were the only commuter cars equipped with conventional knuckle couplers at the time. Between 1964-’65 38 of the original heavyweight Reading m.u. cars were rebuilt at the Reading, Penn., shops and repainted from dark green to blue and white. They were dubbed “Blueliners” though some were later rebuilt and repainted into SEPTA’s red, white, and blue scheme. The 55 Budd-built Silverliner II cars were the first new cars acquired by PSIC in 1963.
The Silverliner II
cars were distinguishable from the Pio- neer III/Silverliner I cars by there sin- gle-arm Faiveley pantograph and lack of knuckle couplers.
The next generation of Silverliner III’s were built by St. Louis Car Co. and had the operating controls on the left side of the cab so single car trains could be operated on the PRR main line to Harrisburg. A group of these cars were rebuilt for the newly opened service to the Philadelphia International Airport and had luggage racks installed in the spot formerly occupied by the rest- rooms. The outside of the cars featured a bright yellow stripe and PHL airport
42 APRIL 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM
TOP: Center City bound train 9728 crosses the Delaware River between Trenton, N.J., and Mor- risville, Pa., on March 17, 2012. ABOVE: Train 3755 to Trenton (on the left) and train 7371 to Media and Elwyn (on the right) have both just crossed the Delaware River and are entering the upper level of 30th Street Station in Philadelphia on May 11, 2012.
decal to indicate dedicated service to the Airport. The Silverliner II’s and III’s lasted until June 29, 2012, when the last two operational cars, 9010 and 235 (SL II/SL III), finished the day on the Cynwyd Line. The mainstay of to- day’s fleet are the 231 Silverliner IV cars built with Budd carbodies and General Electric propulsion equipment between 1973 and 1976 for both Penn Central and the Reading.
On January 19, 1986, SEPTA en-
tered a new era when borrowed Amtrak AEM7 923 and five Blueliner m.u. cars ran a test train to Lansdale and return as part of a contingency plan in case of a transit strike in March. This turned out to be a harbinger of things to come as at the November 3, 1986, monthly
meeting the SEPTA board of directors authorized leasing 25 push-pull coach- es and 10 cab control cars from Bom- bardier, and seven AEM7 electric loco- motives to replace the 26 ex-Reading Blueliners. A spare ALP44 was given to SEPTA by builder ABB Traction as part of a contract settlement in 1995 over delay charges for a group of Nor- ristown High Speed line cars. In 1999, ten additional center-door push-pull coaches were obtained from Bombardier to increase train consists. When New Jersey Transit purchased new bi-level coaches to increase pas- senger loading on the Northeast Corri- dor, SEPTA picked up six coaches and two cab control cars. These second- hand cars were originally built for the
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