Philadelphia and Western Railroad
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The Philadelphia and Western Railroad was a high-speed, third rail electric railroad operating in the western suburbs of the U.S. city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of its lines is now SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100 trolley); the other has been abandoned. Part of the abandoned line within Radnor Township is now the P&W Trail, a multi-use path.
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[edit] Lines
The current line runs from 69th Street Terminal just west of the Philadelphia city line, west and north to Norristown, where the Lehigh Valley Transit Company's Liberty Bell Route continued to Allentown. The Norristown line splits from the original main line at Villanova Junction; the main line went west to a terminus just east of Sugartown Road in Strafford, with a later extension to provide a transfer to the PRR Strafford station and a transfer track for freight trains.
The P&W Trail uses the abandoned Strafford Branch right-of-way from Radnor-Chester Road to Old Sugartown Road.
Interstate Commerce Commission valuation reports indicate that the railroad had interchange connections to the Pennsylvania Railroad at Millbourne Mills, Strafford and Swedeland.
[edit] History
The Philadelphia and Western Railway was incorporated in 1902, and was originally planned as the eastern link of a transcontinental railroad connecting to the Western Maryland Railroad at York. The WM connected at Pittsburgh with the Wabash, who in turn connected with the Missouri Pacific, then the Denver & Rio Grande Western, then finally the Western Pacific to form a coast-to-coast railroad. This was a George and Jay Gould enterprise. [1] The first train ran from 69th Street to Strafford on May 22, 1907. The planned extension to Parkesburg and York was officially abandoned on March 22, 1912; an alternate extension to the PRR main line in Strafford opened on October 11, 1911. The Norristown Branch opened on December 12, 1912.
The company was reorganized as the Philadelphia and Western Railroad in 1946. It was sold to the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company in 1954; PST was nicknamed the Red Arrow Lines, and was eventually merged into SEPTA. The P&W once operated local freight trains to various industries along its line until 1970, when the Merion Golf Course stopped its deliveries of sand and other materials. With freight no longer running, the line no longer required ICC control. It was then disconnected from its last interchange, isolating the line from the outside world and then immediately converted from a railroad to a trolley-type operation and continues to operate as such today. Service is currently provided by a fleet of 26 N-5 transit cars that feature AC-induction propulsion, steerable axles, very large windows, deep-cushioned seating, and are capable of 80 MPH. They were built by ABB Traction in 1990 with their stainless steel bodies being built by SOREFAME which was a Portuguese Budd Philadelphia Company licensee.
The last train ran on the Strafford Branch on March 23, 1956. Trains still run on the Norristown line today. Ground was broken for the P&W Trail on June 10, 2004, and it opened in January 2005. The first cars built for the P&W never ran on the P&W, since the cars were completed before the line was ready to open. Twenty-two wooden electric multiple-unit passenger cars and 2 full-baggage-configured MU's were built for the P&W by the St. Louis Car Co. in 1906. However, due to the San Francisco earthquake 12 of them went to the United RR's of San Francisco, 4 went to the Sacramento Northern RR, and the remainder went to the Erie RR Mt. Morris Branch, where they were modified and rewired for overhead AC operation. The 12 cars that went to URSF had their bulkhead doors sealed and their MU capabilities removed, operating strictly as single-units. The 4 SN cars were converted to combination baggage/passenger cars and used on the Woodland branch. The two baggage cars were accepted by the P&W, where they were turned into line-maintenance cars. Finally in 1907, 22 wooden passenger cars, almost identical to the original order, arrived on P&W property. They were originally equipped with retangular-shaped bow collectors, which were later replaced with trolley poles for use in the carbarn area in addition to third rail shoes. Of these cars, No. 46 survives, along with line car No. 401 from the original order; both of which are preserved at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton, PA. Prior to the move to Scranton, they ran as a two-car train while in operation at the Philadelphia Waterfront every Christmas season for many years as the "Santa Train," with No. 401 operating as Santa's workshop and No. 46 used for the passengers.
One type of vehicle used for this line were two 4-unit articulated train sets called Liberty Liners, which were originally the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad's Electroliners. These shovel-nosed high-speed trains featured a bar car and were capable of 110 mph. They were built by the St. Louis Car Co. in 1941. The Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company bought both of these trains in 1963. PST removed their trolley poles and replaced their original gravity-type over-running third rail shoes with paddle-type shoes. They were repainted into Red Arrow's color scheme and run in rush hour service with the bar serving continental breakfast in the morning and serving snacks and spirits in the afternoon. They were retired in 1977 due to excessive power consumption plus their excessive weight was just too much for the old jointed rail. They are now (as of 2006) in museums; one, restored to its original Electroliner appearance at the Illinois Railway Museum, and the other at the Rockhill Trolley Museum. [2]
Another type of vehicle was the Brill Bullet, which ran in service from 1931 almost to 1990. They were capable of over 100 mph, but ran at 79 MPH while in regular passenger service. These electric multiple-unit passenger cars were the world's first high-speed "Bullet" trains, and their design influenced later streamlined trains built in the U.S., Belgium, Germany, and Japan. Built during the Great Depression, they were designed in a wind tunnel and built to lessen power consumption while quickening schedule timings. [3]
A third and older type was the Strafford Car, built between 1924 and 1929. The last Strafford Car was retired on March 30, 1990. These MU's originally had bulkhead doors to permit passengers to walk from car to car, high-mounted headlights, trolley poles, and vestibule steps. The bulkhead doors, vestibule steps, and trolley poles were later removed and headlights relocated to below the windshield to make them more aerodynamic and their motors were rewired from 60 to 100 HP, increasing their top speed from 45 to 70 MPH, making them easier to keep up with the newer Bullet trains. By this time the overhead wire in the carbarn area was replaced with extension wire which attached to the third rail shoes to move the MU equipment. [4]
Three other Strafford-type cars, called the 50-series, were purchased from Brill in 1920. They were wider than the later Straffords and never had vestibule steps. They were never rebuilt so with their top speed still only 45 MPH, they had to be used strictly in rush hour short-turn service so they wouldn't get in the way of the other much faster trains. They were finally scrapped in 1952.
