Railfan Ardmore

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:A few stops on the 100 might be within walking distance from the R5

Yup. Check some of the earlier posts in this thread for details including a map.

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:You are better off getting to Ardmore by train. Any day, but Sunday, Septa stops there at least twice an hour during the off peak. Some Amtrak trains also stop there, but not many.

To my knowledge, SEPTA reduced the off-peak headways on the R5 Paoli-Thorndale due to the Amtrak/SEPTA track work the railroads are doing in that area. (This is the same kind of track work Amtrak did in 2005-2006 to allow increased speeds on the Keystone Service; the current track work is taking place on the local/outer tracks.) I believe the off-peak headways are about 60 minutes every day for the time being.

chuchubob wrote:

CHIP72 wrote:
I've walked between the 2 stations once, and IMO the stations could be much better connected pedestrian-wise (or perhaps more accurately there could be better pedestrian access between the Route 100 and the office park near the R5 station that I mentioned in the original post).

Even though the walk between the R5 Villanova and Route 100 Villanova stations is probably a little further, and you have to cross US 30, it is a more pedestrian-friendly walk than its Radnor counterpart IMO.

Agreed. The Radnor walk is seven minutes, but it's not a pedestrian friendly walk. The Villanova walk is much more pleasant.

Bob

Does anyone remember the proposed P&W station called "Carroll".... It was to be built for the students of Arch. Bishop Carroll.... So they wouldn't have to cross the four tracks of the Paoli local to get to the campus. This was back in the late 70s and early 80s when the high school did not provide yellow bus service, but instead gave students passes to ride on the P&W and gave students along Lancaster Ave four busses coming out of Overbrook every 5 minutes, picking up students in uniform at regular route "Z" bus stops. I was a young lad then, but I was so jealous waiting for my school bus to go to grammar school and seeing the "big" kids getting on those old red and cream PCC looking buses.... ahh memories. IIRC there were also a smattering of red and cream fishbowls but I could be wrong.

One of the proposals was to move the 2 Radnor stations to a joint park-and-ride providing access to the Blue Route. Would have been a great 3-way intermodal station, and probably would've helped the P&W's ridership as well as making life safer for a lot of students. But IIRC the North Wayne Protective Association immediately shot into action to prevent any and all changes to their beloved landscape. Successful, weren't they?

Many of my Archbishop Carroll friends talked about the "shortcut" which somehow involved crossing the Paoli Local tracks and crossing private property to shave some distance off the walk to the P & W station. Thankfully, I can recall no one ever getting hurt. I wonder if that "shortcut" still exists and is still used?
SEPTA FAN

Septa Fan wrote:Many of my Archbishop Carroll friends talked about the "shortcut" which somehow involved crossing the Paoli Local tracks and crossing private property to shave some distance off the walk to the P & W station. Thankfully, I can recall no one ever getting hurt. I wonder if that "shortcut" still exists and is still used?
SEPTA FAN

Amtrak installed fencing along the ROW between the P&W station and Carroll in the 1980's to discourage Carroll students using the shortcut. Amtrak repaired the hole in the fence weekly.

Septa Fan wrote:Many of my Archbishop Carroll friends talked about the "shortcut" which somehow involved crossing the Paoli Local tracks and crossing private property to shave some distance off the walk to the P & W station. Thankfully, I can recall no one ever getting hurt. I wonder if that "shortcut" still exists and is still used?
SEPTA FAN

I would say students today probually dont use the "shortcut" anymore, since Carroll has been paying the school districts to provide yellow bus service for over twenty years now. (Lower Merion, Haverford, Radnor and Philadelphia)

Septa Fan wrote:Many of my Archbishop Carroll friends talked about the "shortcut" which somehow involved crossing the Paoli Local tracks and crossing private property to shave some distance off the walk to the P & W station. Thankfully, I can recall no one ever getting hurt. I wonder if that "shortcut" still exists and is still used?
SEPTA FAN

There was one unlucky student who wish he hadn't taken the shortcut. It was around 1971 or so, As some here remember, the shortcut was on a blind curve. There was enough space besides tracks 1 and 4 for users to keep off the tracks. However when they got to the P&W overpass, they had to walk between the rails. One day there was a bunch of kids right on the overpass when an inbound Paoli Local was rounding the bend, most ran to get to the end and down the hill to the P&W stop. One boy unfortunately froze in his tracks. At the insistance of his friends he finally started to run to get to the end of the bridge. Although he managed to get off the bridge, some part of the train made contact with his jacket. School books and pages went up in the air and flew all over. The boy limped down the hill to catch the trolley. He had a broken leg. I understand Penn Central police were looking for body parts later that afternoon. Next day, there was a big uproar about the "Shortcut". Students were threatened with all sorts of bad things if they used it. I stayed off it for the rest of the week.

What? Demerits? lol