PRR: wawa to west chester

I read that Septa R3 is supposed to get extended from Media/Elwyn to Wawa by Rte. 1.
My question is, how far is the line going from Wawa to West Chester
still in freight service? (and who services it -- East Penn RR?)

From satellite photos at
maps.google.com, there are cars at the quarry in Glen Mills,
and it even looks like some cars in a yard near the end of the line in West Chester.
I'm assuming the tracks to West Chester are still in.

Are they torn up north of West Chester?

Thanks, JS

I think that quarry is the only freight along the West Chester line. The tracks from West Chester out are used by the West Chester RR for passenger excursions. North of West Chester it used to connect to the PRR Main Line but that connection was removed quite a long time ago, I think before SEPTA.

That's all I know, hopefully someone more familiar with the line will be able to clarify further.

The tracks north of West Chester haven't been used for any significant service for more than 50 years. During PRR days, the electrification ended at West Chester. I remember seeing a single track crossing Market Street just outside the West Chester Station in the 1950's & '60's, but I never saw a train using that track, and it had the rusted appearance of track which is not used. I don't know whether that track is still in existence.

http://images.snapfish.com/3437874%3B23 ... %3B8ot1lsi

If you look at this picture I took a few months ago, you can see that the track ends at the street. There was no track going across Market Street that I saw while I was there.

That doesn't surprise me-- as indicated earlier, it has probably been more than 50 years since the track was used. BTW until sometime in the 1950's or 1960's, there was a much larger brick station at that location, and there were at least two tracks ( one used to store MP-54's during off peak hours)

PARailWiz wrote:http://images.snapfish.com/3437874%3B23 ... %3B8ot1lsi If you look at this picture I took a few months ago, you can see that the track ends at the street. There was no track going across Market Street that I saw while I was there.

The track is directly behind that small station to the right. It brachned off a few yards before the stub ended track. You can see the ROW dip under the highway overpass. That line was ripped out in mid-1960s by the PRR. There are some traces of it (a rusting bridge over Rt. 322 as it branches off of Rt. 202)

PARailWiz wrote:http://images.snapfish.com/3437874%3B23 ... %3B8ot1lsi If you look at this picture I took a few months ago, you can see that the track ends at the street. There was no track going across Market Street that I saw while I was there.

The track is directly behind that small station to the right. It brachned off a few yards before the stub ended track. You can see the ROW dip under the highway overpass. That line was ripped out in mid-1960s by the PRR. There are some traces of it (a rusting bridge over Rt. 322 as it branches off of Rt. 202)

PARailWiz wrote:http://images.snapfish.com/3437874%3B23 ... %3B8ot1lsi If you look at this picture I took a few months ago, you can see that the track ends at the street. There was no track going across Market Street that I saw while I was there.

The track is directly behind that small station to the right. It branched off a few yards before the stub ended track. You can see the ROW dip under the highway overpass. That line was ripped out in mid-1960s by the PRR. There are some traces of it (a rusting bridge over Rt. 322 as it branches off of Rt. 202)

Septa runs out to Glen Mills for Ballast, from the quarry there.

The quarry had 2 derelict critters there as of about 5 years ago.
(plymouths, porters, or the like)

From Glem Mills to West Chester is operated by the West Chester RR, which operates pass excursions between the 2 stations. They have
a GP-7 or 9, and and ex CP RS18. Their yard is just south of West Chester, and has work equipt, a few freight cars, etc.

Occasionally excursions run from West Chester in to 30th st, Phila, and occasionally SEPTA borrows one of their diesels for work train service.

The wire was in all the way to west chester until recently. So much of it was being stolen, Septa decided to take down a lot of it west of Wawa, themselves.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for septa to get the extension to wawa completed.


pdt

pdtrains wrote:The wire was in all the way to west chester until recently. So much of it was being stolen, Septa decided to take down a lot of it west of Wawa, themselves.pdt

Yep, saw it myself. No more catenary. This is how SEPTA celebrated the 20th anniversary of the discontinuation of service to West Chester.

The chances of service ever being restored to West Chester will be twice as difficult, since SEPTA quietly removed all the catenary between Lenni and the Union Street grade crossing in West Chester. Chunks of catenary have been siphoned off this portion of the line by SEPTA for years, plus the contact stealing by those wanting to make a buck.

Another amazing step backward for an already corrupt SEPTIC.

Pacobell73 wrote:

pdtrains wrote:The wire was in all the way to west chester until recently. So much of it was being stolen, Septa decided to take down a lot of it west of Wawa, themselves.pdt

Yep, saw it myself. No more catenary. This is how SEPTA celebrated the 20th anniversary of the discontinuation of service to West Chester.

The chances of service ever being restored to West Chester will be twice as difficult, since SEPTA quietly removed all the catenary between Lenni and the Union Street grade crossing in West Chester. Chunks of catenary have been siphoned off this portion of the line by SEPTA for years, plus the contact stealing by those wanting to make a buck.

Another amazing step backward for an already corrupt SEPTIC.

As much as it may seem otherwise, removal of the wire was actually a prudent step for SEPTA. Besides recovering any scrap value of the wire (have you priced copper lately?), they were trying to avoid a lawsuit when one of the vandals got injured while trespassing and stealing said wire, then turned around and sued.

The fact that the tracks are still intact and in use, if even for excursion service, bodes far better for any possibility of restoration that some of our other favorite ROW's.

an electrocuted vandal who dies from trying to steal copper wire has a 100% probability of never stealing ever again.
I like these odds.

then again the way the lawsuit climate works these days i could see a smoldering corpse actually suing Septa and winning.

railroadcarmover wrote:an electrocuted vandal who dies from trying to steal copper wire has a 100% probability of never stealing ever again.
I like these odds.

Yep, there's been a few of them along the ex-RDG viaduct who didn't realize that the catenary is still very much LIVE. Unfortunately, the outer reaches of the WC branch had been de-energized for years and were an easier target.