Newtown Branch's Southampton Station & ROW to be restore

As posted in the BCCT:

Society to begin restoring rail station

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Bucks County Courier Times


The Southampton Railroad Station Society will take out its brooms and dustpans to kick-start the restoration of the Southampton Railroad Station.

The society is working to restore the more than 100-year-old station, a project that will cost about $300,000. For six months, the society has received donations and grants to cover renovation costs.

First, though, comes the dirty work. The group plans a cleanup in April of the surrounding area from Second Street Pike to Street Road and its underpass, which is cluttered with graffiti on the walls and abandoned furniture.

“We can't wait to get rid of all of that junk,” society member Charles Liberto said Thursday.

About 20 volunteers will pick up trash, paint the underpass walls and make track repairs in front of the station.

“The cleanup won't cost much,” Liberto said.

The township will provide the group with Dumpsters and Amtrak donated railroad ties. The most costly supplies will be rails and paint, he said.

But not everyone is thrilled with the cleanup plan.

The tracks, which are covered by overgrown vegetation, lie behind Phyllis Ullo's Carlin Drive property and she doesn't want the weeds to be removed.

“You may see it as overgrown vegetation,” read a letter dated March 18 that she sent to the township. “I consider it a sanctuary that affords me privacy, tranquility and an area free from undesirable activity. It is far away enough from the train station building so as not be considered blight on [the] commendable project.”


The society isn't planning to remove vegetation beyond Street Road at this point, Liberto said. Before the cleanup can happen, Upper Southampton's supervisors must approve a letter drafted by the society to SEPTA detailing the cleanup plan.

“The board needs to discuss that at the April 1 meeting,” township Manager Joe Golden said.

“We're sure we will get the final approval from SEPTA,” Liberto said.

Besides reviving the wood-frame building, the society wants to plant a garden and install a fountain. It wants to built a museum and gift shop. Once renovations are completed, tours and community activities will be planned.

The station is one of the few left on the old Reading Railroad Newtown Line, said society member James Day.

The first floor, which remains intact, was used as a waiting room with benches and a ticket window until the 1980s. The second floor has two rooms that were occupied as living quarters by stationmasters but hasn't been in use since the '60s.

Of course the press had to interview a NIMBY who wants the weeds in the ROW to keep the vermin out of her backyard. I could only imagine the reaction we'd get if she was told trains were coming back.

Funny how Amtrak has ties and rails to donate but not SEPTA. Pretty clear message there.

Are they just redoing a random section of the branch because it looks good, or are they connecting it to something (i.e. another railroad)?

I can tell your not from Philly!

THey're just redoing the 2 tracks in front of the station. Some of the rails were removed years ago when a fiber optic line was installed under the trackbed. Most of the ties are rotted away since they're close to 27 years old now. They were last replaced in the summer of 1981 when SEPTA was gearing up for its short lived rapid transit operation.

Hebrewman9 wrote:Are they just redoing a random section of the branch because it looks good, or are they connecting it to something (i.e. another railroad)?

The Newtown branch is connected to the CSX Trenton Line down by Newtown Jct/ex CP-Chelten, formerly crossed the R3 West Trenton line south of Bethayres Station, and crosses below the NS Morrisville line.

The ROW is also severed in several places between Fox Chase and Newtown. I know of two places, one is near the Shady Lane overpass, and the second is where it used to cross the R3, the diamond crossing was removed.

So, no, they are not connecting it to another railroad. Just trying to make it look nicer, and to preserve a piece of history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southampto ... station%29

TheOneCalledA1 wrote:The Newtown branch is connected to the CSX Trenton Line down by Newtown Jct/ex CP-Chelten, formerly crossed the R3 West Trenton line south of Bethayres Station, and crosses below the NS Morrisville line.

Just to clarify some things, The Newtown/Fox Chase Branch no longer connects with CSX, as CSX has been completely separated from SEPTA along this portion. Newtown Junction is in the Logan section of North Philadelphia, and is where the Newtown Branch diverged from what is now SEPTA's mainline. Additionally, the low grade line from Nicetown, which goes along Wayne Jct. in a cut under street level, connected here. Two tracks diverged towards Cheltenham and Fox Chase. Several miles up the branch, at Cheltenham Jct, two tracks became two single tracks - one being the old NY shortline to Fairless, Woodbourne, etc. and the other to Fox Chase/Newtown. At this junction, the eastern track was able to cross over and go towards Fox Chase. The NY shortline used to be double-tracked. Going a little further back in time, there was a fairly substantial interlocking between Olney and Lawndale where the Frankford branch shot off. 2 crossovers on the main, and 2 crossovers connecting the eastern track to a 3rd industrial track (off of which went the line to Frankford) that ran between here and Erie Avenue, and had been the PN&NY main before the Terminal and connector were built. Only remnants you can even see from the train are the catenary-mounted masts for the home signals.

Nowadays, the low grade and the short line are now CSX's Trenton sub, and no longer connect to SEPTA at Newtown Jct. or Cheltenham. Newtown Jct. has been simplified, the Fox Chase Branch is now entirely single tracked with a passing track where Cheltenham Jct. once was. The north end of the siding is "Chelt" and the south end is "Lawn".

Hope that clears things up.

Good explanation! The substantial interlocking you mention, if memory serves me right, was "Frankford Junction" or something like that. Part of the interlocking was on top of the bridge over Adams Avenue, just west of Rising Sun Avenue, where the Frankford Branch swung off towards Sears. you could pretty much see the other end of the plant from the Olney Avene bridge over the railroad.

I remember when the Frankford Branch was still in operation -- with the connection to the PRR Oxford Branch at Sears and end of line in Frankford that was into the upper floor of a meat or food warehouse on Griscom Street if I recall right. The Frankford Branch died when, 1974 or so? The line had many bridges in Frankford area, most of the roadbed is gone but you can still make it out around Castor Avenue and Arrott Street.

Interestingly, the remains of the other end (Olney Industrial Track??) that went towards Erie Avenue and more or less paralleled Mascher Street is still evident in some places, bridge abutment here and there and some rail still intact along the street between Erie Avenue and where the line went under Rising Sun Avenue.

Wasn't the New York Shortline double track north of Cheltenham Junction up until the late 1970's or early 1980's??

cdruhl wrote:Good explanation! The substantial interlocking you mention, if memory serves me right, was "Frankford Junction" or something like that. Part of the interlocking was on top of the bridge over Adams Avenue, just west of Rising Sun Avenue, where the Frankford Branch swung off towards Sears. you could pretty much see the other end of the plant from the Olney Avene bridge over the railroad.

Yup, Frankford Junction. It was also called "CP-Crescent" in the Conrail era and "Crescent" when it was downgraded to a hand-thrown crossover. Under the Reading, it was always known as Frankford Jct. as far as i can tell, although the two-letter telegraph code was always "CR".

cdruhl wrote:I remember when the Frankford Branch was still in operation -- with the connection to the PRR Oxford Branch at Sears and end of line in Frankford that was into the upper floor of a meat or food warehouse on Griscom Street if I recall right. The Frankford Branch died when, 1974 or so? The line had many bridges in Frankford area, most of the roadbed is gone but you can still make it out around Castor Avenue and Arrott Street.

Not too sure, but I thought the branch survived a few years into Conrail. I recall someone telling me it was used to serve Sears near the end of rail service instead of the Oxford branch. I definitely remember there being boxcars down there in the mid 80's.

cdruhl wrote:Interestingly, the remains of the other end (Olney Industrial Track??) that went towards Erie Avenue and more or less paralleled Mascher Street is still evident in some places, bridge abutment here and there and some rail still intact along the street between Erie Avenue and where the line went under Rising Sun Avenue.

Yeah, you can follow it right into where the Erie Ave. yard used to be. I bet the rails are still under the pavement.

cdruhl wrote:Wasn't the New York Shortline double track north of Cheltenham Junction up until the late 1970's or early 1980's??

Yup. There were two tracks coming up to NX from the low grade as well, but I'm not sure when the second was removed. So essentially, it was 2 tracks from Nicetown to Neshaminy.

Thanks for the information!

The name of "CP-Crescent" rings a bell in my old brain now that you mention it... I wish I still had my old Reading Railroad employee timetable from that section.

You're right about the Sears end of the Frankford Branch into the Conrail era into the 80's -- I was thinking of the line portion beyond Sears ... there is a small portion of track from a spur off the old branch that ends at Orthodox Street -- outside of a few surviving bridge abutments, that's about all that remains to tell you that a railroad once ran there.

I vaguely remember hearing of a boxcar getting loose on the Frankford Branch and ramming into the Frankford Grocery Co .. the very end of the line .. and breaking through the wall on the other side, partially hanging out the wall over Griscom Street as the track went in on an upper floor from the Penn Street side... picture of it in the Philly Inquirer... mid-1970's and don't recall the line south of Sears surviving much past that. They eventually cut the line on the Sears side of the Summerdale Avenue crossing. The portion to Sears died when Sears closed in the 1980's.

Just for grins, I went into local.live.com and you can trace the old Frankford Branch roadbed area from old "CP Crescent" all the way to Griscom and Unity Streets where the line ended.