PRSL at the start of PATCO

[rrbluesman]

The way I understand it, the PRSL decided to stop their passenger service at Lindenwold and make passnegers tansfer to the PATCO train rather than continuig the PRSL train into Philly. I can't say I understand the logic employeed behind making that decison. Whhat caused the PRSL to decide to do this?

[Ken S.]

Acoording to this, it was NJDOT who cut the service back to Lindenwold.

[prr60]

Acoording to this, it was NJDOT who cut the service back to Lindenwold.

According to that same article, NJDOT also created the PATCO High Speed Line.

The NJDOT stepped in and cut back PRSL service from Philadelphia to Lindenwold, creating the high speed PATCO (Port Authority Transit Co.) linking Philadelphia to Lindenwold via Camden.

I'm sure that comes as a surprise to the DRPA who fully funded the initial PATCO build.

PATCO and through PRSL service to Philadelphia coexisted for only a couple of months. The PRSL operation was cut back to Lindenwold in October of 1969. The reason was probably money and politics. Stopping at Lindenwold saved car miles, fuel, and access fees to Philadelphia. The DRPA owned the right-of-way between Haddonfield and Lindenwold and certainly preferred seeing the PRSL passengers taking the last part of their trip on PATCO. I'm quite sure that passenger convenience was not a factor in the decision.

In the early days, the PRSL contributed several hundred riders a day to PATCO. On Mondays in the summer months, PATCO would operate a dedicated four car train just to handle the passengers coming off the 7:35am arrival of the Cape May, Ocean City train. The special would stand by east of Lindenwold station and then position when the PRSL train arrived.

[JimBoylan]

P.A.T.Co. owned the new single railroad track alongside their line. Among other conditions when the Amtrak "Gamblers' Express was proposed, they wanted a payment per passenger equal to the P.A.T.Co. fare. They also tried to impose this condition on New Jersey Transit trains that might run through to Philadelphia.

[Bobby S]

So when PRR service terminated at Lindenwold at passengers to Philly grabbed the PATCO What happened to the ROW between Lindenwold and Philly? Did it deteriorate to a point of No Use?

[nayaugpark52]

Conrail was still using the track as far as Ashland to switch a lumber yard. When the lumber yard closed and a parking lot was built PATCO took ownership of the track due to non-use. PATCO was going to use it as a test track so it wouldn't interfere with revenue operations but like most of their big plans it never came to fruituion. Part of it was used for a while as a runaround track during the construction of Woodcrest station. When Amtrak wanted the easternmost track for AC service PATCO whined and cried that they didn't want them to have it but they lost it the same way Conrail did. They didn't use it. PATCO didn't want to use it for AC service, they just didn't want anybody else using it.

[JimBoylan]

In 1983, ConRail officially discontinued their freight service, although the customers between Winslow Jct. and Pennsauken had already stopped using it. Before that, ConRail and P-RSL could have run through trains to detour around the Clementon route.

[JJMDiMunno]

I seem to remember driving over the rails at Utica Avenue in Westmont back around 1986 or so and seeing them in bad shape, overgrown if I recall. I believe Conrail termed this line the Haddonfield Industrial Track in their 1982 track chart book, though I can't check that until I get home tonight.

No one would happen to have some photos to share of this line after it was in it's out of use state, would they? We'd be looking for photos from 1970 - the late 1980's when it was restored by Amtrak.

Mike DiMunno