Which SEPTA routes are worth riding?

I may be making a day visit to Philadelphia in a few months and given the amount of time I have I want to know which lines are worth visiting the most. I know there's the subway-surface trolleys, the 101 and 102 trolleys, the route 15 trolley, the Norristown High Speed Line, the NJT River Line, and PATCO, plus the SEPTA commuter rail lines. Obviously I'd like to ride all of them but I don't have the time. Remember I only have a few hours to do this so I can't go on everything. Thanks!

Take a circle trip, The El out to 69th St., Rt. 100 (NHSL) to Norristown, then the train down. I'm not sure if you want to buff or ride or both, but Temple U is a great spot for buffing out the rail system. Or, you could do the trip I just mentioned in reverse, and after arriving at 69th St., take the 102 trolley to Aldan and hop on the train back into town. Best part is that literally the whole system (except NJ) can be done for $12 with an Independence Pass.

Doylestown to thorndale, then thorndale to trenton?

Depending on your point of arrival, take the Media/Elwyn Line to the 102 at Clifton Aldan. Ride the 102 to 69th street. Take the NHSL to Norristown. Take the Manayunk/Norristown line to Suburban. Ride the BSL to Fairmount, transfer to the Ridge/Spur and take that to 8th/Market aka Market East.

25Hz wrote:Doylestown to thorndale, then thorndale to trenton?

it would be more interesting to take the keystone to lancaster (and no more time consuming)

T611: First question: How much time do you have (in hours and minutes) on the day you plan to ride?

Second question: Do you have any lines that are priorities to cover?

Third question: Where do you plan to access SEPTA on that day for your first ride?

For your day of riding I strongly suggest a $12 Independence Pass - available at SEPTA sales agencies - and
I will add to try and buy it prior to the day you will use it so you have it for your entire itinerary...With a IPass
the only restriction is the $5 extra charge to go to/from Zone NJ which is Trenton and West Trenton,NJ...
If need be carry a $3.50 Unlimited Zone Intermediate OW ticket which will cover the fare between Yardley
and West Trenton or Levittown and Trenton only if it is necessary...The other restriction is that the IPass
is not valid on trains passing through the 5 CCP zone stations (Temple U,Market East,Suburban Station,30th
Street Station and University City) before 9:30am...If you do ride earlier then that time I would use transit
routes...One final tip: Make sure the correct month and day is punched - a mistake could render it useless...

Also remember that if you choose to ride the PATCO Lindenwold High Speed Line,NJT's River Line or any
Amtrak Keystone trains that those fares are separate for each and are not covered by the SEPTA IPass...

MACTRAXX

If you have enough lead time (4 or 5 days) you can order an Independence Pass online: http://www.septa.org/fares/pass/independence.html which will avoid the problem of finding a sales outlet in advance of your visit. I've used the online service a couple of times and have had no issues.

Being a traction fan as well as a railfan I'd have to agree about taking a circle route involving the NHSL (a/k/a P&W to those of us who've been around a while) and either the Media or Sharon Hill trolleys. The P&W is a unique operation and the trolleys are among the very few interurban lines still running in the US. My own preference is Media b/c the line runs down the middle of Main Street as it's done for nearly a century and you can enjoy a great mix of old & new.

A long time ago, I set up this itinerary on a railroad trip I took to philly.

Assuming you're traveling from NYC...

Board NJT Northeast corridor train from NY Penn to Trenton

Board SEPTA Trenton Line To 30th Street

Go to Paoli on septa r/t

Go to airport r/t

Go back to NY Penn

I've been seeing conductors selling Independence Passes on-board. I don't think they surcharge them either.

The EL to 69th St then the 101 to Media. Love that trolley. Over the hills and through the woods to Media. Then the train back to center city.

Suburban Station wrote:

25Hz wrote:Doylestown to thorndale, then thorndale to trenton?

it would be more interesting to take the keystone to lancaster (and no more time consuming)

Trenton to lancaster, lancaster to 30th, 30th to elwyn, elwyn to doylestown, doylestown to trenton?

SCB2525 wrote:I've been seeing conductors selling Independence Passes on-board. I don't think they surcharge them either.

I can confirm this. I've bought several independence passes on the train in the last couple months with no surcharge.

Also, I like CNJGeep's recommended itinerary with the Rt. 102 component.

Bettertransitphilly wrote:The ... 101 to Media. Love that trolley. Over the hills and through the woods to Media.

So do I, or at least I did when I lived in Wallingford in the early '80s and took the 101 from downtown Media to Drexel Hill Junction, then the 102 down to North Street (then was forced to take a shuttle bus to Sharon Hill [Chester Pike] because of pole replacement). This was one day while home from college on spring break.

Not to nitpick, but in Media the 101 runs down State Steet, not Main Street.

motor

motor wrote:Not to nitpick, but in Media the 101 runs down State Street, not Main Street.

No, please pick away! I goofed on that one. For some reason the board's locked out edit-mode for the original post so I can't fix the source.

PARailWiz wrote: I've bought several independence passes on the train in the last couple months with no surcharge.

I wasn't sure whether trainmaster planned to start with a transit route instead of a Regional Rail line. No sense getting caught by the sucker fare even if it's only a one-time hit.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I think I've decided gonna take the Regional Rail from Center City to Norristown, the NHSL to 69th TC, the 102 trolley to Clifton-Aldan, and Regional Rail back into town. I'm estimating that will take about 3 hours.