Philadelphia area question;

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by motor

Whenever I drove home to Wallingford, PA from Kutztown University in the early 80's, when I hit Exton in Chester County, I'd pass under (in VERY short order) the abandoned Trenton Cutoff, followed by the ex-PRR main line to Harrisburg, where the SEPTA Exton station was. Both lines were on VERY high bridges. About a 1/4 mile north of them was the abandoned RDG line, whose tracks hadn't been ripped up yet. By now, they are, although the ROW is still conspicuous. Are there any plans to make this (or the abandoned Trenton Cutoff) a rail trail?

Motor - yes. In sections, this has been turned into the Chester County Rail Trail... runs from King of Prussia, through Chesterbook, Paoli, East of Exton and stops (now) at Route 100. Broken in many areas as local communities come up with matching funds to complete the trial. Intended to run all the way to just east of Downingtown (portion of it runs behind my home, just west of Whitford Station) to right before the old Tressel Bridge over Route 322. Will take a number of years to complete.

WES

Earlier on this thread someone mentioned the abandoned Enola line. A couple of weeks ago I crossed it on the way to Strasburg. The catenary is still there (minus of course the wires that powered the trains) but the rails aren't.

motor

[Junctionfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by oltmannd

NS runs 3 pair of trains a day over the line between Schuylkill River and Morrisville. One pair merchandise, two pair intermodal (the equivalents to old Conrail trains MOPI, PIMO, TV1, Mail9, Mail8M and TV2(?))

Don't they run a coal train and a slab train on occasion through there too?

[railbender]

I can never forget this line. While scouting for a good photo location (1980's) my car stalled on a private crossing. The car "blocked" both main track on a curve no less! It took me a minute to get it started but I was ready to bailout if needed.

[motor]

Whenever I drove home to Wallingford, PA from Kutztown University in the early 80's, when I hit Exton in Chester County, I'd pass under (in VERY short order) the abandoned Trenton Cutoff, followed by the ex-PRR main line to Harrisburg, where the SEPTA Exton station was. Both lines were on VERY high bridges. About a 1/4 mile north of them was the abandoned RDG line, whose tracks hadn't been ripped up yet. By now, they are, although the ROW is still conspicuous. Are there any plans to make this (or the abandoned Trenton Cutoff) a rail trail?

Earlier on this thread someone mentioned the abandoned Enola line. A couple of weeks ago I crossed it on the way to Strasburg. The catenary is still there (minus of course the wires that powered the trains) but the rails aren't.

motor

[Anonymous]

I have lived in the Philadelphia area now for over 50 years and I can say that I never have seen a train on this line. With the rebuilding of I 76 and the Pa. Turnpike new bridges have been builded there.

[dehusman]

What you are calling the "connector'" sounds like the NS used part of the ex-RDG Plymouth Meeting branch which paralleled the Trenton cutoff. The ex RDG West Chester branch also ran right along the Trenton cutoff.

Dave H.
formerly of Norristown

[Anonymous]

To those who wonder if anything happens on the Trenton cut-off, I was driving a box truck eastbound on the PA TPK two years ago, travelling about 55-60 mph (thanks to good-ole Pennsy traffic), when I noticed a train with two blue Conrail units slowly overtaking the traffic on the turnpike. It was an intermodal trailer train, going over 65mph! You should have seen the truckers and how they noticed that train beating them, it was really funny to see them all watching it go by. I was very impressed myself, as I too had often wondered about this line.

[Anonymous]

For several years my office overlooked the Trenton Branch. I insisted in getting an office overlooking the PA turnpike and the RR!

[CShaveRR]

Actually, Sarah, the subject line is the one that goes past the hotel you took me to, and past your college classes now. The connection isn't far from where you work (looks like you couldn't drive near it without trespassing). The bridge where all of this traffic crosses the river is underneath one of those bridges connecting Norristown and Bridgeport (again, no way to get really close).

Oh, my, the things I've learned from looking at the map! AMG

[oltmannd]

NS runs 3 pair of trains a day over the line between Schuylkill River and Morrisville. One pair merchandise, two pair intermodal (the equivalents to old Conrail trains MOPI, PIMO, TV1, Mail9, Mail8M and TV2(?))

[nanaimo73]

It sounds like there is not much use of this line from Morrisvilleto the connection with the former RDG at Langhorne and then it is busy to the other connection with the former RDG just east of the river and then it is quiet to Coatesville. Is that about right ? Thanks everyone.

[CSXrules4eva]

Well, this is interesting. I'm glad this topic was started because I didn't really know to much about the Trenton branch line that ran across the Schuylkill River near the PA turnpike. I kind of had a feeling that it traveled to either Harrasburg (spelling) or somewere in that sector. I also wasn't sure how active it is. I've never out of all my times near that line have ever seen a train on that line. I go railfaning mostly in West Conshohocken, PA which has an NS double track mainline (Harrasburg Division) that runs directly under the old PRR line bridge.

[Anonymous]

The connection is on the east side of the river and runs from the ex-PRR line down to the ex-RDG passenger line that then runs thru Norristown and crosses the river to get to Abrams yard. The connection on the PRR end is called Earnest yard.

The second line listed above by spbed is correct (running west) for the Trenton Branch (in PRR-speak). This line was very busy in PRR days, double tracked, electrified and would see 20 +/- trains a day in the 60s and 70s. Since Conrail, the traffic runs over ex-RDG and LV from the Harrisburg area to New Jersey

[dldance]

when I visited there a couple of months ago I was told that there was a connection near Valley Forge but I cant remember the name of the yard.

dd

[CShaveRR]

My, if I hadn't been in Philadelphia this past week, I probably wouldn't have known or cared anything about this! But I was there, under the nicest of circumstances, and can offer a little insight.

This line crosses the Schuylkill River on an impressive bridge that parallels the Pennsylvania Turnpike. One can see from below that it was once electrified, but is no more. Sarah Warner (my guide for the day) said that she didn't think that many trains used the bridge any more. The connector, therefore, has to be on the north (east) side of the river, and the traffic must cross the river elsewhere to get to the busy ex-RDG yard at Norristown (Abrams Yard).

[Anonymous]

Great answer, Don. Do you know exactly where the connection was built? Did it involve much track?

Larry

[oltmannd]

Yes. It was known as the Trenton cut-off, and was used to get freight around Phila. Combined with a now-abandoned route known locally as the "low grade line" (Conrail called it the Enola branch), the two provided a route between Harrisburg and Trenton that bypassed the grades near Lancaster and Phila on the PRR mainline. The whole route used to be electrified.

The portion from Trenton (actually Morrisville PA) and the ex-RDG mainline along the Schuylkil River is still main track for NS with two or three train-pairs a day. Conrail built a connection between the two in the early 1980s.

[spbed]

My 1979 book Conrail has the following listed

W & N Jct PA
Birdsboro
Trap Rock
Conestoga
Suplee
Birdell
Brandamore
Wagontown
Coatesville

The second schedule Conrail had posted in 79 was

Trenton
Morrisville
Langhorne
Street Road
Plymouth meeting
Whitemarsh jct
Earnest
Rambo
Swedeland
Gulph
Glen Loch
Whitford
Downingtown
Thorndale
Coatesville

Hope this helps you [:o)][:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nanaimo73

My maps show a NS former PRR line running from around Coatesville straight east to the NEC around Trenton. Was this a freight bypass around the city and does it have a name? Does it get much use from NS ?

[nanaimo73]

My maps show a NS former PRR line running from around Coatesville straight east to the NEC around Trenton. Was this a freight bypass around the city and does it have a name? Does it get much use from NS ?