SEPTA Routes 101 and 102

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Routes 101 and 102 Media–Sharon Hill Line
Info
Type	Tram
Locale	Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Terminals	Media-Orange Street (west – Rt 101) Sharon Hill (west – Rt 102) 69th Street Terminal (east)
No. of stations	52
Service routes	Media Local (101) Media Express (101) Sharon Hill Local (102) Sharon Hill Express (102) 69th Street Local (both routes)
Operation
Opened	1906
Operator(s)	SEPTA
Character	Surface (at-grade)
Technical
Gauge	5 ft 2¼ in (1581 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines

SEPTA Routes 101 and 102,^[1] also known as the Media–Sharon Hill Line,^[2] are two tram lines operated by the SEPTA. The two lines are within SEPTA's Suburban Transit Division, and are two of the three remaining lines of the former Red Arrow trolley system operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, with the other being SEPTA Route 100. They are still frequently referred to colloquially as "the Red Arrow" by local residents. The routes operate to and from 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, with Route 101 providing service to and from Media, and Route 102 providing service to and from Sharon Hill.

[edit] Current system

The 101 and 102 run together on their own exclusive right-of-way from Upper Darby until "Drexel Hill Junction" at which time they diverge to their separate respective destinations. After Drexel Hill Junction, Route 101 continues on its own right-of-way traveling west and southwest through Drexel Hill and Springfield with an important stop at the Springfield Mall before entering the street in Media. The 101 has double tracks up to Woodland Avenue at which time the line only has a single track until just before Pine Ridge. It then has double tracks until Bowling Green. At Bowling Green, it enters the street in Media where it runs on a single track in the middle of the street the rest of the way. Cars in the street must yield to the trolley. Media is unique in that it is the only suburban town in the United States to have a trolley run down the middle of its main street. The line terminates in the middle of the street just after the Delaware County Courthouse. Route 102 runs southeast from Drexel Hill Junction through Drexel Hill and Clifton Heights and then goes into the street in Aldan. After Aldan it returns to its own right-of-way, then passing through Collingdale before terminating at Chester Pike in Sharon Hill. The 102 has double tracks until up to North Street in Collingdale, where the 102 returns to its own right-of-way, and after North Street, there is a single track until the end of the line.

[edit] History

Heavy steel interurban cars like this ran on the Red Arrow until the 1970s.

There were also two other, now defunct, Red Arrow trolley lines. The direct ancestor of the SEPTA Route 104 bus line went to West Chester, splitting off from the rest of the system right after 69th Street Terminal onto West Chester Pike. The tracks continued all the way up West Chester Pike. West Chester trolleys were replaced by buses in 1954 due to widening of West Chester Pike; rush-hour trippers to Westgate Hills lasted until 1958. Tracks remained in use for access to the Red Arrow's carbarn in Llanerch until SEPTA closed the barn in 1971; all tracks were soon removed except for a portion near 69th Street that SEPTA occasionally uses to store out-of service trolleys. The other now-defunct Red Arrow trolley line went to Ardmore until December 1966. It split from the West Chester line at Llanerch and continued on its own exclusive right-of-way. Much of the right-of-way still remains between Schauffle Plaza in Ardmore (the former terminus of the line) and Eagle Road in Havertown, although the tracks were removed and the right-of-way paved for dedicated use by the replacement bus line, now SEPTA Route 103. The 103 still uses this private ROW, although much of its other street routing has changed.

[edit] Stations

Map of Routes 101 and 102 (red), as well as former trolley (now bus) Routes 103 and 104 (orange), and Route 100 (blue)

[edit] Route 101 – Media

Route 101 tram in Media

Off-road travel outside Media

Station	Notes
Orange Street	Route 101 terminus
Veterans Square
Olive Street
Jackson Street	Connects with Route 118
Edgmont Street
Manchester Avenue
Bowling Green	Free parking available
Beatty Road
Pine Ridge
Paper Mill Road
Springfield Mall	Free parking available, connects with Routes 109, 110, and 122
Thomson Avenue
Woodland Avenue
Leamy Avenue
Woodland Avenue
Thomson Avenue
Leamy Avenue
Saxer Avenue
Springfield Road	Free parking available, located west of Route 102 Springfield Road Station
Scenic Road	Free parking available
Drexeline	Free parking available
Drexelbrook
Anderson Avenue
Aronimink
School Lane
Huey Avenue

[edit] Route 102 – Sharon Hill

Front of Route 102 tram

[edit] Both routes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

SEPTA Routes 101 and 102

[edit] References

• U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980 (PDF)

v • d • e SEPTA City Transit Division Market–Frankford Line • Broad Street Line • Subway–Surface Trolley Lines • Route 15 (Girard Avenue Trolley) • City surface routes Suburban Division Route 100 (Norristown High-Speed Line) • Routes 101 and 102 (Media–Sharon Hill Line) • Suburban bus routes Regional Rail R1 • R2 • R3 • R5 • R6 • R7 • R8 Major stations Frankford Transportation Center • Market East Station • Norristown Transportation Center • Olney Transportation Center • Suburban Station • 30th Street Station • 69th Street Terminal

v • d • e Mass transit in the Delaware Valley Bus lines SEPTA: Philadelphia • Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties Reading: Berks Area Reading Transit Authority New Jersey Transit: Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County suburban service • Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County local service • Long-distance local routes from Philadelphia DART First State: New Castle County Commuter/heavy rail lines SEPTA: Regional Rail • Market–Frankford Line Broad Street Line New Jersey Transit: Atlantic City Line • Atlantic City-NYC express (future) Camden County-Philadelphia: PATCO Speedline Light rail lines SEPTA: Subway–Surface trolleys • Route 15 • Route 100 • Routes 101 and 102 New Jersey Transit: River Line