Fox Chase Line

Fox Chase Line
Fox Chase station in December 2012
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	SEPTA Regional Rail
Status	Operating
Termini	Fox Chase 30th Street Station
Daily ridership	5,474[1]
Website	septa.org
Operation
Operator(s)	SEPTA
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	12 kV / 25 Hz Catenary
Route map Newtown George School Village Shires never opened Holland Churchville Southampton County Line Woodmont Bryn Athyn Huntingdon Valley West Trenton Line Walnut Hill Fox Chase Diesel service Electric service Ryers Cheltenham Lawndale Olney Warminster, West Trenton, Lansdale/Doylestown Lines Wayne Junction Manayunk/Norristown Line Temple University Reading Viaduct service ended 1984 Spring Garden Street Reading Terminal Jefferson Station Suburban Station 30th Street Station

The Fox Chase Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system. The Fox Chase Line branches from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction, north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirely within the city of Philadelphia except for a section between Olney and Cheltenham, Pennsylvania which runs along the city border. Under the Reading Company service continued north to Newtown, but this ended in January 1983. Various proposals to resume this service have failed, most of the line within Montgomery County has been converted into a rail trail called the Pennypack Trail.

History

The Fox Chase Line branches from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction, north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirely within the city of Philadelphia except for a section between Olney and Cheltenham, Pennsylvania which runs along the city border.^[2]

The line beyond Newtown Junction was originally opened February 2, 1878 to Newtown as the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad. The line was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to block the building of the parallel National Railway (later the Reading Company's main line to New York City). After that failed, it was taken over by the North Pennsylvania Railroad (which had built the National Railway) on November 22, 1879. By then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, later the Reading Company, had leased the North Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1976 the Reading was merged into Conrail, and in 1983 SEPTA took over commuter rail operations.

Between 1984–2010 the route was designated R8 Fox Chase as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. Fox Chase trains operated through the city center to the Chestnut Hill West Line.^[3] Plans had called for the Fox Chase Line to be paired with a Bryn Mawr local and designated R4, but this depended on a never-built connection from the Chestnut Hill West Line to the ex-Reading near Wayne Junction.^[4]

SEPTA activated positive train control on the Fox Chase Line on May 23, 2016.^[5]

Beyond Fox Chase

Passengers changing over to a Newtown-bound diesel Budd Rail Diesel Car at Fox Chase on November 24, 1981

SEPTA performing a test run of the British BRE-Leyland Diesel railbuses at Huntingdon Valley Station, September 1985. Note brand new SEPTA "lollipop" station sign at right and "Station for Lease" sign on the now-demolished station shelter.

Under the Reading Company Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) operated through from the Reading Terminal in downtown Philadelphia to Newtown.^[6] The Reading extended electrification to Fox Chase in 1966; limited diesel shuttles from Fox Chase to Newtown continued.^[2] SEPTA suspended these shuttles on July 1, 1981, as part of a systemwide discontinuation of non-electrified service. The shuttles returned on October 5 as the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line.^[7] The operation of the line was troubled: the RDCs were in poor mechanical condition, SEPTA's decision to use transit division employees from the Broad Street Subway caused labor issues, and ridership was low.^[8] SEPTA suspended service again on January 18, 1983.^[9]

Since 1983, there has been interest from Bucks County passengers in resuming service to Newtown. In anticipation of a possible resumption, SEPTA performed extensive track upgrades in 1984. Street crossings in Newtown and Southampton received brand new welded rail, which were secured using sturdy Pandrol clips vs. traditional rail spikes. Though not promoted, this work was done in order to comply with a federal grant.^[10]

By March 1985, SEPTA gave into political pressure and made a concerted effort to integrate the non-electrified Fox Chase-Newtown line into the rest of its all-electrified commuter system. A $10 million plan to restore service to Newtown and Pottstown using British BRE-Leyland Diesel railbusses was considered, with a test run reaching Newtown on September 3. Though the trial runs were relatively successful, ride quality was lackluster. Burdened with ongoing budgetary problems, SEPTA decided against the purchase of the railbusses.^[11]

In March 1987, SEPTA received several bids from private operators interested in running diesel-hauled trains to Newtown (as well as between Norristown-Pottstown. The operators suggested using non-union workers, which SEPTA was against. In addition, funding for these operations was allegedly questionable, and the SEPTA board rejected all offers.^[12]

Beginning in 2009, portions on the line within Montgomery County have been converted into a rail trail.^[8][13] By 2015, the Pennypack Trail extended 5.4 miles (8.7 km) along the former line between Rockledge and Byberry Road near Bryn Athyn. Future plans call for the Pennypack Trail to be extended north to County Line Road.^[14][15] In Bucks County, there is a small group of rail trail lobbyists trying to turn the former railroad line into a rail trail called the Newtown Rail Trail,^[16] though several townships along the line are still hoping for resumption of rail service to alleviate crippling traffic congestion on local roads and highways.

Stations

Olney station

Bryn Athyn in 2008

The original George School station

Fox Chase trains make the following station stops after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection. Weekday boardings are from FY 2013; data for Temple and Wayne Junction include all lines serving those stations.^[1]:95–96 Although SEPTA suspended service to all stations north of Fox Chase in 1983, it continues to list those stations in its public tariff.^[17]

Ridership

Yearly ridership on the Fox Chase Line between FY 2008–FY 2014 has remained steady around 1.4 million:^{[1]:94[18][19][20][21][22][23]}

Notes

References

• Schwieterman, Joseph P. (2001). When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment, Eastern United States. Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press. ISBN 0-943549-97-3. OCLC 702179808. 
• Vuchic, Vukan; Kikuchi, Shinya (1984). General Operations Plan for the SEPTA Regional High Speed System. Philadelphia: SEPTA. 
• Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, NJ: Railpace Company. ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1. OCLC 43543368. 
• Woodland, Dale W. (1998). Reading in the Conrail Era. 2. Telford, PA: Silver Brook Junction. ISBN 978-0-9640425-9-9. 
• Woodland, Dale W. (December 2003). "SEPTA's Diesels". Railpace Newsmagazine. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fox Chase Line.

• "SEPTA – Fox Chase Line schedule" (PDF). 
• Reading Company Routes and Mileages
• Newtown Branch restoration website