SEPTA Routes 101 and 102

Routes 101 and 102 Media–Sharon Hill Line
Route 102 at Sharon Hill station
Overview
Type	Light rail
Locale	Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Termini	Media-Orange Street (west – Rt 101) Sharon Hill (west – Rt 102) 69th Street Transportation Center (east)
Stations	52
Services	Media Local (101) Media Express (101) Sharon Hill Local (102) Sharon Hill Express (102) 69th Street Local (both routes)
Daily ridership	Route 101: 4,400 Route 102: 3,576 (average weekday, FY 2014)[1]
Operation
Opened	1906
Operator(s)	SEPTA
Character	Surface (at-grade)
Technical
Line length	11.9 mi (19.2 km)[2]
Track gauge	5 ft 2 1⁄4 in (1,581 mm)[3][4]
Electrification	Overhead lines

SEPTA Trolley Routes 101 and 102^{[Note 1]} also known as the Media–Sharon Hill Line,^[5] are light rail lines operated by the Suburban Transit Division of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. The routes' eastern terminus is 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania; Route 101 to Media, Route 102 to Sharon Hill. Altogether, the two lines operate on approximately 11.9 miles (19.2 km) of route.^[2]

Along with Norristown High Speed Line, formerly the Philadelphia and Western Railroad, the routes are the remaining lines of the Red Arrow Trolley System once operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, (successor to the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company); some local residents still call them "Red Arrow".

This route uses 29 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company K cars, similar to those used on the SEPTA Subway–Surface Trolley Lines, but unlike them, the K cars on routes 101 and 102 are double-ended and use pantograph collection instead of trolley poles.

Current system

The 101 and 102 run together on their exclusive right-of-way from Upper Darby to Drexel Hill Junction for approximately 2 miles (3.2 km), at which point they diverge.

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 to Woodland Avenue, then a single track to just before Pine Ridge, then enters the street at Providence Road in Media and runs on a single track the rest of the way. Cars in the street must yield to the trolley. Media is the only suburban town in the United States to have a trolley down the middle of its main street. The line terminates in the middle of the street just west of 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 passes 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.

Springfield Road contains two stops along both lines. Route 101 stops at Springfield Road in Springfield. Route 102 stops at Springfield Road in Clifton Heights, then joins this street until it moves onto Woodlawn Avenue through Aldan.

History

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

The Sharon Hill Line (Route 102) was originally built by the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company on March 15, 1906, and the Media Line (Route 101) was originally built by the same company on April 1, 1913.^[7] The lines were later bought by the Philadelphia Suburban Transit Company in 1954.

Besides Routes 101 and 102, 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 Transportation Center 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 trips 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 Schauffele 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 right-of-way, although much of its other street routing has changed.

Stations

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

Routes 101 & 102
on-street trackage connecting bus routes 00  ■ Market-Frankford Line Norristown High Speed Line 69th Street Terminal Route 100 to Norristown  21   30   65   103-113   116   120   123  Fairfield Avenue Walnut Street Avon Road Hilltop Road Beverly Boulevard Congress Avenue Lansdowne Avenue 107   115  Drexel Park Irvington Road Drexel Hill Junction 107  Route 101 Route 102 Huey Avenue Garrettford School Lane Drexel Manor Aronimink Marshall Road Anderson Avenue Creek Road Drexelbrook Baltimore Pike Drexeline Penn Street Scenic Road Springfield Road Springfield Road Clifton-Aldan■ Media/Elwyn Line Saxer Avenue Shisler Avenue Leamy Avenue Providence Road Woodland Avenue Magnolia Avenue Thomson Avenue North Street Springfield Mall Bartram Avenue  107   109   110  Andrews Avenue Paper Mill Road MacDade Boulevard  113 Pine Ridge Sharon Hill Beatty Road Providence Road Manchester Avenue Edgemont Street Monroe Street  118  Jackson Street Olive Street Veterans Square  110 Orange Street

Route 101 – Media

Route 101 LRV in Media

Private right-of-way outside Media

City	Station / Location	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
Media	Orange Street at State Street	Route 101		Route 101 terminus. SEPTA Bus Route 110.
	Veterans Square at State Street	Route 101
	Olive Street at State Street	Route 101
	Jackson Street at State Street	Route 101		SEPTA Route 118 bus connections
	Monroe Street at State Street	Route 101		Passes by the Media Theatre
	Edgemont Street at State Street	Route 101
	Manchester Avenue at State Street	Route 101
	Providence Road at State Street	Route 101		Free parking available. Tracks leave street-level. Formerly Bowling Green
	Beatty Road at Surrey Road	Route 101
Springfield	Pine Ridge Near Pine Ridge Drive & Beechwood Road	Route 101		Free parking available
	Paper Mill Road	Route 101		in Smedley Park
	Springfield Mall	Route 101		Free parking available. Formerly Sproul Road Connects with SEPTA Routes 107, 109, and 110.
	Thomson Avenue near Sidman Drive	Route 101
	Woodland Avenue and Rolling Road	Route 101
	Leamy Avenue and Rolling Road	Route 101
	Saxer Avenue and Rolling Road	Route 101
	Springfield Road	Route 101		Free parking available, located west of Route 102 Springfield Road Station
	Scenic Road	Route 101		Free parking available
Drexel Hill	Drexeline Woodland Avenue behind Drexeline Shopping Center	Route 101		Free parking available
	Drexelbrook Wildell Road south of Woodland Avenue	Route 101
	Anderson Avenue near Woodland Avenue	Route 101
	Aronimink Burmont Road & Morgan Avenue	Route 101
	School Lane west of Edmonds Avenue	Route 101
	Huey Avenue & Edmonds Avenue	Route 101

Route 102 – Sharon Hill

Front of Route 102 LRV

Both routes

Notes

References

External links

Route map: Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SEPTA Routes 101 and 102.

• U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980 (PDF)
• Rt. 101/102 – Media/Sharon Hill; Images, guide, and slight history at World-NYC Subway.org