Chestnut Hill East Line

Chestnut Hill East Line
The Chestnut Hill East station as seen in October 2012. The station depot, constructed by the Reading Company, is visible on the left.
Overview
Type Commuter rail line
System SEPTA Regional Rail
Status Operating
Termini Chestnut Hill
30th Street Station
Stations 14
Daily ridership 5,768[1]:94
Website septa.org
Operation
Operator(s) SEPTA
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification Catenary
Route map

 Chestnut Hill East
 Gravers
 Wyndmoor
 Mermaid
closed 1930
 Mount Airy
 Sedgwick
 Gorgas
closed
 Stenton
 Washington Lane
 Walnut Lane
closed
Fare Zone 2
Fare Zone 1
 Germantown
 Church
closed
 Wingohocking
closed
 Wister
 Fishers
closed 1992
Lansdale/Doylestown, Fox Chase,
Warminster & West Trenton Lines
 Wayne Junction
Manayunk/Norristown Line
to Elm Street
Fare Zone 1
Central Fare Zone
 Temple University
Reading Viaduct
service ended 1984
 Spring Garden Street
 Reading Terminal
 Jefferson Station
 Suburban Station
 30th Street Station
Amtrak NJ Transit

The Chestnut Hill East Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system. The route serves the northwestern section of Philadelphia with service to Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill. It is one of two lines that serve Chestnut Hill, the other one being the Chestnut Hill West Line.

History

The Chestnut Hill East Line uses the Reading Company right-of-way, which was originally constructed by the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown (PG&N) railroad before the American Civil War. The PG&N intended to build a railroad from Philadelphia to Norristown but stopped when construction reached Germantown due to the hilly nature of the terrain west of Germantown and along the Wissahickon Creek, which they would have had to cross to reach Norristown. The PG&N decided to change course and build another railroad line close to the Schuylkill River. This line would become SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown Line. The original railroad line that ended in Germantown was then extended north with a sharp right hand turn and then northwest to its present terminus in Chestnut Hill (where the Chestnut Hill West Line also has a terminus only a few hundred yards away).

The Chestnut Hill Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on July 11, 1851 to own the railroad planned for Chestnut Hill. An eastern and western route were surveyed to Chestnut Hill in 1848 by William E. Morris, and the eastern route was chosen for the line. The railroad was opened to traffic on December 1, 1854. It was operated by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad Company (PG&N) from December 1, 1854 until November 30, 1870, under a lease dated March 17, 1852. By agreement dated November 10, 1870, the lease was assigned by the PG&N to The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company. By indenture dated November 30, 1870, a new lease was made by the Chestnut Hill Railroad Company to The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company for 999 years from December 1, 1870. The obligation of The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company was assumed by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company on December 1, 1896, and the lease was amended in certain respects by Agreement dated January 27, 1897.

The Reading RR station building from the late 1800s, of stone construction, was located on the east side of the Bethlehem Pike, slightly north of its intersection with East Chestnut Hill Avenue. The station had two platforms serving three short tracks, long enough for three passenger coaches. Adjacent to the station on its north side was a small, five-stall roundhouse with its back wall facing the Bethlehem Pike. There was also a short turntable and water tank to service the small steam locomotives used in that era. The double-track line from downtown Philadelphia approached the Chestnut Hill Terminal through a cut, passing under East Summit Avenue then turning left into the terminal. Six photographs of the old buildings and a track plan were published in the book MODEL TAILROADS by Edwin P. Alexander, originally published in 1940 by W. W. Norton & Company of New York. All the buildings were demolished circa 1932 prior to the electrification of the Chestnut Hill Branch Line.

The line was elevated in 1930. Electrified service to Chestnut Hill (and to Norristown) was opened on February 5, 1933. By order dated March 23, 1940, in Finance Docket No. 12749, the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized Reading Company to acquire control of the Chestnut Hill Railroad Company by purchase of additional shares of capital stock. On December 31, 1948, the Chestnut Hill Railroad Company was merged into Reading Company. The line continued to be operated as part of the Reading Company's passenger lines up until April 1, 1976, when the Reading's passenger lines were conveyed to SEPTA as part of the company's bankruptcy reorganization.[2]

Until 1984 Chestnut Hill East trains used the Reading Viaduct to reach Spring Garden Street and the Reading Terminal; this ended with the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection which routed the trains through the city center and on the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad part of the system.[3] From this point the route was designated R7 Chestnut Hill East as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines; trains continued on to the Trenton Line.[4] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.[5]

SEPTA activated positive train control on the Chestnut Hill East Line on July 25, 2016.[6]

Stations

The Reading Company opened Gravers in 1879
Mount Airy, like Gravers, was designed by Frank Furness

The Chestnut Hill East line makes the following station stops after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection; stations indicated with a gray background are closed. All stations are located within Philadelphia.

Zone
[7]		 Station Miles (km)
from Center City		 Date
opened		 Date
closed		 Connections / notes[7]
C Temple University 2.1 miles (3.4 km)     SEPTA: All Regional Rail lines
Tioga    1989
Nicetown   November 14, 1988[8] SEPTA closed the Nicetown station on November 14, 1988 after a fire damaged the station. At the time of closure, the station had one single passenger on average.[8]
1 Wayne Junction 5.1 miles (8.2 km)     SEPTA: Fox Chase Line, Lansdale/Doylestown Line, Warminster Line, West Trenton Line; 2, 23, 53, 75
Fishers 5.7 miles (9.2 km)   November 10, 1996[9]
Wister 6.1 miles (9.8 km)     SEPTA: J
Wingohocking 6.5 miles (10.5 km)    
Germantown 6.8 miles (10.9 km)     SEPTA: 26, J, K
2 Walnut Lane 7.7 miles (12.4 km)    
Washington Lane 7.8 miles (12.6 km)     SEPTA: XH
Stenton 8.6 miles (13.8 km)     SEPTA: 18
Gorgas 8.7 miles (14.0 km)    
Sedgwick 8.9 miles (14.3 km)     SEPTA: H
Mount Airy 9.3 miles (15.0 km)    
Mermaid 9.8 miles (15.8 km)    
Wyndmoor 10.0 miles (16.1 km)     SEPTA: 77
Gravers 10.3 miles (16.6 km)     SEPTA: L
Chestnut Hill East 10.8 miles (17.4 km)     SEPTA: 94, L
Chestnut Hill West station is two blocks south.

Ridership

Yearly ridership on the Chestnut Hill East Line between FY 2008–FY 2014 has remained steady around 1.5–1.6 million, save for a dip in FY 2011:[1]:94[10][11][12][13][14][15]

500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
FY 2008
FY 2009
FY 2010
FY 2011
FY 2012
FY 2013
FY 2014

Notes

    References

    1. 1 2 "Fiscal Year 2016 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. June 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    2. ↑ Historical data compiled from record papers of Reading Company preserved at Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware.
    3. ↑ Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, NJ: Railpace Company. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1. OCLC 43543368.
    4. ↑ Vuchic, Vukan; Kikuchi, Shinya (1984). General Operations Plan for the SEPTA Regional High Speed System. Philadelphia: SEPTA. pp. 2–8.
    5. ↑ Lustig, David (November 2010). "SEPTA makeover". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing: 26.
    6. ↑ "Positive Train Control Update". SEPTA. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
    7. 1 2 "Chestnut Hill East Line Timetable" (PDF). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. September 10, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
    8. 1 2 Bowden, Mark (December 23, 1988). "A SEPTA Ride to a Sealed Station". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 15. Retrieved October 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
    9. ↑ Dougherty, Frank (October 25, 1996). "Septa Board Cuts Service But Oppostion Is Spirited". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
    10. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. May 2014. p. 60. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    11. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. May 2013. p. 44. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    12. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. May 2012. p. 55. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    13. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. July 2011. p. 94. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    14. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. June 2010. p. 70. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    15. ↑ "FY 2010 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. June 2009. p. 63. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "SEPTA – Chestnut Hill East line schedule" (PDF).
    • Reading Company Routes and Mileages
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