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 (Route 101)
Sharon Hill (Route 102)
69th Street Transportation Center
Stations 52
Services

2

  • 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 PA gauge 5 ft 2 1⁄4 in (1,581 mm)[3][4]
Electrification Overhead lines

SEPTA Routes 101 and 102[5], also known as the Media–Sharon Hill Line[6], 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] The lines were formerly interurbans.

Along with the 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

Route Length[7] South terminal North terminal
101 8.6 miles (13.8 km) Media
Orange Street at State Street		 Upper Darby
69th Street Transportation Center
102 5.3 miles (8.5 km) Sharon Hill
Sharon Hill

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. 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.[8] 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. Until the 1970s, Routes 101 and 102 were interurbans.

Stations

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

Route 101 LRV in Media
Private right-of-way outside Media
Front of Route 102 LRV
Location Station Transfers Notes
Stations served by Route 101 (Media) only
Media Orange Street – State Street SEPTA 110 Route 101 western terminus.
Veterans Square – State Street
Olive Street – State Street
Jackson Street – State Street SEPTA 118
Monroe Street – State Street
Edgemont Street – State Street
Manchester Avenue – State Street
Providence Road – State Street Begin right-of-way and two-track operation. Formerly known as Bowling Green.
Beatty Road
Springfield Pine Ridge Tracks converge east of this station.
Paper Mill Road Serves Smedley Park
Springfield Mall SEPTA 107, 109, 110 Formerly known as Sproul Road.
Thomson Avenue
Woodland Avenue Resume two-track operation east of this station.
Leamy Avenue
Saxer Avenue
Springfield Road
Scenic Road
Drexel Hill Drexeline
Drexelbrook
Anderson Avenue
Aronimink
School Lane
Huey Avenue
Stations served by Route 102 (Sharon Hill) only
Sharon Hill Sharon Hill – Chester Pike SEPTA 114, 115 Route 102 western terminus.
Collingdale MacDade Boulevard – Woodlawn Avenue SEPTA 113 Formerly known as Collingdale.
Andrews Avenue – Woodlawn Avenue
Bartram Avenue – Woodlawn Avenue
North Street – Woodlawn Avenue Tracks leave right-of-way and merge with Woodlawn Avenue north of this station.
Aldan Magnolia Avenue – Woodlawn Avenue
Providence Road – Woodlawn Avenue
Shisler Avenue – Woodlawn Avenue Station closed on March 15, 2010.
Clifton Heights Clifton-Aldan – Woodlawn Avenue

'

 SEPTA Media/Elwyn Line Tracks transition onto Springfield Road.
Springfield Road Tracks leave Springfield Road for right-of-way south of this station.
Penn Street
Baltimore Pike SEPTA 109
Drexel Hill Creek Road Located in Indian Rock Park. Formerly known as Oakdale.
Marshall Road
Drexel Manor
Garrettford
Stations shared by both routes
Drexel Hill Drexel Hill Junction SEPTA 107 Also known as Shadeland Avenue. Routes 101 and 102 diverge west of this station.
Irvington Road Bypassed by select Route 101 rush hour express service.
Drexel Park Bypassed by select Route 101 rush hour express service. Also called Fairfax Road.
Upper Darby Lansdowne Avenue – Garrett Road SEPTA 107, 115
Congress Avenue – Garrett Road Bypassed by select Route 101 rush hour express service.
Beverly Boulevard – Garrett Road & Bywood Avenue Bypassed by select Route 101 rush hour express service. Formerly known as Beverly Hills.
Hilltop Road – Garrett Road & Bywood Avenue Bypassed by select Route 101 rush hour express service.
Avon Road – Garrett Road & Bywood Avenue Bypassed by select Route 101 rush hour express service. Formerly known as Bywood.
Walnut Street – Garrett Road & Bywood Avenue Bypassed by select Route 101 rush hour express service.
Fairfield Avenue – Bywood Avenue Bypassed by select Route 101 rush hour express service. Tracks merge with street east of this station.
69th Street Transportation Center – Market Street SEPTA 21, 30, 65, 103-113,
116, 120, 123, 126
Market–Frankford Line
Norristown High Speed Line

References

  1. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. May 2013. p. 42. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  2. 1 2 Demery, Jr., Leroy W. (November 2011). "U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980" (PDF). publictransit.us. pp. 37–40. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  3. ↑ "The history of trolley cars and routes in Philadelphia". SEPTA. June 1, 1974. p. 2. Retrieved 2014-06-11. An early city ordinance prescribed that all tracks were to have a gauge of 5' ​2 1⁄4.
  4. ↑ Hilton, George W.; Due, John Fitzgerald (January 1, 2000). The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  5. ↑ 101 and 102 Official map. Accessed July 22, 2018.
  6. ↑ "SEPTA Capital Improvements in Delaware County" (PDF). SEPTA. December 2007. p. 4. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  7. ↑ "SEPTA - Spring 2012 Route Statistics" (PDF). Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  8. ↑ Philadelphia Suburban Transit Routes (ChicagoRailFan.net)

Route map:

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