Passenger Trains > “3/8ths at 5”

Each weekday at 5PM sharp, 3/8ths of Septa’s electric engine fleet is in the same place within a 5 minute timeframe. Three trains pass West (or is it railroad ‘South’ ?) through Philadelphia’s Jefferson Station - still Market East to some of us - en route to Paoli, Thorndale, and Newark, pulling their respective sets of Bombardier coaches and trailing cab cars. The AEM-7s, or sometimes the lone ALP-44, almost always lead the parade.

Here was the lineup for Friday, March 16:

#1 - 5:00 PM
AEM-7 2302 leads train 9559, the express to Bryn Mawr then local to Paoli.

#2 - 5:03 PM
Sister 2303 follows, with train 9561, the ‘Great Valley Flyer’ which runs express all the way to Paoli and then local to Thorndale. To my knowledge this is the only Septa run privileged to have its own name. Note the different style number boards. Couldn’t resist a short video with the flashing lights ..

#3 - 5:04 PM
Sister 2304 follows, completing the trifecta on adjacent Track 3, leading the express to Ridley Park with intermittent stops to Newark, DE. As evidenced in the last photos, this poor guy has seen better days and is shedding his paint.

As mentioned on other TO posts, a few of the ‘New Kids on the Block’ (the Siemens Sprinters) are already on the property, and the rest of the 15-unit order will be working their way east from California in the near future.

So, stop by Market East (!) the next time you’re in downtown Philly and have a few minutes to spare. It’s one thing to capture the perfect trackside photos, but also fun to be up close to these living, breathing, humming, blowing and sputtering overgrown electric toasters while they’re still in operation ...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/18 18:48 by GoodTimeCharlie.

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The remaining shots ...

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Nice photos. Thanks for taking and posting them.

For those not from the area, Jefferson Station (yes, Jefferson Health System bought the naming rights a few years ago) is a wide-open, airy, bright station, and a fun place to watch trains. The only thing about SEPTA trains is that, aside from the handful hauled by the electric engines, everything else is a Silverliner multiple-unit train. The variety is in the length of the trains, from 2 cars (or 1 on the Cynwyd shuttles, but they don't serve Jefferson Station, originating at Suburban Station about 5 blocks west) to 6 cars. Jefferson is a fun place to photograph. The only fly in the ointment is that SEPTA instituted a gate-check policy in the afternoons, so between 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. on weekdays, you have to show a ticket and have it cancelled in order to reach the platforms at Jefferson, Suburban and the upper level of 30th St stations. But if you're in Philadelphia, it's well worth stopping by Jefferson Station to see an attractive, wide-open, bright and passenger-friendly commuter station.