Passenger Trains > A 'round-trip' on SEPTA's Chestnut Hill lines

Last Saturday (Feb 9) was clear and sunny, but chilly (at least to this west coaster).  Here are some pics from the trip:
1. While waiting at New Carrollton. MD for Amtrak #152, this Washington-bound MARC train came by
2. Power for Amtrak #152, departing Philadelphia 30th Street Station
3. From Philadelphia I rode the Chestnut Hill East route, an ex-Reading line.  This relic is near the Wayne Jct. shops

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4. The ex-Reading route winds through a somewhat hilly area on a grade separated right of way.  This shows the train at the Chestnut Hill East station.
5. Chestnut Hill East station
From there, I walked about 1/4 mile, maybe a little more, towards the Chestnut Hill West station.  I found it easy enough, but stopped off for lunch at a pizza place.
6. Chestnut Hill once had an active streetcar line; this picture was in the pizza restaurant

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7. The Chestnut Hill streetcar track is still in place, however it has not been used in some time.  This shows the turnaround loop.  The track is largely intact, though there is one spot where a pavement patch breaks the rail.  The overhead is still in place - will service resume in the future?
8. This structure, near the Chestnut Hill West station, is still used by SEPTA crews.
9. Chestnut Hill West station.  This is an ex-PRR route.

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10. Riding back to Philadelphia, I was one row back from the railfan seat.  Almost as good as a cab ride.  This shows the train waiting to depart Chestnut Hill West; the grade was downhill from there.
11. This location is near Westmoreland.  The train at right is on an ex-Reading route to Norristown.
12. Riding the NEC for a brief stretch near North Philadelphia.

Frequent weekend service allowed this visitor to check out these SEPTA lines.
Enjoy

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Thanks.  I have wanted to do the Chestnut Hill loop, but I did the Media-Norristown rail/trolley/interurban/rail "loop" and the Trenton-Camden rail/light rail/transit "loop" first.

How is the area between the 2 Chestnut Hill stations?  Safe to walk between?

njmidland Wrote:
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> Thanks.  I have wanted to do the Chestnut Hill
> loop, but I did the Media-Norristown
> rail/trolley/interurban/rail "loop" and the
> Trenton-Camden rail/light rail/transit "loop"
> first.
>
> How is the area between the 2 Chestnut Hill
> stations?  Safe to walk between?

Very safe. Nice area.

The structure shown in your photos #8 and #10 was a former PRR signal tower.  At one time there was a large storage yard for Pennsy MU cars behind the photographer in #8 and to the left of the building in #10.  That area is now occupied by a high rise apartment tower and parking spaces.  The signal tower, once out of service, became a home to a couple model railroad clubs.  The basement section was home to the Germantown HO Engineers from 1946 until 1961.  Just inside the entrance was a lift bridge to enable visitors and members to gain access to the other side of the large layout.  That bridge still exists at the club's current location: in Elkins Park PA in a former Reading Company station.  The name changed to Chelten Hills Model Railroad Club. 
The street level of the signal tower once had a second HO club called Cliveden Model Railroaders (IIRC).  Supposedly, a third group had a small layout on the upper floor. 

Thanks for your 'circle tour'.  Brought back many memories.
jb
p.s. the entrance to the basement club in the signal tower was down the steep flight of steps shown at the left of the building in your photo.  When switching responsibilities ended at the tower, and the storage yard was eliminated, the crossover switches were controlled inside the main station within the ticket office. 
The black/white photo of the PCC streetcar reflects the earlier PTC (Philadelphia Transportation Co) paint scheme.  A few cars were later repainted that way during SEPTA ownership.  Route 23 is not reflected alongside the destination sign. 
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/19 08:44 by boejoe.

Chestnut Hill stations area is very suburban and pleasant.  Numerous eating places.  

Nice pictures!!!

And some interesting ex-Reading relics on the sidelines in the one picture. Didn't realize they were still there.

Quite an interesting feat to connect the Reading and PRR lines in Philadelphia. Just too bad only the electrified portion was saved; SEPTA gave up on trying to operate diesel commuter operations on non-electrified rail (e.g. north of Lansdale to the Lehigh Valley, to Reading and beyond). Even just the rush hour time slots weren't enough to sustain operations. However, with changing times now and the Lehigh Valley populated with college students (i.e. millenials), I think rail service between the Lehigh Valley and Philly would be somewhat of a success. Connecting to the Philadelphia Airport is would also be key.

When in Trenton or Philadelphia 30th Street Station I still hear some people asking - what train can I take to get to Allentown or Easton or Bethlehem.  

Thanks for sharing your experience and the photos.

casco17 Wrote:
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> 5. Chestnut Hill East station
> From there, I walked about 1/4 mile, maybe a
> little more, towards the Chestnut Hill West
> station.  I found it easy enough, but stopped off
> for lunch at a pizza place.

How was the pizza?

RuleG Wrote:
 the Chestnut Hill West
> > station.  I found it easy enough, but stopped
> off
> > for lunch at a pizza place.
>
> How was the pizza?
You can't go wrong with pizza, especially the thin crust type one finds in Philly, Manhattan, and Cambridge/Boston (and yes the regional differences are appreciated).
The walk between the two stations was easy enough; the only 'danger' would be from uneven sidewalk paving stones in places.  I had read up on the area before the trip; seemed safe enough.
As with other urban railroading, one sees a variation in the quality of neighborhoods along the rail routes.

This is my second circle trip in the Philadelphia area; I had done the Norristown loop previously.  I will explore the River Line and Media line/streetcar line in the future at some point.
I had traveled to 30th Street Station a few times before I looked in to how frequently SEPTA runs on weekends.  

Casco:

Next time I'm in Philadelphia, I will have to ride the two Chestnut Hill lines.  One previous trips to Philadelphia, my circle trips typically involved a Regional Rail ride from Jefferson Station to Norristown, a ride on the Norristown High Speed Line to 69th Street Station and a return to Center City on the Market - Frankford Line.

On my most recent visit (August 2018), I rode with a couple of friends from Center City to 69th Street on the Market - Frankford Line, the trolley to Media for dinner and then a return to Center City on a Regional Rail line.

 

I did the Norristown circle tour last year and the Chestnut Hill circle tour 3 weeks ago.  I really enjoyed having the railfan seat leaving 30th St station on the Chestnut Hill West route (ex PRR) until the conductor came by and booted me out.  I figured I really scored big in getting it as there was no indication it was 'reserved', including the 'tie-off' strap being down.  Taking the ex PRR route first made the mostly all down hill walk to the RDG (east) station quite easy for this 71 year old.  As noted above, the uneven sidewalk is problematic.  I considered the pizza joint, but as it was starting to drizzle and rain in the forecast, I wanted to get aboard another train quickly.  I even had time to get a not-so-great Philly cheese steak in the former Reading Terminal, and rode the Doylestown line to the end before getting back to 30th St Station to catch my train back to Massachusetts.

This coming Wednesday, I'm off on another day trip to Philly to ride more Septa Lines in the 6 hours or so I have before heading home.  I'm trying to get the short Cynwyd line, but the only doable round-trip schedule leaves at 12:31pm, so I'll keep it for when I'm late some day to Philly, as I get there about 11:00 on #141.  I still have a couple days to figure my 'plan A, B and C' options before I go.