West Chester Railroad
Encyclopedia
The West Chester Railroad is a privately owned and operated tourist railroad
that runs between Market Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania
in Chester County
and the village of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
in Delaware County
.
It operates on 7.3 miles (11.7 km) of former Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) trackage on the West Chester Branch
between mile post 27.5 and 20.6. It is owned by the for-profit 4 States Railway Service, Inc. and operated by the West Chester Railroad Heritage Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the railroad. All employees of the railroad are volunteers.
was charter
ed in 1831 through an act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly
, and the company built its rail line to Malvern
(later moved to Frazer
). A quarter century later, West Chester got its second railroad, the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad
, which opened on November 11, 1858 with a more direct connection to Philadelphia via Media, Pennsylvania
. Both lines became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) system by 1881, when they were known as the "Frazer Branch" and "Media Branch," respectively.
The station at Market Street was West Chester's gateway to the world. At its height, the PRR operated 24 passenger trains to West Chester each day, plus three scheduled freights
and additional special trains as required. The line was electrified by the PRR in 1928. Although the Market Street Station was demolished in 1968, the Penn Central and SEPTA continued to carry passengers until the spring of 1986 when SEPTA ended service unexpectedly. For nearly a decade, the line remained derelict until a group of railroad enthusiasts approached the Borough of West Chester about restoring service.
As of 2009, the new West Chester Railroad Company is owned and operated by 4 States Railway Service Inc., a for-profit railroad management, maintenance and operations company which is dedicated to preserving the outer end of West Chester Branch of the PRR.
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
that runs between Market Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania
West Chester, Pennsylvania
The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...
in Chester County
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
and the village of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Glen Mills is an unincorporated community in Concord Township and Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States about 17 miles from Philadelphia. Glen Mills is known for its gardens and its golf course. Major offices including Deloitte with a headcount of about 100 people...
in Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
.
It operates on 7.3 miles (11.7 km) of former Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) trackage on the West Chester Branch
West Chester Branch
The West Chester Branch was a local passenger and freight railroad line owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and later Penn Central. The line connected with the Philadelphia-Washington Main Line at Arsenal Junction near the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia-Chicago Main Line near...
between mile post 27.5 and 20.6. It is owned by the for-profit 4 States Railway Service, Inc. and operated by the West Chester Railroad Heritage Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the railroad. All employees of the railroad are volunteers.
History
The original West Chester Railroad CompanyWest Chester Railroad (1831-1903)
The West Chester Railroad was chartered in 1831 and began operation in 1832. The railroad line ran from West Chester, Pennsylvania for to Malvern, Pennsylvania, where it connected with the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad...
was charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
ed in 1831 through an act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
, and the company built its rail line to Malvern
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census. The main road through the borough is King Street, although the borough is also bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, and is near US 30 on the north. The primary cross street is Warren...
(later moved to Frazer
Frazer, Pennsylvania
Frazer, Pennsylvania is a community in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, United States....
). A quarter century later, West Chester got its second railroad, the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad
West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad
The West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad operated in the greater Philadelphia area in the 19th century. It later became the West Chester Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad , and is now called the Media/Elwyn Line on the SEPTA system....
, which opened on November 11, 1858 with a more direct connection to Philadelphia via Media, Pennsylvania
Media, Pennsylvania
The borough of Media is the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania and is located west of Philadelphia. Media was incorporated in 1850 at the same time that it was named the county seat. The population was 5,533 at the 2000 census. Its school district is the Rose Tree Media School District...
. Both lines became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) system by 1881, when they were known as the "Frazer Branch" and "Media Branch," respectively.
The station at Market Street was West Chester's gateway to the world. At its height, the PRR operated 24 passenger trains to West Chester each day, plus three scheduled freights
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
and additional special trains as required. The line was electrified by the PRR in 1928. Although the Market Street Station was demolished in 1968, the Penn Central and SEPTA continued to carry passengers until the spring of 1986 when SEPTA ended service unexpectedly. For nearly a decade, the line remained derelict until a group of railroad enthusiasts approached the Borough of West Chester about restoring service.
As of 2009, the new West Chester Railroad Company is owned and operated by 4 States Railway Service Inc., a for-profit railroad management, maintenance and operations company which is dedicated to preserving the outer end of West Chester Branch of the PRR.
In service
- #4230 is an ALCO C424. It was built for the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
by the Montreal Locomotive WorksMontreal Locomotive WorksMontreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company...
in 1965. It was acquired by WCRR in 2005. It was repainted into a PRR paint scheme of Brunswick green and yellow lettering in late 2007 but has been recently repainted into a unique new paint scheme. - #1803 is an ALCO RS-18. It was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1960 and retired in 1998. It was bought in 1998 and was repainted into a Brunswick green with a yellow frame stripe. It has since been reapinted into a new paint scheme unique to the railroad.
- #4213 is an ALCO C424. It was built for the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
by the Montreal Locomotive WorksMontreal Locomotive WorksMontreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company...
in 1965. It was acquired by WCRR in 2010. It was repainted into a unique new paint scheme. - #6499 is an EMD GP9EMD GP9An EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in the United States, and General Motors Diesel in Canada between January, 1954, and August, 1963. US production ended in December, 1959, while an additional thirteen units were built in Canada, including...
. It was built in 1957 for the Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
as number 6499. It was owned by the Central Ohio RailroadCentral Ohio RailroadThe Central Ohio Railroad was the third railroad to enter Columbus, Ohio, and the first to connect Columbus with the east coast. It eventually became a part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.- History :...
when it was bought for the West Chester Railroad in 1997. It was repainted into a PRR scheme in 1998 with help from the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society Philadelphia Chapter and numbered 99. It has since been repainted into a unique WCRL paint scheme and renumbered back to its original number. - Ex-Reading CompanyReading CompanyThe Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...
(RDG) MUs # 9107, 9109, 9114, 9117 and 9124 were built between 1931 and 1932 by Harlan and HollingsworthHarlan and HollingsworthHarlan & Hollingsworth was a Wilmington, Delaware, firm that constructed ships and railroad cars during the 19th century and into the 20th century.-Founding:...
in Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, DelawareWilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. They were self-propelled commuter cars used by the RDG, then rebuilt and known as "Blueliners", and were used by SEPTA until 1990. All cars have had their traction motors and pantographs removed. #9107 has been made into a dining car and is painted a vintage RDG Green. The others are painted Tuscan red and are used for coaches. #9109 was recently restored back to its original "Blueliner" scheme and put into service on the WCRL trains. - Ex-PRR B60b "express messenger" Baggage car #9275 was built in the 1920s. It is used as a snack and crew quarters car.
Out of Service
- Ex-Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
#3 is an ALCO S-2. It was built in 1949 as # 9115. It was then owned by Rohm & Haas and numbered #3. It was damaged by freezing and was bought by the Wilmington and Western where it was rebuilt. It was then swapped for an SW600 by its present owner at the West Chester Railroad.
- Ex-US Army #9 is a GEGêGê are the people who spoke Ge languages of the northern South American Caribbean coast and Brazil. In Brazil the Gê were found in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Piaui, Mato Grosso, Goias, Tocantins, Maranhão, and as far south as Paraguay....
65-ton centercab switcher. It was built in 1941, and was later used on the Black River & Western Railroad and then the Octoraro RailroadOctoraro RailroadThe Octoraro Railroad was a shortline railroad that operated in Pennsylvania in the 1980s and 1990s.The company was formed in the 1980s and operated freight trains took on the Octoraro Branch, a former Pennsylvania Railroad branch line that ran from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania to the state line near...
. This locomotive operates, but is in need of a new prime mover. It is currently owned by the Heritage Association. - #1 is a 20 ton PlymouthPlymouth Locomotive WorksPlymouth Locomotive Works was a US builder of small railroad locomotives. All Plymouth locomotives were built in a plant in Plymouth, Ohio until 1997 when the company was purchased by Ohio Locomotive Crane and production moved to Bucyrus, Ohio in 1999...
switcher that was donated to the Heritage Association by the Glen Mills quarry where it worked. It was built in the 1940s and was gasoline powered but has been re-motored with a diesel. It has been repainted in a yellow paint scheme with WCRL markings and has been put on display at the WCRL Market Street station in West Chester. - Ex-New York Central RailroadNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
#642 is a bay window N-7 type built in 1941. Its number was 20331 and renumbered to # 21642 by Conrail. It has been restored with new flooring and windows, and has been repainted a maroon color with yellow lettering. In September 2008 it was repainted bright red and re-lettered. - Ex-Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad boxcar, built in 1964. It is used for storage in the Adams Street yard.
External links
- West Chester Railroad - official site