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Re: Norristown Baldwins
Author: Tom McCann
Date: 07-06-2017 - 23:08
This video literally took me home. I was born in Norristown in the early 1950s and actually got to see a lot of this action for real.
The PRR line is the Schuylkill Valley Branch, and paralleled the Schuylkill River from Manayunk all the way past Reading.
The commuter trains shown have just left the DeKalb Street station and are heading for the layover yard at Haws Avenue, which was the end of catenary on the route. The PRR ended its service to Norristown in 1960 and razed the depot not long after. A portion of this line still sees weekday SEPTA service as far as the Cynwyd section of Philadelphia.
The elevated line in the background by the depot is the Red Arrow Lines, former Philadelphia & Western third-rail interurban from Upper Darby to Norristown. The car shown is one of the P&W's legendary Brill "Bullets", which served the route from the early 1930s for nearly 60 years. this was also the second home of the former North Shore Line "Electroliners", which operated here from 1964 through the mid-1970s as the "Libertyliners".
Most of the branch from Philadelphia to Reading was torn up and is now the popular Schuylkill Valley Trail. A portion of the branch north of Reading remains in service as the Blue Mountain & Reading RR.
The small yard shown at 2:20 was located just east of the depot between DeKalb Street and Ford Street.
The train shown at 5:33 is diverging from the Schuylkill Valley branch onto the connecting track to the PRR Trenton Cutoff, which was the railroad's principal freight bypass around Philadelphia.
The train at 6:18 is just passing under the overpasses for the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Trenton Cutoff. The ROW in the foreground is the Reading Company's Norristown Line, which also served as its main passenger route from Philadelphia to Reading and Pottsville. It remains in commuter service today for SEPTA.
A short stretch of the old Schuylkill Valley ROW is now used by Norfolk Southern, whose trains cross the river just west of the SEPTA DeKalb Street station and use the SEPTA tracks to reach a connection onto the PRR ROW, which leads to the old connection onto the Trenton Cutoff.
The PRR line is the Schuylkill Valley Branch, and paralleled the Schuylkill River from Manayunk all the way past Reading.
The commuter trains shown have just left the DeKalb Street station and are heading for the layover yard at Haws Avenue, which was the end of catenary on the route. The PRR ended its service to Norristown in 1960 and razed the depot not long after. A portion of this line still sees weekday SEPTA service as far as the Cynwyd section of Philadelphia.
The elevated line in the background by the depot is the Red Arrow Lines, former Philadelphia & Western third-rail interurban from Upper Darby to Norristown. The car shown is one of the P&W's legendary Brill "Bullets", which served the route from the early 1930s for nearly 60 years. this was also the second home of the former North Shore Line "Electroliners", which operated here from 1964 through the mid-1970s as the "Libertyliners".
Most of the branch from Philadelphia to Reading was torn up and is now the popular Schuylkill Valley Trail. A portion of the branch north of Reading remains in service as the Blue Mountain & Reading RR.
The small yard shown at 2:20 was located just east of the depot between DeKalb Street and Ford Street.
The train shown at 5:33 is diverging from the Schuylkill Valley branch onto the connecting track to the PRR Trenton Cutoff, which was the railroad's principal freight bypass around Philadelphia.
The train at 6:18 is just passing under the overpasses for the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Trenton Cutoff. The ROW in the foreground is the Reading Company's Norristown Line, which also served as its main passenger route from Philadelphia to Reading and Pottsville. It remains in commuter service today for SEPTA.
A short stretch of the old Schuylkill Valley ROW is now used by Norfolk Southern, whose trains cross the river just west of the SEPTA DeKalb Street station and use the SEPTA tracks to reach a connection onto the PRR ROW, which leads to the old connection onto the Trenton Cutoff.
| Subject | Written By | Date/Time (PST) |
|---|---|---|
 Norristown Baldwins
|
HUTCH 7.62 | 07-06-2017 - 19:38 |
|
Re: Norristown Baldwins |
Tom McCann | 07-06-2017 - 23:08 |