North Pennsylvania Railroad

North Pennsylvania Railroad

Dates of operation	1852 (1852)–1976 (1976)
Successor	Conrail SEPTA
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company which served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County, Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1852 and began operation in 1855. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway, predecessor to the Reading Company, leased the North Pennsylvania in 1879. Its tracks were transferred to Conrail and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in 1976.

History

The company incorporated on April 8, 1852, as the Philadelphia, Easton and Water Gap. Construction began on June 16, 1853; the company changed its name to the North Pennsylvania Railroad on October 3 that year. The railway opened between Front and Willow Streets, Philadelphia and Gwynedd on July 2, 1855, a distance of .

In 1856, the company suffered its first accident in The Great Train Wreck of 1856. The following year, a branch was built from Lansdale to Doylestown and during the 1860s another extension was built to Sellersville, running parallel to Bethlehem Pike. This railroad was eventually completed to Bethlehem, and later became the Reading Company's Bethlehem Branch, a two-track main line, with one portion near Telford being three-tracked. A single-track tunnel is in Perkasie.

The Reading Company leased North Pennsylvania Railroad on May 14, 1879, which later led to the eventual demise of NPR due to the bankruptcy of the Reading Company and subsequent merger into Conrail.

As of 2011, the line is owned by SEPTA, which only operates its electric commuter trains as far north as Lansdale, where the Lansdale/Doylestown Line continues on a branch line to Doylestown. Freight trains are operated on the portion from Lansdale to Quakertown by Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad and East Penn Railroad.

The former Jersey City main line of the Reading branches just north of the Jenkintown/Wyncote station, although SEPTA only operates the West Trenton Line as far as Ewing, New Jersey.

A branch extends from Glenside to New Hope, although SEPTA only operates the Warminster Line as far as Warminster. The 17 miles (27 km) portion from Warminster north to New Hope is owned and operated by the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad.

North of Quakertown, the double-track line is out of service. Until 2008, most of the rail infrastructure was intact except for a cut made near DeSales University to extend Preston Lane. In addition, the northernmost section between Bethlehem and Hellertown including Saucon Yard, which is owned by freight operator Norfolk Southern Railway, was removed.

None of the former stations remain north of Quakertown, and all of the block signals north of Lansdale have been destroyed by vandals, although many are still in place.

Rail trail

North Pennsylvania Railroad in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, shortly before trackage removal.

Rail trail discussions began in 2008 between Hellertown, Upper and Lower Saucon officials and SEPTA. Talks of converting the unused, double-track rail corridor into a bicycle and pedestrian pathway had floated around for a while, but pro-rail advocates protested that commuter service be reinstated (it had terminated on July 1, 1981). Proposals had been made to reinstate passenger service north of Lansdale since the 1990s, but SEPTA showed little interest in operating trains without electrification. To remedy this, local residents along the line suggested that PPL Electric run their proposed high-tension electric line along the right-of-way, which would allow SEPTA to electrify the line.

Rather than abandoning the line outright, SEPTA leased the line to the communities, as the transit agency was looking for a "caretaker" for the line. SEPTA has emphasized that they are aware service restoration will terminate the lease with the communities. SEPTA currently owns the right-of-way and has no plans to abandon or sell the land.

To this end, the trail will be a simple dirt path: a paved trail would increase the cost of the restoring the line should service be resurrected. Though the suggestion of maintaining one track and removing the other had been discussed—known as "rails with trails"—township officials balked at the idea, as it would still involve rail infrastructure maintenance and create a tripping hazard. Officials also cited the possibility of being struck by a train using the remaining track, though SEPTA had no plans of reinstating any sort of train activity. The rail line was opened up into the Saucon Rail Trail that runs from Coopersburg to Hellertown and is extremely popular with local residents.

See also

• List of railroads transferred to Conrail

External links

• Bids for track removal as proposed by SEPTA, 2008
• Finding aid for North Pennsylvania Railroad Company records at Hagley Museum and Library