Philadelphia and Western Railroad - Equipment

Equipment

The first cars built for the P&W never ran on the P&W, since the cars were completed before the line was ready to open. Twenty-two wooden electric multiple-unit passenger cars and 2 full-baggage-configured MU's were built for the P&W by the St. Louis Car Co. in 1906. However, due to the San Francisco earthquake 12 of them went to the United Railroads of San Francisco, 4 went to the Sacramento Northern Railroad, and the remainder went to the Erie Railroad Rochester-Mt. Morris Branch, where they were modified and rewired for overhead AC operation. The 12 cars that went to URSF had their bulkhead doors sealed and their MU capabilities removed, operating strictly as single-units. The 4 SN cars were converted into motorized combination baggage/passenger cars and used on the Woodland Branch. The two baggage cars were accepted by the P&W, where they were turned into line-maintenance cars. Finally in 1907, 22 wooden passenger cars, almost identical to the original order, arrived on P&W property. They were originally equipped with rectangular-shaped bow collectors, which were later replaced with trolley poles for use in the carbarn area in addition to third rail shoes. Of these cars, No. 46 survives, along with line car No. 401 from the original order; both of which are preserved at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton, PA. Prior to the move to Scranton, they ran as a two-car train while in operation at the Philadelphia Waterfront every Christmas season for many years as the "Santa Train," with No. 401 operating as Santa's workshop and No. 46 used for the passengers.

One type of vehicle used for this line were two 4-unit articulated train sets called Liberty Liners, which were originally the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad's Electroliners. These shovel-nosed high-speed trains featured a bar car and were capable of speeds exceeding 100 mph. They were built by the St. Louis Car Co. in 1941. The Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company bought both of these trains in 1963. PST removed their trolley poles and replaced their original gravity-type over-running third rail shoes with paddle-type shoes. They were repainted into Red Arrow's color scheme and run in rush hour service with the bar serving continental breakfast in the morning and serving snacks and spirits in the afternoon. They were retired in 1977 due to excessive power consumption plus their excessive weight was just too much for the old jointed rail. As of 2006 they were in museums: one, restored to its original Electroliner appearance, at the Illinois Railway Museum, and the other at the Rockhill Trolley Museum.

Another type of vehicle was the Brill Bullet, which ran in service from 1931 almost to 1990. Though tested at 100+ MPH, these regularly ran at 80–85 mph in regular passenger service. These streamlined electric multiple-unit passenger coaches were the world's first-ever high-speed "Bullet" trains, and their design influenced later streamlined trains built in the U.S., Belgium, Germany, and Japan. Built during the Great Depression, they were the first railroad equipment ever designed in a wind tunnel in order to lessen power consumption while quickening schedule timings. And they did just that, cutting Norristown Express schedules by up to a third, from 24 to only 16 minutes while consuming some 40% less electric power than the MU equipment they replaced. See also Bullet (interurban).

A third and older type was the "Strafford Car," built between 1924 and 1929. The last Strafford Car was retired on March 30, 1990. These MU's originally had bulkhead doors to permit passengers to walk from car to car, high-mounted headlights, trolley poles, and vestibule steps. The bulkhead doors, vestibule steps, and trolley poles were later removed and headlights relocated to below the windshield to make them more aerodynamic and their motors were rewired from 60 to 100 HP, increasing their top speed from 45 to 70 MPH, making them easier to keep up with the newer Bullet trains. By this time the overhead wire in the carbarn area was replaced with extension wire which attached to the third rail shoes to move the MU equipment.

Three other Strafford-type cars, called the 50-series, were purchased from Brill in 1920. They were wider and longer than the later Straffords and never had vestibule steps. They were never rebuilt so with their top speed still only 45 MPH, they had to be used strictly in rush hour short-turn service so they wouldn't get in the way of the other much faster trains. They were finally scrapped in 1952.

Many, widely varied proposals were made to get new equipment for the P&W line but were never carried out. In 1964 a 65-ft. long, high-platform Budd Silverliner-type MU was proposed. There has been much speculation that these cars were actually under construction at Budd when the order was cancelled and the cars became the Rail Diesel Cars that were later sold to Brazil for use on their narrow-gauge mountain-climbing lines; these cars were retired just recently. Then in the late 1970s it was proposed to add-on to the order for the Broad St. Subway cars from Kawasaki with a modified door arrangement. In 1982 a proposal was made to make the line into a wide-gauge, overhead wire, low-platform trolley line which would become connected with the Media and Sharon Hill lines at 69th St. Then a compromise proposal was made for a modified Kawasaki LRV with high-platform doors and standard railroad-gauge trucks. These cars would have looked similar to PCC streetcars with their single, centered headlight and two-piece windshield. Eventually by the late 1980s the order was finally placed for the current fleet of N-5 cars.