Philadelphia and Western Railroad - History

History

The Philadelphia and Western Railway was incorporated on May 21, 1902 with a capital stock of $450,000, and was originally planned as the eastern link of a transcontinental railroad connecting to the Western Maryland Railroad at York. The WM connected at Connellsville with the Pittsburgh & West Virginia, which connected at Pittsburgh with the Wabash, which in turn connected with the Missouri Pacific, then the Denver & Rio Grande Western, then finally the Western Pacific to form a coast-to-coast railroad. This was a George and Jay Gould enterprise; the Goulds were often rumored to have a stake in the P&W, though they publicly denied it.

The first train ran from 69th Street to Strafford on May 22, 1907. On June 6, 1907, the company was reorganizing because it had defaulted on the payment of first mortgage bonds it had issued. The company was sold at public sale by the bond trustee, the Trust Company of North America for $1,000,000 to the Sheldon Syndicate of New York, which was the original owner of the company. The reorganized company had a capital stock of $4,000,000, consisting of $3,400,000 of common stock and $600,000 of 5% preferred stock. The planned extension to Parkesburg and York was officially abandoned on March 22, 1912; an alternate extension to the PRR main line in Strafford opened on October 11, 1911. The Norristown Branch opened on December 12, 1912.

The railroad built a 20-acre amusement park called the Beechwood Amusement Park in the Powder Mill Valley in 1907 to provide a potential destination for riders, but abandoned the park in 1909 due to bad management. The park opened on May 30, 1907 and received 5,000 visitors on the opening day. The park could accommodate 15,000 people and included 10 acres of rides, picnic grounds, and a lake with rowboats for rent. The park began losing money almost immediately after opening due to competition from other parks in Willow Grove, Chestnut Hill, and Washington Park.

The company experienced financial difficulties throughout much of its existence. As noted above it defaulted on its bonds and was reorganized 5 years after founding. In 1916 Moody's rated the company's 50 year Gold First Mortgage Bonds due 1960 as "E," meaning there was "uncertain security as to principal... and a margin of safety over interest as small." The company was again reorganized as the Philadelphia and Western Railroad in 1946. It was sold to the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company in 1954; PST was nicknamed the Red Arrow Lines, and merged into SEPTA in 1970.

For a number of years, interurban equipment of the Lehigh Valley Transit operated on the P&W from Norristown to the 69th Street Terminal. The LVT ran north from Norristown through Lansdale, Souderton, Perkasie, and Quakertown to Allentown. LVT interurbans used an overhead trolley for operating power but were equipped with third rail shoes to operate on the P&W. In 1939, the LVT purchased a group of lightweight high speed cars known as "Red Devils" from the defunct Ohio interurban Cincinnati and Lake Erie, and they ran from 69th Street to Allentown as "Liberty Bell Limiteds." The LVT abandoned operation in 1951.

The P&W once operated local freight trains to various industries along its line until 1970, when the Merion Golf Course stopped its deliveries of sand and other materials. With freight no longer running, the line no longer required FRA control. It was then disconnected from its last interchange, isolating the line from the outside world and then immediately converted from a railroad to a more cost-effective trolley-type operation and continues to operate as such today. Service is currently provided by a fleet of 26 N-5 Light-Rail Vehicles that feature AC-induction propulsion, steerable axles, very large windows, comfortable seating, and are capable of 80 MPH. They were built by ABB Traction in 1990 with their stainless steel bodies being built by SOREFAME which is a Portuguese Budd Company (Philadelphia) licensee.

The last train ran on the Strafford Branch on March 23, 1956. Service is still provided on the Norristown line today. Ground was broken for the P&W Trail on June 10, 2004, and it opened in January 2005.