History
The Wawa and Concordville was one of the earlier steam tourist railroads. It was conceived by local businessmen with the support of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce in 1966. It ran from Concordville, alongside U.S. Route 322, eastward to the village of Wawa. The railroad did not own the right of way in which they ran, but leased the trackage rights from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which would eventually lead to the demise of the company.
The actual track that the Wawa and Concordville ran was the eastern most section of the Octoraro Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This branch was famous as the main means of shipping large quantities of mushrooms from farms in Chester County to market in Philadelphia. By the mid 1960s most of the mushrooms were shipped by truck, but a few freight trains still ran the line each week. The organizers of the Wawa and Concordville worked out a lease with the PRR that allowed them to begin operations in 1967.
The railroad had two vintage steam locomotives. The first was former U.S. Navy 0-6-0T #3, which was popular with small children, because it was painted in non-traditional blue. The other was former Pacific Coast Lumber 2-8-2T #37, which was painted black. Most of the passenger cars were old wooden boxcars that had been converted into open observation passenger cars prior to their use on the W&C.
During the 1968 season, several homeowners along Pole Cat Road, near Concordville, complained of the noise and smell of steam locomotives coming across their yards. They pressured the current landlord, the Penn Central Transportation Company (PC), who opted not renew the Wawa and Conconcordville’s lease when it expired in 1968. Not wanting to give up, the owners of the W&C continued to renegotiate a lease even after they were forced to halt operations.
Just before a possible rebirth of the tourist line in the early 1970s, a flash flood in September 1971 and Hurricane Agnes in 1972 severely damaged the infrastructure. The bankrupt PC decided to remove the line from service, not having the funds for necessary repairs. At the time, 12 freight cars were marooned on the derelict line.
Read more about this topic: Wawa And Concordville Railroad
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