Chester Creek Railroad

The Chester Creek Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area in the 19th century. It operated 7.25 miles (11.67 km) of track between Lamokin Street in Chester, and Lenni in Middletown Township, where it connected with the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad (WC&P). The line was later operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad as the Chester Creek Branch.

History

The railroad was chartered in 1866 and began service in 1869.^[1] Its route paralleled Chester Creek from Lenni southeast to Upland, where it veered south, ending at Lamokin Street and a junction with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B). The Chester Creek line was operated and leased by the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad (owner of the WC&P), which owned the locomotives and rolling stock.^[2]

In 1916, the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad was purchased by the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (successor to the PW&B).^[3] The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which controlled all of these companies, took control of the Chester Creek line. The PRR merged into Penn Central (PC) in 1968.

The line was damaged from floods during heavy storms in 1971 and Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The PC ended service and did not repair the line. Following the PC bankruptcy in 1970, the line was acquired by ConRail in 1976, and then the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in 1983.

Status

The rail line has not been repaired since the damage and termination of service in the 1970s. The right-of-way is still owned by SEPTA. A local organization called Friends of the Chester Creek Branch has proposed a rail trail project, to build a multi-use trail along the right-of way between Wawa and Upland.^[4] As of 2010 government grants have been awarded for the first phase of the trail project, and engineering design work is underway.^[5]

See also

• List of defunct Pennsylvania railroads
• SEPTA Regional Rail

References

1. ^ Wilson, William B. (1895). History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Philadelphia: Henry T. Coates & Co. p. 328. http://books.google.com/books?id=qj9N-eWi71YC&dq=wilson%20history%20pennsylvania%20railroad&pg=PA328#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
2. ^ Poor, H.V. (1885). Poor's Manual of Railroads. New York: H.V. & H.W. Poor. p. 327. http://www.archive.org/details/poorsmanualofrai18newyuoft. 
3. ^ Poor's Intermediate Manual of Railroads. New York: Poor's Manual Co. 1917. p. 226. http://books.google.com/books?id=vGJJAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA959&ots=j0GFdk2vpX&dq=%22poor's%20manual%22%201917&pg=PA226#v=onepage&q=%22poor's%20manual%22%201917&f=false. 
4. ^ Friends of the Chester Creek Branch. Aston, PA. "Chester Creek Rail Trail." Accessed 2010-12-31.
5. ^ Delaware County Planning Department. Media, PA. (2010). "Bicycle Commuting Route Through Delaware County Upgraded." Planning Matters (newsletter). Issue 14. pp.3-4.