Chestnut Hill East Line

Chestnut Hill East Line
The Chestnut Hill East station as seen in October 2012. The station depot, constructed by the Reading Company, is visible on the left.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail line
System	SEPTA Regional Rail
Status	Operating
Termini	Chestnut Hill 30th Street Station
Daily ridership	5,768[1]:94
Website	septa.org
Operation
Operator(s)	SEPTA
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Catenary
Route map Legend 30th Street Station Suburban Station Jefferson Station Reading Terminal Closed 1984 Spring Garden Street Closed 1984 Temple University Fare Zone 1 Manayunk/Norristown Line to Elm Street Wayne Junction Lansdale/Doylestown, Fox Chase, Warminster and West Trenton Lines Fishers Closed 1992 Wister Wingohocking Closed Church Closed Germantown Fare Zone 2 Walnut Lane Closed Washington Lane Stenton Gorgas Closed Sedgwick Mount Airy Mermaid Closed 1930 Wyndmoor Gravers Chestnut Hill East

The Chestnut Hill East Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system. The route serves the northwestern section of Philadelphia with service to Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill. It is one of two lines that serve Chestnut Hill, the other one being the Chestnut Hill West Line.

History

The Chestnut Hill East Line uses the Reading Company right-of-way, which was originally constructed by the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown (PG&N) railroad before the American Civil War. The PG&N intended to build a railroad from Philadelphia to Norristown but stopped when construction reached Germantown due to the hilly nature of the terrain west of Germantown and along the Wissahickon Creek, which they would have had to cross to reach Norristown. The PG&N decided to change course and build another railroad line close to the Schuylkill River. This line would become SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown Line. The original railroad line that ended in Germantown was then extended north with a sharp right hand turn and then northwest to its present terminus in Chestnut Hill (where the Chestnut Hill West Line also has a terminus only a few hundred yards away).

The Chestnut Hill Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on July 11, 1851 to own the railroad planned for Chestnut Hill. An eastern and western route were surveyed to Chestnut Hill in 1848 by William E. Morris, and the eastern route was chosen for the line. The railroad was opened to traffic on December 1, 1854. It was operated by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad Company (PG&N) from December 1, 1854 until November 30, 1870, under a lease dated March 17, 1852. By agreement dated November 10, 1870, the lease was assigned by the PG&N to The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company. By indenture dated November 30, 1870, a new lease was made by the Chestnut Hill Railroad Company to The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company for 999 years from December 1, 1870. The obligation of The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company was assumed by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company on December 1, 1896, and the lease was amended in certain respects by Agreement dated January 27, 1897.

The line was elevated in 1930. Electrified service to Chestnut Hill (and to Norristown) was opened on February 5, 1933. By order dated March 23, 1940, in Finance Docket No. 12749, the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized Reading Company to acquire control of the Chestnut Hill Railroad Company by purchase of additional shares of capital stock. On December 31, 1948, the Chestnut Hill Railroad Company was merged into Reading Company. The line continued to be operated as part of the Reading Company's passenger lines up until April 1, 1976, when the Reading's passenger lines were conveyed to Septa as part of the company's bankruptcy reorganization.^[2]

Until 1984 Chestnut Hill East trains used the Reading Viaduct to reach Spring Garden Street and the Reading Terminal; this ended with the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection which routed the trains through the city center and on the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad part of the system.^[3] From this point the route was designated R7 Chestnut Hill East as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines; trains continued on to the Trenton Line.^[4] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.^[5]

Stations

The Reading Company opened Gravers in 1879

Mount Airy, like Gravers, was designed by Frank Furness

The Chestnut Hill East makes the following station stops after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection; stations indicated with italics are closed. Weekday boardings are from FY 2013; data for Temple University and Wayne Junction include all lines serving those stations. All stations are located within Philadelphia.^[1]:95–96

Ridership

Yearly ridership on the Chestnut Hill East Line between FY 2008–FY 2014 has remained steady around 1.5–1.6 million, save for a dip in FY 2011:^{[1]:94[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Notes

References

External links

• "SEPTA – Chestnut Hill East line schedule" (PDF). 
• Reading Company Routes and Mileages

Mass transit in the Delaware Valley
Transit buses	SEPTA Philadelphia Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties Krapf's Transit Philadelphia PHLASH Pottstown Pottstown Area Rapid Transit Reading Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority West Chester-Coatesville-Exton-Downingtown Transportation Management Association of Chester County NJ Transit Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County suburban service Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County local service Atlantic and Cape May County local service Long-distance local routes from Philadelphia Long-distance routes from Atlantic City DART First State Kent County New Castle County
Commuter rail	SEPTA Regional Rail Airport Line Chestnut Hill East Line Chestnut Hill West Line Cynwyd Line Fox Chase Line Lansdale/Doylestown Line Manayunk/Norristown Line Media/Elwyn Line Paoli/Thorndale Line Trenton Line Warminster Line West Trenton Line Wilmington/Newark Line NJ Transit Atlantic City Line
Rapid transit and light rail	SEPTA Broad Street Line Market–Frankford Line Norristown High Speed Line Subway–Surface trolleys Route 15 Routes 101 and 102 Delaware River Port Authority PATCO Speedline NJ Transit River Line Proposed Schuylkill Valley Metro (cancelled) Greenline (cancelled) Glassboro–Camden Line Camden-Philadelphia BRT