Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Service type | Commuter rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Discontinued | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last service | July 27, 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former operator(s) | Conrail SEPTA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | Reading Terminal, Philadelphia, U.S. Bethlehem Union Station, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) used | Bethlehem Branch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Bethlehem Line was a SEPTA Regional Rail service on the former Reading Company Bethlehem Branch between Lansdale and Bethlehem. Some trains continued over the electrified Lansdale/Doylestown Line to the Reading Terminal in Philadelphia.
Between 1978 and 1979, SEPTA extended service to Allentown. Service ended altogether in 1981 as SEPTA eliminated its former Reading diesel services. The Bethlehem Line is owned by SEPTA and is utilized for freight service by the Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad between Lansdale and Telford and the East Penn Railroad between Telford and Quakertown.
The Quakertown–Bethlehem section has been dormant since the early 1990s: several portions of the rail bed currently serve as the interim rail trails. It is not officially abandoned.
The route between Philadelphia and Bethlehem was constructed in the 19th century by the North Pennsylvania Railroad, a forerunner of the Reading Company.[ citation needed ] The Reading continued to operate passenger services between the two cities into the 20th century; at one time Bethlehem was a major interchange with the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey. Commuter services survived into the Conrail era but fell victim to SEPTA's decision in 1981 to eliminate diesel services. Service between Bethlehem and Quakertown ended on July 1, 1981; service between Quakertown and Lansdale ended on July 26. [1]
Bethlehem trains made the following station stops; stations indicated with italics closed prior to the discontinuation of service in 1981. Mileage and fare zones are from the July 30, 1978 timetable. [2]
Zone | Distance | Station | City/Township | County |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 mi (0.0 km) | Reading Terminal | Philadelphia | |
1A | 0.8 mi (1.3 km) | Spring Garden Street | ||
1.8 mi (2.9 km) | Temple University | |||
2.9 mi (4.7 km) | North Broad Street | |||
4.0 mi (6.4 km) | Tioga | |||
4.3 mi (6.9 km) | Nicetown | |||
5.1 mi (8.2 km) | Wayne Junction | |||
2 | 5.9 mi (9.5 km) | Logan | ||
6.7 mi (10.8 km) | Tabor | |||
7.3 mi (11.7 km) | Fern Rock | |||
2E | 8.4 mi (13.5 km) | Melrose Park | Cheltenham | Montgomery |
9.2 mi (14.8 km) | Elkins Park | |||
2J | 10.8 mi (17.4 km) | Jenkintown | ||
11.9 mi (19.2 km) | Glenside | |||
3 | 13.0 mi (20.9 km) | North Hills | Abington | |
13.9 mi (22.4 km) | Oreland | Springfield | ||
14.8 mi (23.8 km) | Fellwick | Whitemarsh | ||
4 | 15.9 mi (25.6 km) | Fort Washington | ||
17.3 mi (27.8 km) | Ambler | Ambler | ||
18.8 mi (30.3 km) | Penllyn | Lower Gwynedd | ||
20.0 mi (32.2 km) | Gwynedd Valley | |||
5 | 22.4 mi (36.0 km) | North Wales | North Wales | |
23.5 mi (37.8 km) | Pennbrook | Lansdale | ||
24.4 mi (39.3 km) | Lansdale | |||
6 | 27.1 mi (43.6 km) | Hatfield | Hatfield | |
29.6 mi (47.6 km) | Souderton | Souderton | ||
7 | 30.9 mi (49.7 km) | Telford | Telford | |
33.6 mi (54.1 km) | Sellersville | Sellersville | Bucks | |
35.0 mi (56.3 km) | Perkasie | Perkasie | ||
8 | 40.2 mi (64.7 km) | Quakertown | Quakertown | |
10 | 47.6 mi (76.6 km) | Centre Valley | Coopersburg | Lehigh |
11 | 52.6 mi (84.7 km) | Hellertown | Hellertown | Northampton |
56.6 mi (91.1 km) | Bethlehem | Bethlehem | ||
12 | 61.3 mi (98.7 km) | Allentown | Allentown | Lehigh |
Perkasie is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Perkasie is 21.5 miles (34.6 km) southeast of Allentown and 39.2 miles (63.1 km) north of Philadelphia.
Telford is a borough in Bucks and Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 4,872 at the time of the 2010 census. Of this, 2,665 were in Montgomery County, and 2,207 were in Bucks County.
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite towns and cities. It is the sixth-busiest commuter railroad in the United States. In 2016, the Regional Rail system had an average of 132,000 daily riders and 118,800 daily riders as of 2019.
The Raritan Valley Line is a commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) which serves passengers in municipalities in Union, Somerset, Middlesex, Essex, and Hunterdon counties in the Raritan Valley region, primarily in central New Jersey and a smaller portion of northern New Jersey, in the United States. The line's most frequent western terminus is Raritan station in Raritan. Some weekday trains continue farther west and terminate at the High Bridge station, located in High Bridge. Most eastbound trains terminate in Newark; passengers are able to transfer to NJ Transit using a combined ticket or PATH and Amtrak to New York City. A limited number of weekday trains continue directly to New York.
Lansdale station, also known as the Lansdale Transportation Center, is a SEPTA Regional Rail station in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Located at Main Street and Green Street, it serves the Lansdale/Doylestown Line. It was originally built in 1902 by the Reading Company, opening on February 7, 1903; a freight house was added in 1909. Historically, the station hosted the Interstate Express and the Scranton Flyer. Additionally, the station served commuter trains on the Reading's branch to Bethlehem until service was ended in 1981. The historic station building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company which served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County in Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1852, and began operation in 1855. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway, predecessor to the Reading Company, leased the North Pennsylvania in 1879. Its tracks were transferred to Conrail and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in 1976.
East Penn Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Reading Company lines, abandoned or sold by Conrail or its predecessors.
The Perkasie Tunnel is a train tunnel located behind the Post Office in Perkasie, Pennsylvania on 7th Street, on a line owned by SEPTA and operated by the East Penn Railroad. The tunnel itself is located near 8th Street and Ridge Road. Northbound passenger trains going through the tunnel traveled to Union Station in Bethlehem and points beyond. Many southbound passenger trains were destined for Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. The Perkasie station on 8th Street was formerly equipped with a water tower, of which not a trace remains.
The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia to the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey.
The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Until 1981, diesel-powered trains continued on the Bethlehem Branch from Lansdale to Quakertown, Bethlehem, and Allentown.
The Manayunk/Norristown Line is a commuter rail service in Southeastern Pennsylvania between Center City Philadelphia and Norristown, and one of the 13 lines in SEPTA's Regional Rail network. It has the second highest operating ratio (19.9%) on the SEPTA Regional Rail network.
The Fox Chase Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia with Fox Chase. It uses the Fox Chase Branch, which branches off from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirely within the city of Philadelphia. The line is fully grade-separated, except for one grade crossing on Oxford Avenue.
The Quakertown Passenger and Freight Station is a historic train station and freight depot located at Quakertown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The two buildings were designed by Wilson Bros. & Company in 1889 and built by Cramp and Co. for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in 1902. The passenger station is constructed of dark Rockhill granite and Indiana limestone and is in a Late Victorian style. It is 1+1⁄2 stories tall and measures 25 feet wide by 97 feet 6 inches, long. It has a hipped roof with an eight-foot overhang. The freight station is a 1+1⁄2-story, rectangular stone block building measuring 128 by 30 feet. Also on the property is a large crane that was used for freight movement. The Quakertown station had passenger rail service along the Bethlehem Line to Bethlehem and Philadelphia until July 27, 1981, when SEPTA ended service on all its intercity diesel-powered lines. SEPTA still owns the line and leases it to the East Penn Railroad. Other towns, stations, and landmarks on the Bethlehem Line are Perkasie, Perkasie Tunnel, and Perkasie station.
The Lehigh Line is a railroad line in Central New Jersey, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The line runs west from the vicinity of the Port of New York and New Jersey in Manville, New Jersey via Conrail's Lehigh Line to the southern end of Wyoming Valley's Coal Region in Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania.
Bethlehem Union Station is a former train station located in the South Side neighborhood of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1924 by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Reading Company, replacing an earlier station built in 1867. Passenger service to Philadelphia on the SEPTA Regional Rail Bethlehem Line lasted until 1981. The station was renovated in 2002 and used for medical clinics beginning in 2003. It is owned by St. Luke's Hospital.
The New York Branch or the Bound Brook Route was a railway line in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was operated by the Reading Company and owned by two of its subsidiaries, the North Pennsylvania Railroad and the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad. It formed part of the Reading's route from Philadelphia to New York City, used by the famed Crusader. The line was transferred to Conrail in 1976 and was split into the Neshaminy Line and Trenton Line. SEPTA continues to operate commuter trains to West Trenton as part of its West Trenton Line.
The Hellertown station was a train station which was located in Hellertown, Pennsylvania on the former Bethlehem Line of the North Pennsylvania Railroad. Closed in July 1981, it was razed on December 6, 1982; no trace of it remains.
Perkasie is a defunct train station formerly operated by SEPTA Regional Rail in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, USA. It closed on July 29, 1981, after SEPTA cancelled its diesel train routes.
The Neshaminy Line is a railway line in the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It runs 21.7 miles (34.9 km) from a junction with the SEPTA Main Line just north of Jenkintown–Wyncote to West Trenton, just across the Delaware River. It was originally built in 1876 as part of the much longer New York Branch, which continued north to Bound Brook, New Jersey. The electrified section between Jenkin and West Trenton was designated the Neshaminy Line and is now owned by SEPTA. It hosts the West Trenton Line commuter rail service. The freight-only Trenton Subdivision runs parallel between Neshaminy Falls and West Trenton.
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