This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(January 2020) |
Liberty Bell Trail | |
---|---|
Length | 25 mi (40 km) (projected) |
Location | Bucks / Montgomery counties, Pennsylvania, USA |
Trailheads | East Norriton Township to Quakertown |
Use | Multi-use |
Difficulty | Easy |
Season | Year-round |
The Liberty Bell Trail is a suburban rail trail under construction in southeastern Pennsylvania.
When complete it will cover 25 miles (40 km) in suburban southeastern Pennsylvania, traveling from East Norriton Township in Montgomery County to Quakertown in Bucks County. [1]
It was proposed in 1996, and partially follows the former path of the now defunct Liberty Bell Trolley Route, which had been operated by the Lehigh Valley Transit Company from around 1900 to 1951.
The tram route was named by the company for the Liberty Bell because a branch of it followed Bethlehem Pike, the road along which the bell was transported in September 1777 when it was being moved from Philadelphia to Northamptontown (now Allentown) for safekeeping shortly before the British occupation of Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War. The trail has been named for both the trolley route and the bell.
The route passes through 15 municipalities (from south to north):
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.
Quakertown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2020, it had a population of 9,359. The borough is 15 miles (24 km) south of Allentown and Bethlehem and 40 miles (64 km) north of Philadelphia, making Quakertown a border town of both the Delaware Valley and Lehigh Valley metropolitan areas.
East Norriton Township is a township and a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is served by the Norristown Area School District.
Hatfield is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,290 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the North Penn Valley region that is centered around the borough of Lansdale. The borough is surrounded by Hatfield Township.
Hatfield Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 17,249 at the 2010 census. It is part of the North Penn Valley region which is centered around the borough of Lansdale.
Lower Pottsgrove Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, approximately 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia and 18 miles southeast of Reading, along the Schuylkill River. The population was 12,059 at the 2010 census.
Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located along the Schuylkill River, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) from Philadelphia, Norristown had a population of 35,748 as of the 2020 census. It is the fourth-most populous municipality in the county and second-most populous borough in Pennsylvania.
North Wales is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is a suburb of Philadelphia and is one of the three historic population centers that make up the North Penn Valley, which is centered on the borough of Lansdale. It is approximately 27 miles (43 km) north of Center City Philadelphia. The population was 3,426 as of the 2020 census.
Souderton is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,246 in 2022 according to the Census Bureau.
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.
Pennsylvania Route 363 (PA 363) is a state highway located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania that is a spur of PA 63. The route runs 11.96 mi (19.25 km) from an interchange with U.S. Route 422 (US 422) in Audubon northeast to an intersection with PA 63 in Lansdale. The route runs mostly through suburban areas of central Montgomery County, passing some farmland in Worcester Township. PA 363 is designated along Trooper Road, Ridge Pike, Park Avenue, and Valley Forge Road. In the community of Worcester, the route crosses PA 73.
The North Penn Valley is a region of Philadelphia suburbs and exurbs in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is somewhat congruent with the North Penn School District. It contains the boroughs of North Wales, Lansdale, and Hatfield, as well as the surrounding townships. The area to its west has traditionally been more rural, while the suburbs to its south and east are, on the whole, more affluent and densely populated.
Pennsylvania Route 3 is a 24.3-mile (39.1 km) state highway located in the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. The route runs from U.S. Route 322 Business in West Chester east to PA 611 in Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania Route 63 (PA 63) is a 37.4-mile-long (60.2 km) state highway located in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area. The western terminus of the route is at PA 29 in Green Lane, Montgomery County. The eastern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) in Bensalem Township, Bucks County. PA 63 runs northwest to southeast for most of its length. The route heads through a mix of suburban and rural areas of northern Montgomery County as a two-lane road, passing through Harleysville, before coming to an interchange with I-476 in Kulpsville. From this point, PA 63 continues through predominantly suburban areas of eastern Montgomery County as a two- to four-lane road, passing through Lansdale, Maple Glen, Willow Grove, and Huntingdon Valley. Upon entering Northeast Philadelphia, the route follows Red Lion Road and U.S. Route 1 (US 1) before heading southeast on a freeway called Woodhaven Road to I-95.
The North Penn School District (NPSD) is a large, suburban, regional public school district that consists of thirteen elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school. It serves the North Penn Valley, a 42-square-mile (110 km2) area in the Montgomery County suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Route 463 (PA 463) is a 12.9-mile-long (20.8 km) state highway completely in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Its western terminus is at PA 63 in Hatfield Township and its eastern terminus is at PA 611 in Horsham. PA 463 runs through the northern suburbs of Philadelphia and passes through the towns of Hatfield, Montgomeryville, and Horsham. The route intersects PA 309, U.S. Route 202 Business, and US 202 in Montgomeryville and PA 152 in Prospectville. Through its length, the route carries the names Forty Foot Road, Broad Street, Main Street, Cowpath Road, and Horsham Road. PA 463 was designated in 1928 and fully paved by 1940. In 2010, a portion of the route in Montgomery Township was widened.
The Reporter is the local newspaper based out of Lansdale, Pennsylvania owned by Journal Register Company. It primarily serves the communities in the North Penn Valley and the Souderton Area School District, including Lansdale Borough, Montgomery Township, Hatfield Township, Hatfield Borough, North Wales Borough, Towamencin Township, Skippack Township, Souderton Borough, Telford Borough, and other municipalities in northwest suburban Montgomery County in southeast Pennsylvania.
The Lehigh Valley Transit Company (LVT) was a regional transport company that was headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company began operations in 1901, as an urban trolley and interurban rail transport company. It operated successfully into the 1930s, but struggled financially during the Great Depression, and was saved from abandonment by a dramatic ridership increase during and following World War II.
Line Lexington is an unincorporated community located in the Delaware Valley on Route 309 in Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, United States. It is split between the Bucks County townships of Hilltown and New Britain and the Montgomery County township of Hatfield. The Montgomery County portion of the village is in the North Penn School District and is part of the North Penn Valley region that is centered on the borough of Lansdale. The Bucks County portion is also served by the North Penn School District. While it has its own post office with the ZIP code of 18932, portions use the Colmar ZIP code of 18915, the Chalfont ZIP code of 18914 or the Hatfield ZIP code of 19440. It is served by SEPTA Suburban Bus Route 132 and the nearest SEPTA Regional Rail stations are nearby in Colmar and Chalfont on the Lansdale/Doylestown Line. The Line Lexington telephone exchange uses area code 215.
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.