SEPTA Suburban Trolley Lines

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Suburban Trolley Lines
Route 101 & Route 102

Locale	Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Transit type	Light rail
Began operation	1906
No. of lines	2
Track gauge	5 ft 2¼ in (1581 mm)
Operator	SEPTA

The Suburban Trolley Lines operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) as Routes 101 (Media) and 102 (Sharon Hill) of the Suburban Transit Division, are the remaining portion of the former Red Arrow trolley system operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company. They are still frequently referred to colloquially as "the Red Arrow" by local residents. They operate between 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby and Media and Sharon Hill.

[edit] Current system

The 101 and 102 run together on their own exclusive right-of-way from Upper Darby until "Drexel Hill Junction" at which time they diverge to their separate respective destinations. After Drexel Hill Junction, Route 101 continues on its own right-of-way traveling west and southwest through Drexel Hill and Springfield with an important stop at the Springfield Mall before entering the street in Media. The 101 has double tracks up to Woodland Avenue at which time the line only has a single track until just before Pine Ridge. It then has double tracks until Bowling Green. At Bowling Green, it enters the street in Media where it runs on a single track in the middle of the street the rest of the way. Cars in the street must yield to the trolley. Media is unique in that it is the only suburban town in the United States to have a trolley run down the middle of its main street. The line terminates in the middle of the street just after the Delaware County Courthouse. Route 102 runs southeast from Drexel Hill Junction through Drexel Hill and Clifton Heights and then goes into the street in Aldan. After Aldan it returns to its own right-of-way, then passing through Collingdale before terminating at Chester Pike in Sharon Hill. The 102 has double tracks until up to North Street in Collingdale, where the 102 returns to its own right-of-way, and after North Street, there is a single track until the end of the line.

[edit] History

There were also two other, now defunct, Red Arrow trolley lines. The direct ancestor of the SEPTA Route 104 bus line went to West Chester, splitting off from the rest of the system right after 69th Street Terminal onto West Chester Pike. The tracks continued all the way up West Chester Pike. West Chester trolleys were replaced by buses in 1954 due to widening of West Chester Pike; rush-hour trippers to Westgate Hills lasted until 1958. Tracks remained in use for access to the Red Arrow's carbarn in Llanerch until SEPTA closed the barn in 1971; all tracks were soon removed except for a portion near 69th Street that SEPTA occasionally uses to store out-of service trolleys. The other now-defunct Red Arrow trolley line went to Ardmore until December 1966. It split off of the West Chester line at Llanerch and continued on its own exclusive right-of-way. Much of the right-of-way still remains between Schauffle Plaza in Ardmore (the former terminus of the line) and Eagle Road in Havertown, although the tracks were removed and the right-of-way paved for dedicated use by the replacement bus line, now SEPTA Route 103. The 103 still uses this private ROW, although much of its other street routing has changed.

Map of Routes 101 and 102 (red), as well as former trolley (now bus) Routes 103 and 104 (orange), and Route 100 (blue)

[edit] Routes

[edit] References

• U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980 (PDF)