The Last Wawa Train (feat. Alex Davis)
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Before the brand-new SEPTA extension to Wawa, there was the Wawa and Concordville, a short-lived tourist railroad with the best of intentions born into the worst of circumstances. What remains of it today - and are Alex's ideas to revive it crazy enough to work?
This is part two of a four-part series on SEPTA's new Wawa Station. The others can be seen here: • Goose Chase
The Wawa and Concordville Railroad Historical Society can be found here: / 37818298329
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Classy Whale - at-least-weekly misadventures with trains and transit!
What’s interesting is that the state of Massachusetts still owns the trackbeds of hundreds of miles of former rail right of ways, thus making it completely illegal to build over abandoned rails. Fortunately, this makes it very easy for lines to be reactivated when deemed necessary- this is already being done at a large scale with projects such as South Coast Rail.
The optimal route South from Stoughton was stopped dead in its tracks by the NIMBYs The other lines are being converted to trails be xenophobic suburbanoids as a final solution to the railway question, Good luck trying to ever get one re-activated
7:38 Penn Central should consider hiring Alex- oh wait
Edit: he was probably a Penn Central Track Foreman in another life
Watching back through this...
Caleb put a pencil to his temple and connected it to his brain. And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to the trains.
Yes
No Wawa at Wawa?!?!?!?! Unacceptable. 😤
That was amazing
Alex, just write a snarky song about getting hired to Amtrak capital project management, we’ll have service to Reading in 2 months
Caleb definitely DID do his research for that history section!
The history section of the video was the greatest!
alex’s improvised song is amazing
It's been in my head on and off since we filmed this
Caleb & Alex and the whole Goose Chase Crew for all SEPTA Governing Board positions 2k22
SEPTA installed a switch for the Octoraro Branch to "prevent" a bike trail from being built on it. That is discussed in the attached, quite interesting SEPTA training video. I'm surprised and pleased that SEPTA bothered to install that switch. SEPTA owns the portion of the the Octoraro Branch {see details below} from Chadds Ford to Wawa. Could it be that they are actually interested in its future or potential? Wonder of wonders !! And it's pronounced LEN-EYE.
In 1961, the PRR abandoned the Octoraro Branch south of Colora, Maryland. Tourist operator Wawa & Concordville Railroad leased the line between Concordville and Wawa in 1967 and 1968. The PRR merged with the New York Central Railroad in 1968 to form the Penn Central (PC), which was bankrupt by 1970. Hurricane Agnes caused several washouts in 1972 and rendered the line unusable north of Brandywine Creek.
Following the PC bankruptcy, ownership of the line went to Conrail, and then to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which leased the operable section to short-line freight railroad companies. The Octoraro Railway provided service between Oxford and Chadds Ford Junction from 1977 to 1994, while also operating the ex-Reading Wilmington & Northern branch through a connection at the latter place.[9] In succession, the Delaware Valley Railway, the Brandywine Valley Railroad, and the Morristown & Erie Railway operated the line between 1994 and 2004. The East Penn Railroad bought the line from SEPTA in 2004, and currently operates between Nottingham, Pennsylvania and Chadds Ford Junction. SEPTA has retained ownership of the derelict Chadds Ford-Wawa section.
ua-cam.com/video/o26SHZQI4Mc/v-deo.html
I used to love the West Chester line, riding on electric MP-54 cars with open windows in hot weather. The single track line gave the flavor of an interurban trolley line. Interestingly, many of the old bracket arm catenary poles that held up the overhead wires still exist on the line. The line is now used by the West Chester Railroad, a tourist railroad. And now, officials in West Chester would like to see Regional Rail service return. It's 9.4 miles from Wawa to West Chester. But at the rate that SEPTA extends rail service of any kind, don't hold your breath waiting for it. SEPTA is a bus company. They treat rail like a step-child. The 3-1/2 mile extension from Elwyn to Wawa took almost forty years. And if SEPTA management had its way, they'd rather run buses. Rail lines and light rail lines are extended and built all over North America, while SEPTA buys buses.
14.0 Media
15.1 Elwyn
15.9 Williamson School
16.7 Glen Riddle
17.4 Lenni
18.1 Wawa
18.7 Darlington
20.3 Glen Mills
21.6 Locksley
22.2 Cheyney
23.9 Westtown
27.0 Nields Street
27.5 West Chester
The obstacles are: 9.4 miles of catenary, a bridge abutment at Glen Mills needs repairs, PTC signaling and ADA compliant stations. This is a guess, but Cheney and West Chester would probably be the 2 major stations.
Glen Mills is an established station but there's no parking. I don't know how the locals would feel about their quaint station being bastardized by SEPTA if they took it over again.
It will be curious to see if the Wawa revival stokes more interest in reviving more of the West Chester branch. If only so much money wasn't diverted to highways and "intersection improvements".
Thanks for this bit of history!
Amazing job Caleb and Alex Davis from the UA-cam channel Alex Davis.
I think there might be another bit left out in Chadds Ford by the Brandywine river museum, but that might be an abandoned branch of the Coatesville line that runs on the other side of the creek.
Very interesting video! Never knew that this branch had heritage service. I would also lobby for an Octoraro Branch restoration for passenger service, especially since half of the line running to Maryland is still intact. Also never noticed that unfinished spur and clear ROW right at the Wawa station, so hopefully that's a step in the right direction for a possible Octoraro restoration!
Unfortunately in early 2024 Septa announced that the portion between Wawa and Chadds Ford will be converted to a trail.
Caleb got a mic !!
love the subliminal elude to Hamilton
i was on the train in the background in the beginning, fun fact
Thanks for the video, I have walked those woods too. There are other areas that the tracks still exist. I also would love to see the line to Kennett Square restored however I don't see that ever happening any more than the tracks beyond West Chester no one talks about getting restored.
Money does the talking and unless there is money to be made and many many motivated people, things will never happen.
Some abandoned train lines have gotten restored such as Wawa or Boyertowns Colebrookdale's line. I love seeing history restored and love seeing abandoned train lines get returned to service.
Wow!! Definitely didn’t know this history!
Alex did his research.
Hey I Heard That They Suppose To Have Trains Go To West Chester According To The Internet I'd Looked It Up
I was a student at the Community College of Delaware County where it had its first campus in Concordville. I started in 1970 and at the time there was bus service from Chester , Pa. However this privately operated line stoped running in 1971 and not having a car had to find alternate ways to get to Concordville. When the weather was good I would take the train to WaWa and then walked the old right of way to the old Concordville station which was still standing at that time. From there I would walk up the road that went up to route one and the campus was just off this road. I now drive in the area and can see the old right of way from some of the roads. As noted there has been much more development over the years and even though the right of way is owned by SEPTA , no effort has been made to maintain the old right of way and today it would be almost impossible to walk it to Concordville today.
alex and i have a very similar sense of humor lol
Where there tics located....... rite of way be for to take it back....... nice video.
Lmao I love Alex Davis
#3 also ran on the Queen Anne's Railroad.
Alex looks like Sam from Wendover
Hurricane Agnes hit in 1972 not 1971.
Rather have a Turkey Hill station or sheetz
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