Yeadon to Newtown Square

Link: http://a-r.us/s10

• Quick Info:
• States: Pennsylvania   
• Railroads: PRR, P&DC, PW&B   

The Newtown Square Branch

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Photo by Joe Sharretts, January 2011.

This abandoned railway line was built in 1894 by the Philadelphia and Delaware County Railroad in order to serve both passenger and freight needs in the area. Originally intended for destinations beyond Newtown Square, PA, the P&DC never made it past. It was quickly leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad, who operated it under their Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad subsidiary.

The line was popular with locals, with as many as 13 trains a day arriving/departing the station at the end of the line in Newtown Square. After passenger service ended in 1908 (with passenger service tapering off to the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company nearby), freight service continued into the 1960s.

In 1900, an additional branch line off the P&DC, the Cardington Branch, was built to access the Cardington Mills at Millbourne.

The Pennsylvania Railroad purchased the line outright in December of 1913. The line was cut back to Eagle Road in the 1960s, while the remainder of the line fell into disuse by 1981; abandonment of the line came in 1983, and the tracks were removed in 1985.

They have since removed the bridge that crossed the Baltimore Pike in Lansdowne where the branch almost began. Back in the very early 80's, my cousin (who lived in Lansdowne) and I would walk the tracks across that bridge and along the spurs that served the local business.

Even in the early 80's, there was still a lot of rail activity. I miss those days !!

Bill L
Cherry Hill, NJ
2/20/2012

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The Cardington branch used to continue past the mills, go under Market St and connect with the Phila and Western RR (which is now the modern day Septa route 100 Norristown high speed line.

Bill L
Cherry Hill, NJ
2/20/2012

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I have a map of Philadelphia and its outlying counties from 1893. It shows what later became the Newtown Square branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. On the map, though, it wasn't all built yet; what's odd is that it shows the branch as being built from the west, from West Chester. As of 1893, it ran from West Chester to a spot a mile or so north of Broomall, Pennsylvania. From Broomall east to Fernwood, it shows the branch as planned but not built (dashed lines). The name on the map reads "Chester Rail Road". Does anybody know anything about this? The map shows that the tracks were built, and, I presume, active, in 1893.

Upshur Whittock
Newtown, PA
3/17/2012

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I lived a short distance from the Newtown Square branch in Havertown, did some research and there was a PRR right-of-way proposed for a "low-grade" freight line from Darby Creek through Haverford Township to the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. This was to meet up with another right-of-way headed from Darby Creek to Devon. The Newtown Square branch was running parallel to the proposed freight line from Darby Creek to Manoa Road (where the proposed line went northeast). The proposed line was dropped sometime in the 1920's but you can see the right of way in the 1940 Census maps of Haverford Township.

SR
Vienna, VA
4/9/2013

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