wayman
Engineer
Three hours and forty-one minutes of afternoon riding on an absolutely beautiful day, Lansdowne - Philadelphia - Paoli - Philadelphia - Cherry Hill - Philadelphia - Sharon Hill - Lansdowne. Three railroads--SEPTA, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit. Four types of rail vehicles--Silverliners DMUs, AEM7/Cabcar-powered Amfleets, diesel-powered Comets, and K-car trolley. And then a bonus nightcap for good measure!
SEPTA R3
12:40 dep. Lansdowne
12:52 arr. 30th St Station
I started the day with one of those weekend round-trip tickets. The conductor never punched mine on the way in.
Plenty of time here for lunch at 30th St Station, at Au Bon Pain, my regular sandwich stop for years of taking the Crescent back and forth from Swat, and later my regular dinner grabbed hastily upon arriving by SEPTA for classes at Drexel. More overpriced than I remember, and the least friendly service I've ever had there, but ... well, at least because of that now I won't be nostalgic for them....
Amtrak Keystone
13:45 dep. 30th St Station
14:09 arr. Paoli
On the way out, being on track 4 (and having maximum distance from the Main Line stations almost all of which are on the inbound track 1), I managed to take photos of every station from Haverford to Paoli (some better than others!).
And there was plenty of time to leisurely stroll across the mural bridge to the opposite platform and take a few photos of the somewhat unique banners at the station against a brilliant sky.
Amtrak Keystone
14:25 dep. Paoli
14:53 arr. 30th St Station
Time for some photography of 30th St Station, playing with long exposures to get good lighting.
NJT Atlantic City Line
15:20 dep. 30th St Station
15:47 arr. Cherry Hill
On the way out, at the point where the ACL turns east from the NEC we passed a southbound Amtrak--probably the Crescent given the time of day--just coming out of the woods and turning to run parallel to our tracks as it plied towards Philadelphia.
This is the perfect connection, because there's only one platform and the line is single-track with a passing siding just east of Cherry Hill.
NJT Atlantic City Line
15:52 dep. Cherry Hill
16:22 arr. 30th St Station
And on the way back, I got a few more snapshots of yard action on the west side of 30th St Station, which I was then passing for the fourth time that afternoon--lots of opportunity to plan out when to get the best camera angles!
(Yes, that second shot is from the Regional Rail platforms, not from the train window, but I figured out the angle while riding.)
Could've called it a day and returned to Lansdowne on the 16:26 R3, but felt like continuing!
SEPTA R2
16:38 dep. 30th St Station
16:50 arr. Sharon Hill
Since I would be using only the first half of my round-trip ticket here, which felt wasteful, I called a friend (who also lives in zone-2) to see if it would be of use to him sometime (and then I'd just buy a one-way ticket for this trip); but he said it probably wasn't, so I just went ahead and used it (and the conductor did punch it this time).
Time here for a nice walk between the railroad station and the trolley station, which is perhaps half a mile distant. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the Red Arrow Lines being somewhat in competition for suburban commuter traffic, they weren't thinking of making any sort of "transit hub" allowing for easy connections back when these lines were constructed. But it's a nice coincidence that these two stations are fairly close together.
SEPTA 102
17:25 dep. Sharon Hill
17:41 arr. Lansdowne Ave
The trolley driver noticed me taking pictures of the station before boarding and asked if I was a railfan. He said he occasionally reads and posts to railroad.net! We chatted about Red Arrow history, about which he was surprisingly knowledgeable, and he called my attention to interesting points along the line (as well as quietly pointing out some of the dangerous intersections as we approached them).
And then it was a short walk back home.
***
So at the end of the day, I still had half a weekend-only round-trip ticket unused. Since it isn't valid on weekdays and I won't be around for another weekend, I figured "Why the heck not?"
SEPTA R3
22:40 dep. Lansdowne
22:49 arr. University City
I figured I'd buy a one-way ticket for my return, but then the conductor didn't punch my ticket on this ride either! I finally used it on the return trip, getting four rides for the price of two on the day.
SEPTA R3
23:28 dep. University City
23:36 arr. Lansdowne
... and yes, I had a reason for choosing University City, having spotted something lying lost and forgotten off in the weeds near the station when riding through on the R2 in the afternoon. It only took me six minutes to find it (during a carefully-researched 21 minute window during which there are no R1s, R2s, or R3s coming through University City station; yes, there could have been deadhead movements, I know--and I was on the lookout for them and had good visibility in both directions, plenty of space beyond the edge of the right-of-way for safety after heading down the stairs at the end of the center-platform to track level and crossing the track, and a flashlight--but fortunately there weren't any unexpected trains). And it was the exact one I've always wanted, too--"R5 Bryn Mawr"! A great souvenir to remember thirteen years of Regional Rail travel (including two where Bryn Mawr was my home station).
SEPTA R3
12:40 dep. Lansdowne
12:52 arr. 30th St Station
I started the day with one of those weekend round-trip tickets. The conductor never punched mine on the way in.
Plenty of time here for lunch at 30th St Station, at Au Bon Pain, my regular sandwich stop for years of taking the Crescent back and forth from Swat, and later my regular dinner grabbed hastily upon arriving by SEPTA for classes at Drexel. More overpriced than I remember, and the least friendly service I've ever had there, but ... well, at least because of that now I won't be nostalgic for them....
Amtrak Keystone
13:45 dep. 30th St Station
14:09 arr. Paoli
On the way out, being on track 4 (and having maximum distance from the Main Line stations almost all of which are on the inbound track 1), I managed to take photos of every station from Haverford to Paoli (some better than others!).
And there was plenty of time to leisurely stroll across the mural bridge to the opposite platform and take a few photos of the somewhat unique banners at the station against a brilliant sky.
Amtrak Keystone
14:25 dep. Paoli
14:53 arr. 30th St Station
Time for some photography of 30th St Station, playing with long exposures to get good lighting.
NJT Atlantic City Line
15:20 dep. 30th St Station
15:47 arr. Cherry Hill
On the way out, at the point where the ACL turns east from the NEC we passed a southbound Amtrak--probably the Crescent given the time of day--just coming out of the woods and turning to run parallel to our tracks as it plied towards Philadelphia.
This is the perfect connection, because there's only one platform and the line is single-track with a passing siding just east of Cherry Hill.
NJT Atlantic City Line
15:52 dep. Cherry Hill
16:22 arr. 30th St Station
And on the way back, I got a few more snapshots of yard action on the west side of 30th St Station, which I was then passing for the fourth time that afternoon--lots of opportunity to plan out when to get the best camera angles!
(Yes, that second shot is from the Regional Rail platforms, not from the train window, but I figured out the angle while riding.)
Could've called it a day and returned to Lansdowne on the 16:26 R3, but felt like continuing!
SEPTA R2
16:38 dep. 30th St Station
16:50 arr. Sharon Hill
Since I would be using only the first half of my round-trip ticket here, which felt wasteful, I called a friend (who also lives in zone-2) to see if it would be of use to him sometime (and then I'd just buy a one-way ticket for this trip); but he said it probably wasn't, so I just went ahead and used it (and the conductor did punch it this time).
Time here for a nice walk between the railroad station and the trolley station, which is perhaps half a mile distant. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the Red Arrow Lines being somewhat in competition for suburban commuter traffic, they weren't thinking of making any sort of "transit hub" allowing for easy connections back when these lines were constructed. But it's a nice coincidence that these two stations are fairly close together.
SEPTA 102
17:25 dep. Sharon Hill
17:41 arr. Lansdowne Ave
The trolley driver noticed me taking pictures of the station before boarding and asked if I was a railfan. He said he occasionally reads and posts to railroad.net! We chatted about Red Arrow history, about which he was surprisingly knowledgeable, and he called my attention to interesting points along the line (as well as quietly pointing out some of the dangerous intersections as we approached them).
And then it was a short walk back home.
***
So at the end of the day, I still had half a weekend-only round-trip ticket unused. Since it isn't valid on weekdays and I won't be around for another weekend, I figured "Why the heck not?"
SEPTA R3
22:40 dep. Lansdowne
22:49 arr. University City
I figured I'd buy a one-way ticket for my return, but then the conductor didn't punch my ticket on this ride either! I finally used it on the return trip, getting four rides for the price of two on the day.
SEPTA R3
23:28 dep. University City
23:36 arr. Lansdowne
... and yes, I had a reason for choosing University City, having spotted something lying lost and forgotten off in the weeds near the station when riding through on the R2 in the afternoon. It only took me six minutes to find it (during a carefully-researched 21 minute window during which there are no R1s, R2s, or R3s coming through University City station; yes, there could have been deadhead movements, I know--and I was on the lookout for them and had good visibility in both directions, plenty of space beyond the edge of the right-of-way for safety after heading down the stairs at the end of the center-platform to track level and crossing the track, and a flashlight--but fortunately there weren't any unexpected trains). And it was the exact one I've always wanted, too--"R5 Bryn Mawr"! A great souvenir to remember thirteen years of Regional Rail travel (including two where Bryn Mawr was my home station).
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