Fox Chase Line

For the former 1981–1983 SEPTA transit operation between Fox Chase and Newtown, see Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line.

Fox Chase Line
File:FoxChase 410.jpg Fox Chase Station, April 2010
Overview
Status	Operating
Termini	Fox Chase 30th Street Station
Website	septa.org
Service
Type	Commuter rail line
System	SEPTA Regional Rail
Operator(s)	SEPTA
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map Template:Infobox rdt

The Fox Chase Line (formerly called R8 Fox Chase) is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system.

Originally known as the Fox Chase/Newtown Branch, service was truncated in January 1983 from Newtown to its current terminus in Philadelphia at Fox Chase due to unreliable train equipment and low ridership. Service restoration north of Fox Chase to Newtown has been discussed by rail proponents (most notably, the Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition). Plans to restore service beyond Fox Chase remained on SEPTA's Capital Program until 2009; there are currently no plans to reinstate service to Newtown.

The former R8 number was applied after the original plan was cancelled due to problems including the Swampoodle Connection never being built.

History: 1878–1983

Reading Company/Conrail years

The Fox Chase Line branches from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction, north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirely within the city of Philadelphia except for a section between Olney and Cheltenham, Pennsylvania which runs along the city border.

The line beyond Newtown Junction was originally opened February 2, 1878 to Newtown as the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad. The line was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to block the building of the parallel National Railway (later the Reading Company's [RDG] main line to New York City). After that failed, it was taken over by the North Pennsylvania Railroad (which had built the National Railway) on November 22, 1879. By then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, later the RDG, had leased the North Pennsylvania Railroad.

In August 1974, in an effort to stem losses while in bankruptcy reorganization, the RDG threatened to end the diesel passenger service north of Fox Chase. The shutdown was opposed by Bucks County Commissioner Joseph Tracey. SEPTA then intervened to keep the Fox Chase-Newtown diesel service operating on skeletal schedule. In 1976, when the former RDG was merged into Conrail, the line was again threatened when the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recommended the exclusion of entire line from Conrail because of its weak status. In an effort to avert this, SEPTA and private companies (such as Frost-Watson) made the commitment of continued use of the line; as such, it was purchased SEPTA and freight service was contracted to Conrail using federal subsidies provided through the Local Rail Service Assistance Program. On January 1, 1983 SEPTA took over commuter rail operations from Conrail.

The Fox Chase/Newtown Line was originally intended to be the R4, which would have continued as the Bryn Mawr local, while the R5 would have run express to Bryn Mawr and local to points west.

Fox Chase to Newtown

Further information: SEPTA diesel service

The Reading Company bypassed the Fox Chase Line when they electrified their five other suburban lines in the 1930s (Lansdale/Doylestown, Hatboro/Warminster, Manayunk/Norristown, Chestnut Hill East, West Trenton). As part of the Philadelphia subsidy program, the line was electrified as far as Fox Chase (the Philadelphia city line) on September 25, 1966. Ridership on the line increased with the completion of electrification. As a result of this success, plans were made in the early 1970s to extend electrification to the line's actual terminus in Newtown, using funds supplied by both Montgomery and Bucks Counties. Had the electrification plans come to fruition, the Walnut Hill Station would have been closed, and trains would have operated non-stop from Fox Chase to Huntingdon Valley. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania allocated $2.2 million to electrify the line in 1979, but these funds were diverted to other projects in the region.

The transfer between Conrail electric trains (left) and SEPTA RDC diesels (right) is seen at Fox Chase Station on November 24, 1981

The route north of Fox Chase became a hotbed for political upheaval when public subsidies came into play in the 1970s. Population near the line throughout Montgomery County is sparse, with few stations to serve passengers. Despite small originating ridership, the county was assessed much of the route's cost. Opposition within official county circles to continued service began to circulate. Proposals were floated around at that time to install a track connection where the line crosses the West Trenton route near Bethayres, and to abandon the stretch of track between Bethayres and Fox Chase (this was essentially carried out in 2009 when the tracks were removed for the Pennypack Trail). However, the lightly-used line served an important purpose, as it was the shorter route to the West Trenton Line crossing as rush hour traffic through the Jenkintown/Wyncote bottleneck was heavy (and presently remains so).

Whereas the line was isolated in Montgomery County, it was near the center of activity in towns throughout Bucks County. Southampton, Churchville, Holland, George School and Newtown all had station stops centrally located and convenient to riders.

What was rarely discussed, however, was the fact that Montgomery County had less to lose if service ended. The eastern portion of the county had such dense passenger train coverage during the era of Newtown service that no point was more than two miles from a station. Conversely, Bucks County had far less passenger train service; losing the Newtown route would limit rider mobility. The end result would place the two counties in opposition of one another: Bucks County regularly supported service, while Montgomery County was against it.

Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line

Main article: Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line

Fox Chase trains continued to Newtown, Pennsylvania along non-electrified track utilizing Budd RDC trains until July 1, 1981. In anticipation of SEPTA operating all electrified Philadelphia commuter lines by 1983 (as well as already owning them), the authority decided to experiment with operating railroad lines using City Transit Division operators instead of traditional railroad workers as a cost-saving measure. SEPTA initiated operation of the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line on Monday, October 5, 1981. Due to mechanical issues with the trains and decreasing ridership, service on the line ended January 14, 1983.

In addition, many grade crossings along the line remained unprotected, one of the few SEPTA lines that had this problem. Inadequate or nonexistent warning signs were the causes of many accidents, including notable ones in Newtown (Lincoln Avenue), Southampton (2nd Street Pike, one of the worst in SEPTA history), and Holland (Old Jordan Road) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The financial and, in some cases, legal burdens placed on SEPTA after these accidents contributed to the decline of the branch.

Post-1983 service

Bustitution

By March 1983, SEPTA had repaired several of the RDC units and were ready to resume Fox Chase-Newtown service. However, SEPTA Surface Transportation General Manager Robert Rhoades (whose staff was operating the temporary bus service while the RDCs were inoperable) lobbied hard to keep the work for city transit bus drivers. Tariff No. 167 was proposed on April 14, 1983 by SEPTA's Chief Operations Officer to officially establish a Fox Chase-Newtown Shuttle Bus (known as "bustitution") in place of train service "until electrification of the railroad occurs in the Bucks and Philadelphia Counties." Public hearings were held on July 11, 1983, in which outraged, displaced riders questioned SEPTA's reasoning for not utilizing the repaired RDC units (unaware of the lobbying effort made by the transit division). The publication of the July 1983 Fox Chase-Newtown Line timetable made the bus replacement a reality. By December 1983, SEPTA had sold several RDC units to Boston's MBTA, the Alaska Railroad and VIA Rail Canada, many which are still in use as of 2010.

File:1984 date stamp.JPG

SEPTA spent a significant amount of federal money in 1984 to upgrade several street crossings with new welded rail (note "1984" date stamp on track). Aside from a test run in September 1985 using experimental British BRE-Leyland Diesel railbusses, no train would ever utilize the new trackage, raising questions about SEPTA's misuse of federal funds

The Fox Chase-Newtown Shuttle bus operated from 1983 to 1999, with patronage remaining light. The replacement service was far slower and less convenient than the train service it replaced, resulting in the shuttle bus being poorly patronized. The traveling public never saw a bus service as a suitable replacement for a rail service that operated more efficiently.

SEPTA forgoes approved funding for electrification

Since bustitution took effect in 1983, there has been continued interest in reviving passenger service through to Newtown.

In July 1983, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania once again allocated $2.2 million to complete electrification to Newtown by 1984. SEPTA elected not to utilize the funds for the project, per PennDOT: "Senate Bill 666 and the corresponding Capital Budget ACT 38 of 83 were enacted, and they included a line item of $2,400,000 for the Newtown rail line. After the capital budget authorized funds, SEPTA as the grant recipient, was then responsible to make an application for a grant to utilize the funds. In this case, no application was made by SEPTA for the line item regarding a Newtown rail line."

SEPTA management was criticized for the termination of service beyond Fox Chase. Noted international transit expert and University of Pennsylvania professor Vukan Vuchic (who also designed the former R-numbering system for SEPTA) commented that he had never seen a transit agency the size of SEPTA "cut transit services quite as drastically as SEPTA. For a system that is already obsolete, any more cutbacks would be disastrous—and likely spell doom for transit in the Philadelphia region."

Though service was suspended indefinitely, SEPTA spent a significant amount of money throughout the 1980s (in order to comply with a federal grant) to perform extensive track upgrades.

Sturdy Pandrol clips similar to the type shown (but utilizing wood crossties) were used when track upgrades were made in 1984. No regularly scheduled train would ever take advantage of the upgrade

All road crossings received new welded rail, which were secured using sturdy Pandrol clips vs. traditional rail spikes.

SEPTA also installed new SEPTA-friendly station signs and "lollipop" street signs at all regional rail stops, including those along the Fox Chase-Newtown line. The "lollipop" signs have since been removed but some of the other signage remains at Newtown, Churchville and Bryn Athyn. In addition, SEPTA maps printed in 1984 and 1989 retained the Fox Chase-Newtown segment, with a caveat stating "Temporary Bus Shuttle between Fox Chase and Newtown" (as of 2009, several of these outdated maps can still be found throughout the SEPTA system).

Village Shires Station construction

A residential development called Village Shires was built in the Holland section of Northampton Township in close proximity to the Fox Chase-Newtown line in 1981. As part of a private developer/Northampton Township/SEPTA agreement, ground was broken for the construction of a new station, complete with 82 new parking spaces and high platforms. Concrete supports were actually installed by the private developer between Buck and Stonyford Roads in anticipation of the station construction. However, with the cessation of train service in January 1983, no further work was performed at the station site, though Village Shires Station (sometimes labeled Village Shires/Buck Road) appeared on publicly posted SEPTA maps in 1984 and 1989.

Attempts at restoration

1985: BRE-Leyland diesel railbuses

SEPTA performing a test run of the British BRE-Leyland Diesel railbusses at Huntingdon Valley Station, September 1985. Note brand new SEPTA "lollipop" station sign at right and "Station for Lease" sign on the now-demolished station shelter

In March 1985, a $10 million plan to restore service to Newtown and Pottstown using British BRE-Leyland Diesel railbuses was considered, with a test run reaching Newtown on September 3. Though the trial runs were relatively successful, ride quality was lackluster. Burdened with ongoing budgetary problems, SEPTA decided against the purchase of the railbuses. September 1985 would be the last time a SEPTA train traversed the Fox Chase-Newtown line.

1988: Conrail movement

FRA reports indicate Conrail switch trains ran on the line as recently as 1988. An FRA accident report (dated January 11, 1988) states a Conrail switch train traveling at a mere two miles per hour was hit by a speeding motorist at the location of the former State Street crossing in Newtown. By this time, the line was reported as out of service (nearest station listed as "Croydon" in the accident report), and most of the crossing signals along the line were placed out of service also (report states no crossing protection existed; crossing was flagged by crew). It is not known why Conrail operated trains on the line after its "temporary" abandonment during this time; perhaps CR was clearing cars off the line that were placed in storage.

1987: First privatization ideas

In March 1987, SEPTA received several bids from private operators interested in running diesel-hauled trains to Newtown (as well as between Norristown-Pottstown. The operators suggested using non-union workers, which SEPTA was against. In addition, funding for these operations was allegedly questionable, and the SEPTA board rejected all offers.

SEPTA 1991 study

In 1991, SEPTA issued a detailed, proactive study outlining a realistic operating plan. The study, entitled A New Look at Restoration of Rail Service to Newtown, took into consideration all aspects of the line, including station parking, current track infrastructure (which had begun to deteriorate), electrification, and the possibility that Montgomery County would not be interested. The latter scenario included two options:

• Newtown to Center City Philadelphia via Fox Chase, with no stops in Montgomery County
• Newtown to Center City Philadelphia via Bethayres/Jenkintown-Wyncote, with no stops in Montgomery County and bypassing Abington Township and Rockledge Borough entirely

The study was well received by Bucks County Commissioners and local townships along the line. However, nothing further came of it and line remained dormant.

1991–1992: Privatization

Rail Management Service, Inc. (RMS), a private railway operator, expressed interest in operating diesel trains over the line in late 1991. SEPTA required RMS to upgrade and maintain all railway infrastructure with the intent to operate train service to compete with SEPTA's Warminster and West Trenton, but without receiving any government subsidies. The Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers (DVARP) researched a possible new Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding formula, but previous FTA formulas increased a region's funding as rail route mileage increased. Continuation of this policy would mean that the Newtown service would have generated increased federal subsidy, but SEPTA would keep that subsidy for itself.

SEPTA's request for proposal (RFP) stated that their objective in leasing the Fox Chase-Newtown line was to facilitate connecting service with its regional rail operation. However, when asked what recourse will RMS be offered if SEPTA does not maintain good on-time performance on the West Trenton or Warminster lines, impacting RMS's ridership, SEPTA responded "This arrangement will be included in the lease negotiation process." DVARP commented that RMS on what is "ostensibly a shuttle service between Newtown and Fox Chase would not know the rules of the Fox Chase transfer game until after they are chosen."

An attachment to the minutes of the pre-proposal meeting included several of the original deeds of the Reading Company Trustee transferring the property to Conrail in the late 1970s. It was later revealed that that Reading Company Trustee deeds for the Newtown Line property in Bucks County were missing. SEPTA holds the Newtown line property on a quitclaim deed from Conrail—a legal instrument used to release one person's right, title or interest to another without providing a guarantee or warranty of title. SEPTA later informed RMS that it will not indemnify the contractor in the event of a challenge to the Conrail/SEPTA quitclaim deed.

Rail advocates hoped that the Fox Chase-Newtown privatization would be a first in bringing much needed competition to SEPTA. RMS was being asked to compete with subsidized Warminster and West Trenton line services for the park-and-ride commuter market while possibly generating additional FTA dollars for SEPTA. DVARP later commented that "the deal SEPTA is offering private contractors to operate the Newtown Line is similar to that of the garbage man who was hired on an all-you-can-eat basis. Imagine investing 1/2 million in a new Bethayres crossing; assorted hundreds of thousands in grade crossings, signaling, track, ties (all of which becomes the property of your landlord); as well as the costs of acquiring and maintaining equipment, without the right to enjoy the same government subsidies as your chief competitor next door (who, incidently, is your landlord)."

In December 1992, SEPTA held a pre-bid conference for parties interested in operating a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle service. The selected operator was to receive a stipend from SEPTA annually equivalent to the losses that SEPTA incurred operated the poor performing Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus. SEPTA also agreed to pass through the FTA "fixed guideway" formula subsidies which begin approximately two years after a rail or trackless trolley line starts operations. The expected annual amount was slated at $800,000. As an added bonus, the selected operator had the potential to be awarded a matchable $1.2 million grant Bucks County had designated for the railroad's capital needs.

2006 Bus Rapid Transit study

In 2006, the Bucks and Montgomery County planning commissions studied the option of converting the Newtown line into a bus rapid transit line between Newtown and Byberry Road. This plan would have required considerable investment to convert the dilapidated railbed and bridges from rail use to bus use. Public input on this plan was unfavorable, as was the 85-minute commute to Center City vs. running under one hour on the nearby Warminster and West Trenton lines. The concept was rated "unfeasible" for those reasons. The study did determine, however, even with the long trip time compared to neighboring rail lines, that this operation would have generated 2,100 new transit riders.

Pennypack Trail

Main article: Walnut Hill (SEPTA station)

On March 28, 2008, Montgomery County agreed to lease the section of track transversing Abington Township's Ward 2 section through the wooded Pennypack Creek valley for use as an interim extension of the existing Pennypack Trail. SEPTA received $1 for the lease, railbanking the line for future mass transit related uses. SEPTA has the right to revert the line back to transit use with one year's notice to the county. The trail is not officially a rail trail associated with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Washington, D.C..

Proposals to abandon the section of the line currently occupied by the interim trail has historically been a hotbed for political upheaval. Proposals were floated around at that time to install a track connection where the line crosses the West Trenton route near Bethayres, and to abandon the stretch of track between Fox Chase and the West Trenton line. The existence of the trail essentially carried out this plan, minus the benefit of the West Trenton connection. This is unfortunate, as even in its dormant state, the Newtown Branch is the shorter and more favorable route to the West Trenton line junction, as rush hour rail traffic through the Jenkintown/Wyncote bottleneck remains heavy.

2009: PA-TEC

In September 2009, the Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC) began discussions with township officials along the railway, as well as SEPTA officials, about the realistic possibility of resuming even minimal passenger service to relieve traffic congestion in the region. Plans call for completing the electrification to Newtown, as originally planned in the late 1970s.

PA-TEC's efforts have received support by both Bucks and Montgomery County officials, as well as at the state level, despite SEPTA's overall reservations. SEPTA has also confirmed that they are indeed open to revisiting the line if there is strong political support in both counties.

Pennypack Trail Signage request

File:RAILtrailsignage.jpg

Installation of signage indicating railway corridor ownership by SEPTA (like this seen in Chisago County, Minnesota) was rejected by the transit agency, citing "not cost effective" as reasoning.

In March 2011, PA-TEC requested that SEPTA consider demarking the rail corridor currently occupied by the interim Pennypack Trail with signage. PA-TEC asked to work with the transit agency on this project, in hopes of keeping the dormant rail line in the public eye. Their request was based on a federal study completed by the National Transportation Research Board in 2007, which stated that such signage gives "notice to adjacent landowners and the public generally that an interim period of low-impact or recreational use does not proscribe future development of active passenger or freight rail activity. Provisions may include large, conspicuous signage along the trail alignments and/or disclosure requirements for adjoining property sale transactions that make clear the potential future use of the [rail] corridors in question."

SEPTA rejected PA-TEC's request, believing the benefits of such "signage was deemed non-existent, since SEPTA's rights to the out-of-service rights-of-way (ROW) are clearly protected as matters of real estate/railroad law, as well as the individual lease with the County. The same would apply to any other recreational trails presently being used by municipalities over SEPTA out-of-service railroad ROW's." SEPTA concluded that the expense of installing signs, "no matter how small, for the sole purpose of demarcating SEPTA's otherwise well established legal ownership rights in the ROW, cannot be financially justified." This position was echoed by Rina Cutler, Philadelphia Deputy Mayor of Transportation.

PA-TEC responded in the press by calling SEPTA's response "an act resembling Pontius Pilate", stating that SEPTA was "going against their enabling legislation per Pennsylvania State Law." PA-TEC added that SEPTA "has washed their hands of the Fox Chase/Newtown line by refusing to associate their name with it in public. Without any analysis, SEPTA has rejected a taxpayer funded federal study that provides specific recommendations that best preserve dormant railways." PA-TEC added that they were "concerned that SEPTA is creating an additional constituency resistant to putting rails on a (SEPTA) owned ROW, in this case the trail users," concluding that "the trail use will create an additional avenue of resistance even for those who would never be trail users. NIMBYs... will be avid trail users, not for the sake of the trail, but to prevent rail use."

Future preservation

The Newtown Branch Preservation Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to preserving the railroad line between Fox Chase and Newtown, is currently looking to restore the line for use as a seasonal heritage railway.

Name change

On July 25, 2010 SEPTA renamed the service from the R8 Fox Chase to the Fox Chase Line as part of system-wide service change that eliminated the R-number naming system.

Station stops

Fox Chase trains make the following station stops after leaving Market East Station:

Zone	Milepost	Station	Boardings	City/Township	County	Notes
C	2.1	Temple University	3,122	Philadelphia		all lines
1	5.1	Wayne Junction	628			Warminster Line, West Trenton Line, Lansdale/Doylestown Line, Chestnut Hill East Line
	7.3	Olney	148
	8.3	Crescentville	0			station closed
2	9.0	Lawndale	230
	9.7	Cheltenham	284
	10.1	Ryers	347			Cottman Avenue
	11.1	Fox Chase	1,260			terminus since 1983; end of electrification
3	12.8	Walnut Hill	1†	Abington	Montgomery	site of Pennypack Trail
	14.4	Huntingdon Valley	2†	Lower Moreland		shelter demolished
	15.1	Bryn Athyn	7†	Bryn Athyn		Station still exists (now U.S. post office)
	17.2	Woodmont	0	Lower Moreland		Station closed 1965, shelter demolished
4	18.0	County Line	2†	Upper Southampton	Bucks	shelter demolished
	18.9	Southampton	21†			Station still exists, currently undergoing restoration
	20.8	Churchville	8†	Northampton		Station still exists (used by private business)
	22.4	Holland	11†			shelter demolished
5	25.0	George School	2†	Middletown		shelter demolished
	26.3	Newtown	43†	Newtown		shelter demolished

Boardings are for fiscal year 2010. Data for Temple University and Wayne Junction includes all lines serving those stations
† Boardings between Walnut Hill—Newtown are from Spring 1982

Former Bryn Athyn station

Fiscal year	Average weekday	Annual passengers
FY 2010	5,299	1,422,864
FY 2009	5,040	1,353,827
FY 2008	5,435	1,459,300
FY 2005	4,646	1,245,763
FY 2004	4,130	1,159,397
FY 2003	4,621	1,150,400
FY 2001	n/a	1,221,000
FY 2000	n/a	1,273,000
FY 1999	n/a	1,186,000
FY 1997	n/a	1,218,268
FY 1996	n/a	1,184,561
FY 1995	3,922	1,099,953
FY 1994	3,574	732,733
FY 1993	2,813	442,155
Note: n/a = not available

External links

• Template:PDFlink
• Newtown Branch Preservation Foundation website
• Railroad History Database
• Reading Company Routes and Mileages
• Newtown Branch restoration website
• SEPTA's 1991 Newtown Line Restoration Study (complete)
• The Blue Comet – photos of Newtown line in the last 35 years
• Newtown Line and Proposals on Google Maps