The West Chester & Philadelphia Railroad (WC&P) operated in the greater

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

area from 1848 to 1881. It became the

West Chester Branch The West Chester Branch is a railway line in southeastern Pennsylvania. At its fullest extent, it connected with the Philadelphia–Washington Main Line (Northeast Corridor) at Arsenal Junction near the University of Pennsylvania and the Philade ...

of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR). It has been operated as the

Media/Wawa Line The Media/Wawa Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service that runs from Center City Philadelphia west to Wawa in Delaware County. It uses the West Chester Branch, which connects with the SEPTA Main Line at 30th Street Station. Under the Pennsylva ...

on the

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

system since 2022. It was known as the Media-Elwyn Line from 1983-2022.

History

Construction

The West Chester & Philadelphia Railroad was chartered by the

commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

in 1848 and the company was organized in 1851. Construction began in Philadelphia in 1852, and the road reached Kellyville (now

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

) in November 1853, and

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

by November 1854. In July 1855, at least one worker died in a construction accident and costs mounted due to construction of numerous bridges. Financial difficulties followed, and work was suspended until 1856, when the line opened to Grubb's Bridge (now Wawa). The remaining line to West Chester was completed by November 1858. (The WC&P was the second railroad to serve the borough of West Chester. The first was the

West Chester Railroad The West Chester Railroad is a privately owned and operated tourist railroad that runs between Market Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in Chester County, and the village of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, in Delaware County. It operates on of ...

, built in 1832 and running northeast to a PRR connection at

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

.) A

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

was constructed at Wawa for the Philadelphia & Baltimore Central Railroad, which began construction in 1855 and opened its first section to

Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania Chadds Ford is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester counties, Pennsylvania, United States, comprising the unincorporated area, unincorporated communities of Chadds F ...

, in 1859. In May 1880, the

Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) was an American railroad that operated independently from 1836 to 1881. It was formed in 1836 by the merger of four state-chartered railroads in three Middle Atlantic states to create a ...

purchased the WC&P, and then folded it into the Philadelphia & Baltimore Central Railroad Company by the following year.ICC valuation report
of the

Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad The Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (PB&W) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia in the 20th century, and was a key component of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system. Its ...

, filed June 30, 1918 The PRR eventually took control of all these earlier lines.

The End of the Line

The PRR merged with the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

in 1968 to form the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...

(PC), and was

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

by 1970. The West Chester line was sold to SEPTA 1978, though

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

provided operations until 1983, when SEPTA assumed passenger operations until September 1986 when service was suspended. Tourist operator

resumed operations between West Chester and Glen Mills in 1997.

References

* * Jones, James A
"Walking Tour of West Chester's Railroad Corridor."
Accessed 2011-01-02. {{DEFAULTSORT:West Chester Philadelphia Railroad Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Companies affiliated with the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway companies established in 1848 Railway companies disestablished in 1881 West Chester, Pennsylvania

History

Construction

The End of the Line

See also

References