West Chester Railroad

A photographic history of the railroad linking West Chester, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia, from its 1858 origins to modern excursion services.

West Chester Railroad is a photographic essay of the railroad that linked the borough of West Chester, Pennsylvania, via Media to Philadelphia. West Chester (25 miles west of Philadelphia and 17 miles north of Wilmington, Delaware) was connected to Philadelphia by the West Chester & Philadelphia Railroad in 1858. It came under control of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1881. The Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad combined to form Penn Central Transportation Company in 1968, and following bankruptcy came under Consolidated Rail Corporation. In 1983, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) began operating the Media—West Chester line until 1986 when service was cut back to Elwyn. During 1996, Four States Railway Service leased from SEPTA a 6.405—mile segment of the line between West Chester and Glen Mills in Pennsylvania. Volunteers spent a year to rebuild trackage and began West Chester Railroad passenger excursion service in 1997.

Team effort that included on site editor Beth Keates, Joe Giacchino, Skip Small, Don Calendar, Brian Woodcock and West Chester Railroad volunteers whose dedication, knowledge, pictures, and experience in preserving 160 years of railroad history made this book possible. Kenneth C. Springirth, the author of forty—four books on railroads and trolley car lines completed the writing for publication. He commuted by public transit to Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia, graduating in 1962.