Philadelphia Rail Transit A comprehensive guide to Philadelphia's rail system.

The ex-Reading R6 line to Norristown serves a number of communities in northwest Philadelphia to Norristown, west of Philadelphia. The line splits off of the Reading Mainline at 16th Street Junction after crossing under the Northeast Corridor. A number of other lines can be seen in proximity to this area. The PRR R8 Chestnut Hill West line which split off of the NEC parallels the R6 for a short distance. This is where the fabled Swampoodle Connector was to be built but never was. This short connection would have allowed R8 Chestnut Hill West trains to cross over to the R6 and enter Center City through the Reading side, thus eliminating touchy situations with SEPTA using Amtrak's facilities to get off of the R8 and on to the NEC. This short connection was never built and as a result, there is often a delay on the R8 when trains try to get dispatcher clearance to enter the NEC (Amtrak of course gives priority to its own).

Our first stop is the old Reading 22nd Street Station, which is now known as Allegheny. This once decrepit station has been improved slightly by SEPTA and is now an acceptable structure. The line is running through a heavy industrial area with both in use and abandoned sites lining the right of way.

We enter into a cut as we gain distance from the R8 line and head west. The line crosses US Highway 1 as well as a few grade crossings before arriving at East Falls, your author's home station. The current East Falls station is a pitiful and disgraceful mobile trailer, the replacement for an original Reading station which burned down in the 1980s. Shortly after the station the line crosses a stone bridge over Midvale Avenue

The line travels through heavy residential areas to the north and commercial areas to the south with a stone bridge over Wissahickon Creek. The line is on an embankment as we enter Wissahickon station, one of the city's more hilly areas.

The line stays at grade until we move on to the Reading elevated structure just before entering the Manayunk station. Manayunk is a recently revitalized area with trendy shops and residences. The area was a former grim industrial site with a number of abandoned and rundown structures. After Manayunk we join the ex-Pennsylvania R6 line, brought across the river by the massive Ivy Ridge Viaduct, this abandoned line parallels the R6 for a number of miles, and has been turned into a trail after the tracks end. This line originated where the R6 Cynwyd line stops, and splits off of the mainline at Zoo. The ex-PRR line travels on an elevated structure through some areas and embankment in others.

Ivy Ridge, a small shanty built to replace the PRR station is next. Slightly higher up the grade is the old PRR Ivy Ridge station. The line has a very rural feel in this area, being only a few hundred feet from the river in some areas. Around Port Royal Road we pass Shawmont, the oldest station in the USA. Service to this station was discontinued but the signs still remain.

We enter Montgomery County shortly before arriving at Miquon. The small community of Spring Mill is next, just east of Consohocken. Consohocken is a popular residential and commercial center, the station being next to a group of high rise office buildings.

The line is again in a sparse surrounding. We soon pass the former stations of Ivy Rock next to Consohocken Road and Mogees near Main Street in Norristown. There is a rather sizable connection with CSX's Morrisville Line in between Consohocken and Norristown. The new Norristown Transportation Center is next. This is a transfer point between regional rail, bus and route 100 traffic. The line heads further into Norristown to stop at Main Street and ends at Elm Street.

Soon to come.