User:Mackensen/Bethlehem Branch

Bethlehem Branch
History
Opened	2 July 1855 (1855-07-02)
Technical
Line length	55.5 mi (89.3 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map LV main line Lehigh River CNJ main line 56.6 Bethlehem CNJ main line LV main line Saucon Creek 52.6 Hellertown 47.6 Centre Valley 44.8 Hilltop 40.2 Quakertown 37.2 Rockhill Perkasie Tunnel 35.0 Perkasie 33.6 Sellersville 30.9 Telford 29.6 Souderton 27.1 Hatfield Doylestown Branch 24.4 Lansdale 24.2 Stony Creek Branch 23.5 Pennbrook 22.4 North Wales 20.0 Gwynedd Valley 18.8 Penllyn 17.3 Ambler 15.9 Fort Washington Trenton Cutoff 14.8 Fellwick Plymouth Branch 13.8 Oreland 13.0 North Hills 12.1 New Hope Branch 11.9 Glenside 10.9 New York Branch 10.8 Jenkintown 9.2 Elkins Park 8.4 Melrose Park 7.4 Fern Rock Broad Street Line 7.0 5.9 Tabor Junction Ninth Street Branch New York Short Line Olney Branch Erie Avenue Yard Northeast Corridor Richmond Branch Former NPRR depot SEPTA Route 15 Market–Frankford Line Spring Garden Willow and Noble Street Branch 0.0 Market–Frankford Line

The Bethlehem Branch was a railway line in Pennsylvania. It was the main line of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, running from Philadelphia to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The line was built between 1855 and 1857. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad took control of the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1879 the line became part of the Reading Company system. With the Reading's final bankruptcy in 1976 the line was split between Conrail and SEPTA. The portion between Tabor Junction (near Fern Rock Transportation Center) and Lansdale now forms part of the SEPTA Main Line.

History

See also: North Pennsylvania Railroad

The North Pennsylvania Railroad opened the first 18 miles (29 km) between Philadelphia and Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania, on July 2, 1855. The Philadelphia terminus was at Front and Willow, on the Delaware River waterfront. Another 35.5 miles (57.1 km) to Freemansburg, Pennsylvania, within the Lehigh Valley, opened on January 1, 1857. The final 4 miles (6.4 km) to South Bethlehem, branching off at Hellertown, Pennsylvania, opened on July 7, 1857.

Stations

Stations on the Bethlehem Branch can be organized into three groups: those between the original southern end at Front and Willow and the junction with other Reading lines at Tabor Junction, those between Tabor Junction and Lansdale, and those north of Lansdale. The Reading ended passenger service south of Tabor Junction in 1893 when the Reading Terminal opened. SEPTA ended passenger service north Lansdale in 1981.

This listing includes all current and former stations on the historical route of Bethlehem Branch, including stations opened by SEPTA after the era of Reading ownership.

Name	Indicates the final or best known name for the station or stop
Distance	For stations north of Tabor Junction, the distance from Reading Terminal. For stations south of Tabor Junction, the distance from Front and Willow.
Opened	The date the station opened
Closed	The date the station closed
Notes	Additional information concerning name changes
‡	Stations that are closed
†	Stations that opened after the conveyance from the Reading

Name	Distance	Opened	Closed	Notes
Stations south of Tabor Junction
Front and Willow	0.0 miles (0 km)		1862	Also known as Cohoquinoque
Cohocksink			1867
Third and Berks	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	1867	1893	Also known as Chatham Street or Berks Street
Tioga	3.25 miles (5.23 km)
Fisher's Lane	5.0 miles (8.0 km)
Stations north of Tabor Junction
Fern Rock Transportation Center †	7.0 miles (11.3 km)	1992
Fern Rock	7.4 miles (11.9 km)		1992	Another station named Green Lane was located at this site
Oak Lane	8.1 miles (13.0 km)		1905	Moved to the current location of Melrose Park in 1905
Melrose Park	8.4 miles (13.5 km)			Formerly known as Oak Lane
Melrose	8.7 miles (14.0 km)		Prior to 1944	Formerly known as City Line
Elkins Park	9.2 miles (14.8 km)	1899
Ogontz	9.5 miles (15.3 km)		1899	Also known as Old York Road
Chelton Hills	10.2 miles (16.4 km)
Jenkintown–Wyncote	10.8 miles (17.4 km)	1859		Formerly known as Jenkintown, Cheltenham
Glenside	11.9 miles (19.2 km)			Formerly known as Tacony, later Abington
North Hills	13.0 miles (20.9 km)	1855		Formerly known as Edge Hill, North Glenside
Oreland	13.8 miles (22.2 km)
Fellwick	14.8 miles (23.8 km)	1855	1996	Formerly known as Camp Hill, Sandy Run, Sellwick, and possibly Whitemarsh
Fort Washington	15.9 miles (25.6 km)
Ambler	17.3 miles (27.8 km)	1855		Formerly known as Wissahickon
Penllyn	18.8 miles (30.3 km)
Gwynedd Valley	18.8 miles (30.3 km)	1855		Formerly known as Gwynedd
North Wales	22.4 miles (36.0 km)
Pennbrook	23.5 miles (37.8 km)
Lansdale	24.4 miles (39.3 km)
Orvilla	26.1 miles (42.0 km)
Hatfield	27.1 miles (43.6 km)		1981
Souderton	29.6 miles (47.6 km)		1981
Telford	30.9 miles (49.7 km)		1981
Sellersville	33.6 miles (54.1 km)		1981
Perkasie	35.0 miles (56.3 km)		1981
Rockhill	37.2 miles (59.9 km)
Quakertown	40.2 miles (64.7 km)		1981
Shelly	43.7 miles (70.3 km)
Coopersburg	45.8 miles (73.7 km)
Centre Valley	47.6 miles (76.6 km)		1981
Saucon	48.6 miles (78.2 km)
Bingen	50.5 miles (81.3 km)
Hellertown	52.6 miles (84.7 km)		1981
Bethlehem	56.5 miles (90.9 km)		1981

References

• Hare, Jay V. (1944). History of the North Pennsylvania Railroad. Philadelphia: Reading Company. OCLC 11885870.
• Interstate Commerce Commission (1931). "Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports". U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Spivak, Joel; Meyers, Allen (2010). Philadelphia Railroads. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-7339-7.