Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
RIDING THE RAILS IN WEST CHESTER
The romance of the rails is alive and well in West Chester. Trains hum along, with that distinctive clickety-clack of steel rails, for a 15-mile roundtrip journey between West Chester and Glen Mills.
Top speed is only 20 miles per hour on these volunteer-run trains which are owned and operated by the nonprofit West Chester Railroad Heritage Association.
Ron Stevens serves boxed lunches that passengers enjoy during a break at the halfway point of the 90-minute Summer Picnic Special Run.
Stevens is vice president of the heritage association and loves the toot of the whistle. He talked about the impact of trains. “Everything is so much go, go, go,” he said. “I can sit down and relax. It’s time to wind down.
“I get to share that with others who enjoy that same thing and pass that good time along.”
Seventeen-year-old Chris Currao volunteers as a trackman. The West Chester East High School senior fell in love with trains through “Thomas the Tank Engine.”
Currao is thrilled by the size, the power a single locomotive can have, and the smell.
“It still stirs up every childhood memory,” Currao said.
Larry Jenson is a road foreman. He spoke about why he’s captivated by trains.
“Once it gets in your blood it’s always there,” he said. “It’s the nostalgia of it.”
Joe Wilton serves as conductor. Contrary to a popular misconception, it’s the conductor, and not the engineer, who is in charge.
Wilton fell in love with trains as a child.
“Some of us like to play with full-sized trains,” he said, with a smile.
Like everyone involved with the West Chester tourist railroad, engineer Kevin Knobl enjoys showing off the trains to kids.
“They light up, especially kids who are into trains, when I bring them up into the cab and show them around,” the engineer said.
For most of the ride, diesel trains roll along beside scenic Chester Creek, and mostly open space, with several controlled road crossings. The ride allows a peek into the almost gone, non-developed, Chester County.
You’ll see the Wiggins Christmas Tree Farm and you can even take a holiday ride to nab a tree via train.
The old “blueline” cars pass by Westtown Station, which is now an art gallery, Cheyney Station and Locksley Station. You can disembark at Glen Mills Station to check out a cool museum.
It was once possible to ride from West Chester to Philadelphia, with a change of trains in Media. I took the ride to Center City during the late ‘70s.
Conductor Wilton talked about why the West Chester trains no longer serve commuters.
He said that the rail bed only carries a single track, forcing a limited schedule since trains may only run in one direction at a time. He also said there was a lack of ridership and too few parking spaces.
Efforts are underway to re-establish SEPTA train service from the borough and into the city. How wonderful would that be?
Volunteers regularly work on maintenance and upkeep of rails that are 39 feet long, with ties that are generally 22 inches apart. Before leaving the West Chester Station, we waited for track inspectors looking for downed trees and other obstructions.
“There are all sorts of things that people don’t see,” Wilton said about behind-the-scenes work.
Wilton said it’s illegal and dangerous to walk along the tracks. He told the engineer several times at road crossings to “give me some noise,” – to sound the whistle — when people, and even deer, were too close.
The ConRail tracks now belong to SEPTA and once served the old Pennsylvania Railroad Central Division on the West Chester and Phoenixville Branch.
The engine, number 7706, an EMD GP 38, that tugged and pushed the 1930s passenger cars with 79 “souls aboard,” on a recent brilliant Sunday afternoon, weighs 120 tons. The passenger cars on this “tourist train” weigh in at 70 tons each.
It’s all aboard, for a scenic ride through Chester County countryside, while serenaded by the regular toot of the whistle. Keep on rollin’. The Sunday at noon Summer Picnic Special started this year in early June and runs through Sept. 17. The cost is $15 for adults.
Prices vary on the yearround train rides, including the most popular tours with Santa at Christmas. There’s also a fall foliage tour and a great pumpkin express.
The association celebrates Easter, Memorial Day and most all holidays with special runs. The train leaves from 230 E. Market St. in West Chester. Go to www.westchesterrr.com to book a ticket and for more information.