SEPTA Routes 101 and 102 also known as the
Media–Sharon Hill Line, are
light rail lines operated by the
Suburban Transit Division of the
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation
Authority.
The routes' eastern terminus is 69th Street
Terminal
in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
; Route 101 provides service to Media
, Route 102 to Sharon Hill
.
Along with
SEPTA Route 100, the
routes are the remaining lines of the Red Arrow trolley system once
operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company,
(successor to the
Philadelphia and Western
Railroad); some local residents still call them "the Red
Arrow."
Current system
The 101
and 102 run together on their exclusive right-of-way from Upper Darby to
Drexel Hill Junction
, where they diverge.
Route 101
continues on its own right-of-way traveling west and southwest
through Drexel
Hill
and Springfield with an important stop
at the Springfield Mall
before entering the street in Media.
The 101
has double tracks to Woodland Avenue, then a single track to just
before Pine Ridge
, then enters the street at Bowling
Green
in Media and runs on a single track the rest of the
way. Cars in the street must yield to the trolley.
Media is
the only suburban town in the United States
to have a trolley down the middle of its main
street. The line terminates in the middle of the street just
after the
Delaware County
Courthouse.
Route 102
runs southeast from Drexel Hill Junction through Drexel Hill and Clifton Heights
and then goes into the street in Aldan
. After Aldan, it returns to its own right-of-way, then passes
through Collingdale
before terminating at Chester Pike in Sharon Hill.
The 102
has double tracks until up to North
Street
in Collingdale, where the 102 returns to its own
right-of-way, and after North Street, there is a single track until
the end of the line.
Springfield Road
contains two stops along both lines. Route 101 stops at Springfield
Road in Springfield.
Route 102 line stops at Springfield Road in
Clifton
Heights, then joins this street until it moves onto
Woodlawn Avenue through Aldan.
History
Heavy steel interurban cars like this
ran on the Red Arrow until the 1970s.
There were also two other, now defunct, Red Arrow trolley lines.
The
direct ancestor of the SEPTA Route
104 bus line went to West Chester
, splitting off from the rest of the system right
after 69th Street
Terminal onto West Chester
Pike. The tracks continued all the way up West Chester
Pike. West Chester trolleys were replaced by buses in 1954 due to
widening of West Chester Pike; rush-hour trippers to Westgate Hills
lasted until 1958.
Tracks remained in use for access to the Red
Arrow's carbarn in Llanerch
until SEPTA closed the barn in 1971; all tracks
were soon removed except for a portion near 69th Street that SEPTA
occasionally uses to store out-of service trolleys.
The other
now-defunct Red Arrow trolley line went to Ardmore
until December 1966. It split from the West
Chester line at Llanerch and continued on its own exclusive
right-of-way. Much of the right-of-way still remains between
Schauffele Plaza in Ardmore (the former terminus of the line) and
Eagle Road in Havertown, although the tracks were removed and the
right-of-way paved for dedicated use by the replacement bus line,
now
SEPTA Route 103. The 103 still
uses this private right-of-way, although much of its other street
routing has changed.
Stations
Route 101 – Media
Route 101 LRV in Media
Off-road travel outside Media
Route 102 – Sharon Hill
Front of Route 102 LRV
Both routes
References
- The official name of the lines are simply "Route 101 and 102,"
as indicated by SEPTA's official map ( 102) and official schedule ( 101 102),
External links
(Fairfax Road)
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