The Philadelphia Chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society

Established in 1936

During the SEPTA Railworks maintenance project in the summers of 1992 and 1993, the Reading side of the system from Wayne Junction to Market East was shut down, with passengers using the new Fern Rock Broad Street Subway station to connect with Center City. The trains operating on the former Pennsylvania side continued as normal. The original plan was to have all service suspended on the Fox Chase and Norristown Branches, which connect to the main line below Fern Rock. This led to an outcry for some kind of substitute diesel service into Center City, but SEPTA only had a handful of diesel engines for maintenance service, and only two had HEP (head end power) needed to provide power for passenger coaches.

The first summer SEPTA used its two HEP-equipped RL1 diesels for a pair of trains on the Fox Chase Branch, which had no electrified service at all. The next summer they borrowed three NJT U34CH diesels (in exchange for a pair of AEM-7's) for use on the West Trenton and Lansdale/Doylestown Branches, one train each morning and evening. While the morning train originated in Doylestown, the evening train terminated in Lansdale (West Trenton trains operated to and from there). Even though only on short term lease, SEPTA painted one of the engines, 4154, in a blue scheme similar to its new RL1's, while the other two remained in NJT and Erie Lackawanna colors.

All pictures September 1993 and November 2006 Copyright © 2006 John P. Almeida

Photographs for personal use only. All rights reserved by original owner of image. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without express written permission is prohibited.