Norristown-Rt. 100 Line

I haven't heard that, well read, the P&W in probably 45 years. I rode that line to and from 69th Street, and the El to 52nd St going to West Catholic everyday back in the 50's, until one of my pals got a car. My class at West just had a 50th Reunion that I could not make. I am geting email reports though. We also referred to the venerable Philadelphia and Western Railway to the P--s and Whistle!
My first after schol was a soda jerk at the ole Pie Shop on Villnova Campus. My Aunt Mary was the cashier for years, and got me the job. It was a trip down menory lane reading the description of the curve after the Big V stop. there was a time I knew all those curves too!
Oh, I boarded the train at Bridgeport where you had to climb umptyump steps to get up to the car platform, a rare treat in the winter if they had not de-iced the stairs. I would be hard pressed to make that same climb today!

For any Big V types that might remember the Pie Shop in the 50's, you probably would know Aunt Mary as Mrs. Andes. She also taught me to pack the ice cream in the cups real tight so you got a lot more!

Head-end View wrote:I was surprised to see that lunar-white is used (instead of green) for the proceed signal on both MFL and Route 100. But I was even more amazed to see that on the Norristown Line, a lunar-white light is also used as the "station-stop" signal (!) along with a small sign with the letter "P" below the signal head. Did I miss something here? It seems dangerous to have the same (or almost the same) signal mean two different things, depending on where it's used. Shouldn't a "stop" signal be distinctly different from a "proceed" signal. Can you guys who know that area enlighten me about this?

I would speculate that since the red light is still the stop signal, there isn't really any confusion. The "station-stop" signal never shows red or any color other than white.

I'm not sure if cab signals are used on the P&W, but I do know they're used on the MFL.

I drive under the P&W bridges between Villanova and Radnor and what I'm concerned about is how rusty the bridges are. You don't see it when you're riding over them, but when you drive under them, you're very conscious of the peeling paint and rust.

Lucius Kwok wrote:I'm not sure if cab signals are used on the P&W, but I do know they're used on the MFL.

I drive under the P&W bridges between Villanova and Radnor and what I'm concerned about is how rusty the bridges are. You don't see it when you're riding over them, but when you drive under them, you're very conscious of the peeling paint and rust.

The N-5s have max-speed indicators in cab, but I don't know if those are strictly wired to the track, or if they get information from the signaling system as well.

I did safety inspections on most of the P&W bridges up the Montgomery Ave. corridor last summer. I think they tended to be in pretty good shape, with only a few minor cracks in the abutments and a little bit of peeling paint. I certainly saw worse.

Wow, I'm glad I took my trip to Phila. last week and not this week! That's all I would have needed; to come to town to ride the Route 100 line and find out the whole system is on strike. Guess I lucked out this time.

On the 101 and 102, some flag stop stations have a white light for passengers to use to flag down a trolley. Is this the white light you are referring to on the P&W 100?

yes

When I rode the 100 last March, we didn't stop at the first few stops after 69th street like Parkview. I am amazed at the operations of the line. I'm thinking about revisiting that but this time getting off at stations for photos. No one really gives you a hard time for fanning there.

It's really neat to be flying down the tracks at 60 mph in the evening when there are few passengers and they don't have to stop at every station. It's also great to know that if you were to drive the same route you'd be doing an average of 20 mph since it's all local roads.

Lucius Kwok wrote:It's really neat to be flying down the tracks at 60 mph in the evening when there are few passengers and they don't have to stop at every station.

It was even neater to be flying down the tracks approaching 90 mph in the evening on a Brill Bullet.

Lucius Kwok wrote:It's really neat to be flying down the tracks at 60 mph in the evening when there are few passengers and they don't have to stop at every station. It's also great to know that if you were to drive the same route you'd be doing an average of 20 mph since it's all local roads.

If you get the right operator, you can easily fly down the P&W at 70-80MPH even with the N5s

Some nights if you catch the last train out at about 1:30 in the morning, the motorman will just ask where you're going when you get on. Usually goes flat out till Ardmore Junction, where someone almost always gets out. I hear them flying along Haverford Road at night, shifting cars to Norristown for the morning rush. Still do miss the Bullets though.

I see that you live in Ardmore also. I always take the 100 from Ardmore Junction. I'm around Spring Ave and Edgemont. Ever go to McCloskey's or John Henry's ?(Formerly Annie's)

Those N5s can really fly. They probably go a lot faster between its stations than Septa commuter trains do a few blocks away. Next time I take the 100, I will make a couple of photo stops.