Wilmington and Northern

I grew up in Pocopson on the Reading's Wilmington and Northern Branch. Does anyone know what the staus is of that line? When I was there a couple of years ago, it looked like it was still being used. Saw a couple of restored Reading units in Pocopson along with a couple of cabooses. Also saw an old coach behind Lenape Forge and if I remember right, I also saw the old switch engine that the Octoraro Railroad used years ago. When I was a kid the Reading engineers would let me ride in the cab when they were switching cars onto the siding.

The line from Elsmere Junction to Modena is being operated by East Penn Railways, Modena to Coatesville by the Brandywine Valley Railway, and a few miles at the north end by Haines & Kibblehouse. The cabooses are still there at Pocopson, but the Reading FP-7s are on loan to the RR Museum of Pennsylvania. EPRY seems to have been shifting around a lot of the derelict equipment on their sidings this spring; Lenape siding has been cleared out, and the ex-Octoraro SW-1 and a former Brandywine Scenic Railway caboose are now stored on the mushroom farm siding at Rosedale, on the Octoraro line.

Does the Brandywine Valley Railway do much business?

All of the cabooses that used to site in Pocopson are now moved. If you want to to see them, they are at the end of the line on the Octoraro Line just behind Herrs. As for the Pocopson area, that siding is being completely rebuilt and will be made into a run around track. Also just further up the line, they are going to be putting in another 4000' run around there as well. Most of it will be used shifting cars as there is a new ethanol facility along the Octoraro line that will be changing out 10 cars a day, 5 days a week. To add some more, Herrs will be increasing production, Hyponex (a fertilizing company) will be build a spur to their facility, and a rumor so far, is Lowe's is going to building a distribution center some where along the Octoraro line. So there is going to be a lot of rail traffic going up and down the W&N to service all of that.

Using Live Search, you can see all the equipment that was stored at the Pocopson siding. The two F units can be seen which are now at the RR Museum of PA.

Just north of there is a passenger car stored on a siding. That must be Lenape Forge.

If the ethanol plant and the fertilizer plant are on the Octoraro branch, then why the run arounds on the W&N?

BTW, when I was a kid our post office was in Pocopson station. It was run by a crusty old railroad guy named Mr Meyers.The post office was run out of the ticket agent's office. Everything in the building was original. There was a room off of the main waiting room that he kept locked up, but let me into a few times. It had a huge o guage layout. Cool old place. There used to be two siding tracks across from the station. There was only one on the other side of 926, for the lumber'hardware store and then there was a siding for coal on the oppposite side.


Win

Also, the siding north of there is for Lenape Forge. I'm not sure if it's still there, but in the 70's they built a siding that went to a concrete loading dock inside the fence at the south end of the plant. The Ocoraro switcher was stored on the main line right there. I remember they kept it running 24/7 until someone stole it one night and took it for a joy ride.

On another note. I can just barely remember Lenape station. It sat on the north side of the road across from the Forge. From what I can remember, there used to be a good deal of passenger traffic at one time to go to Lenape Park and there was a huge dance hall that sat right on the Brandywine next to the station. I think they tore down the station in the 60's.

chefwrg wrote:If the ethanol plant and the fertilizer plant are on the Octoraro branch, then why the run arounds on the W&N?
Win

There isn't a way for the train to get to other end of the train when they come out of Wilmington. Also, if you look at current maps where the two lines met, you can see that they both join up facing north. They could shove them down the line into Kennett Square, but that would be a 6 mile ride on the end of the cars.

I could have sworn there was a connection south from the west side of the diamond going around that big red building......but then again it's been 25 years since I have seen it. Has there been any talk of rebuilding the line from Chadds Ford east for commuter rail? I remember the old Wawa and Concodville Railroad, but I think that's the last thing that was on that line. If I recall there was a severe washout between Rte 322 and Rte 1.




Win

As of right now there are no plans for commuter service on the line. But with the way the area around the Octoraro Line has built up over the past few years, and gas prices, It might happen. All I know is the current owners are more focused on the freight end and also rebuilding the line. All Those years of neglect from SEPTA has them very busy rebuilding it.

Robert, do they run any excursions on the Wilmington and Northern or the Octoraro line? Although I'm thinking the tracks probably aren't in the best of shape....



Win

As of right now, the East Penn Railroad has no interest in it right now, I'm not saying that they wont wont in the future, but they are more focused on the freight end. I did hear a rumor ( just a rumor, nothing fact) that the Wilmington & Western Railroad would like to run an excursion from their place to Strasburg.

As for the track conditions, they have been doing some major rebuilding on both of the lines. I know for the Octoraro line, they have put in something like over 150,000 new ties.

The Wilmington Northern Branch was built in 1868 as the Wilmington and Brandywine Railroad. The Reading Company obtained control of it in 1898 and it became the Wilmington and Northern Branch. The W&N is almost entirely curved as it follows its route along streams and rivers from Reading, PA to Wilmington, DE. The W&N is known for serving steel mills at Reading, Birdsboro and Coatesville. There were numerous smaller industries along the way, including coal dumps, paper mills, scrap yards and quarries. In the Wilmington area was the DuPont Company. The W&N crossed the PRR five times between Birdsboro and Wilmington, with four interchanges. At Wilmington it interchanged with the B&O. The W&N was one of the last refuges of camelback engines and later regular steam power on the Reading. There were helper grades in both directions on either side of Coatesville, which is about the mid-point of the 70 mile branch.Hurricane Agnes damaged the northern end of the branch between Birdsboro and Coatesville in 1972 and that portion was abandoned. From Coatesville to Wilmington is still operated by the Brandywine Valley Railroad.

The Brandywine Valley Railroad no longer operates the line or owns the line from Coatsville to Wilmington. The only part that they still own is just the line that runs through the steel mill to the interchange with NS. The rest of the line is owned and operated by East Penn Railroad

Does anyone recall when Passenger service was dropped. I have to say that the Cosssart station is one of the coolest on this line.