One of the more peculiar lines in Pennsylvania adapted as a heritage railroad is the western end of the former Pennsylvania Railroad branch to West Chester, Pa. This was among the routes electrified at 11 kV for Philadelphia suburban operations. It served in this capacity under SEPTA until 40 years ago, when commuter rail operations were suspended west of Elwyn, Pa., which remains the extent of present-day SEPTA operations on the line. Today, the West Chester Railroad offers diesel-powered excursions over the portion of the line extending east from West Chester to Glen Mills. Many of the catenary masts remain.

Kris and I traveled to West Chester, Pa., to ride the afternoon excursion and meet Aaron Isaacs, Heritage Rail Alliance editor, who has supplied a variety of vintage photographs for my book-in-progress on Railroad Interlocking Towers.

It was a bright, warm Sunday when we arrived in West Chester, with plenty of time to collect our prepaid tickets and make photographs of the inbound train. The passenger cars were former Reading Company electric multiple units. So, there we have it: an antique, Alco-designed, Canadian-built diesel-electric locomotive providing propulsion for formerly electric cars on a formerly electrified line.

The West Chester Railroad does a wonderful job of providing a heritage autumn excursion. En route, the narrator accurately explains the history of the line and the heritage of the old railroad cars.

We enjoyed the 15-mph amble through the forest to Glen Mills. The experience aboard the former Reading cars took me back to an earlier time, but I couldn’t help wondering what a weird world in which we wander. In another 40 years, for the entertainment of visitors, will battery-powered tractors tow the shells of early 21st-century, formerly gasoline-powered automobiles over a one-lane section of restored Interstate Highway?

Tracking the Light Ponders Past and Present!