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29-766: Originally known as the Fox Chase/Newtown Branch , service was truncated in January 1983 from Newtown to its current terminus in Philadelphia at Fox Chase . Plans to restore service beyond Fox Chase remained on SEPTA's Capital Program until 2009. The rail bed between Fox Chase and Southampton has been converted to rail trail usage. Most of what is now the Fox Chase Branch was built by the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad between 1876 and 1878. Initially, it

58-487: A mayor (Kenneth Schauder) and borough council. The borough is part of the Fourth Congressional District (represented by Rep. Madeleine Dean ), the 152nd State House District (represented by Rep. Nancy Guenst ) and the 12th State Senate District (represented by Sen. Maria Collett ). The Bryn Athyn Historic District , a National Historic Landmark District , includes four historic buildings: Bryn Athyn

87-468: A bus service as a suitable replacement for a rail service. In the ensuing years, there has been interest in resuming passenger service by Bucks County officials. Neighboring Montgomery County officials are supportive of re-thinking the rail corridor as well, though the belief within SEPTA management is that the section through Lorimer Park and Walnut Hill Station (the only sparsely populated section along

116-537: A century later, a similar incident occurred involving a car, tank truck, and train. Between 1984 and 2010 the route was designated R8 Fox Chase as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. Fox Chase trains operated through the city center to the Chestnut Hill West Line . Plans had called for the Fox Chase Line to be paired with a Bryn Mawr local and designated R4 , but this depended on

145-415: A household in the borough was $ 68,646, and the median income for a family was $ 76,214. Males had a median income of $ 48,958 versus $ 35,000 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $ 32,737. About 2.4% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over. Bryn Athyn has a city manager form of government with

174-872: A never-built connection from the Chestnut Hill West Line to the ex-Reading near Wayne Junction. As of 2022, most Fox Chase Line trains continue through Center City to the Airport Line on weekdays and the Media/Wawa Line on weekends. Under the Reading Company Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) operated through from the Reading Terminal in downtown Philadelphia to Newtown. The Reading extended electrification to Fox Chase in 1966; limited diesel shuttles from Fox Chase to Newtown continued. SEPTA suspended these shuttles on July 1, 1981, as part of

203-453: A possible resumption, SEPTA performed extensive track upgrades in 1984. Street crossings in Newtown and Southampton received brand new welded rail, which were secured using sturdy Pandrol clips vs. traditional rail spikes . Though not promoted, this work was done in order to comply with a federal grant. By March 1985, SEPTA gave into political pressure and made a concerted effort to integrate

232-687: A systemwide discontinuation of non-electrified service. The shuttles returned on October 5 as the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line . The operation of the line was troubled: the RDCs were in poor mechanical condition, SEPTA's decision to use transit division employees from the Broad Street Subway caused labor issues, and ridership was low. SEPTA suspended service again on January 18, 1983. Since 1983, there has been interest from Bucks County passengers in resuming service to Newtown. In anticipation of

261-463: Is Welsh for "hill"; the source of "athyn" is unclear. Bryn Athyn is located 60.1 miles (96.7 km) southeast of Allentown and 19.9 miles (32.0 km) north of Philadelphia . According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the borough has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km ), all land. As of the 2010 census, Bryn Athyn was 92.5% White, 2.7% Black or African American, 2.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian, and 1.8% were two or more races. 1.2% of

290-469: Is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County , Pennsylvania . It was formerly a borough, and its official name remains "Borough of Bryn Athyn". The population was 1,375 at the 2010 census. It was formed for religious reasons from Moreland Township on February 8, 1916. Bryn Athyn is surrounded by Lower Moreland Township. "Bryn Athyn" was intended to mean "Hill of Unity" by its founders. "Bryn"

319-877: Is also the site of the General Church affiliated Academy of the New Church, which is the parent organization of the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools , Bryn Athyn College , a divinity school , and the Swedenborg Library (which was named in honor of Emanuel Swedenborg , whose writings constitute the doctrine of the New Church). As of 2006 there were 7.86 miles (12.65 km) of public roads in Bryn Athyn, of which 0.87 miles (1.40 km) were maintained by

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348-562: The COVID-19 pandemic : Newtown (SEPTA station) Newtown Station is a defunct railroad station in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania . Built by the Reading Railroad , it later served SEPTA Regional Rail 's Fox Chase/Newtown Line . SEPTA closed the station in 1983. Reading Railroad built the station in 1873 as the terminus of its line. In the railroad's original plans, the line

377-524: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 6.99 miles (11.25 km) were maintained by the borough. The only numbered highway serving Bryn Athyn is Pennsylvania Route 232 , which follows Huntingdon Pike on a north-south route through the borough. Byberry Road, the only other road of significance, passes along the northern and northeastern edges of the borough. Bryn Athyn had commuter train service until January 14, 1983. Service

406-603: The Pennypack Trail over the derelict rail bed. SEPTA operates the Route 24 bus, a bus that goes from Frankford Transportation Center in Northeast Philadelphia to Southampton. The Route 24 bus goes along Huntingdon Pike while in Bryn Athyn. On December 5, 1921, two Reading Railroad passenger steam trains collided head-on on a blind curve. The impact sent red-hot coals flying forward from each engine, raining down on

435-552: The Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line. SEPTA insisted on utilizing transit operators from the Broad Street Subway as a cost-saving factor, while Conrail requested that railroad engineers run the service. This was a result of a labor dispute that began when SEPTA inherited approximately 1,700 displaced employees from Conrail . When a federal court ruled that SEPTA had to use Conrail employees in order to offer job assurance, SEPTA cancelled Fox Chase-Newtown trains. Service in

464-475: The diesel-only territory north of Fox Chase was cancelled at that time, and the Newtown station still appears in publicly posted tariffs . Although rail service was initially replaced with a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus , patronage remained light, and the Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus service ended in 1999. The Newtown station shelter was torn down in 2004. Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania Bryn Athyn

493-548: The following station stops after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection . Stations indicated in gray background are closed. Although SEPTA suspended service to all stations north of Fox Chase in 1983 and has since converted most of the northern portion of the line to a rail trail, it continues to list those stations in its public tariff. Yearly ridership on the Fox Chase Line between FY 2013–FY 2019 remained steady around 1.2-1.4 million before collapsing during

522-427: The late 1970s. Both Bucks and Montgomery County officials, as well as state representatives, have been receptive to PA-TEC's efforts, despite SEPTA's overall reservations. However, SEPTA has also confirmed that they are indeed open to revisiting the line if there is strong political support in both counties. All plans for resuming the train service were dropped in 2014 when Montgomery County officials decided to extend

551-624: The line within Montgomery County have been converted into a rail trail . By 2015, the Pennypack Trail extended 5.4 miles (8.7 km) along the former line between Rockledge and Byberry Road near Bryn Athyn . Additional trackage was in Southampton was dismantled in October 2018, though several townships along the line are still hoping for resumption of rail service to alleviate traffic congestion on local roads and highways. Fox Chase trains make

580-413: The non-electrified Fox Chase-Newtown line into the rest of its all-electrified commuter system. A $ 10 million plan to restore service to Newtown and Pottstown using British Rail-Leyland diesel railbuses was considered, with a test run reaching Newtown on September 3. Though the trial runs were relatively successful, ride quality was lackluster. Burdened with ongoing budgetary problems, SEPTA decided against

609-566: The population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry [1] . As of the census of 2000, there were 1,351 individuals, 377 households, and 292 families residing in the borough. The population density was 706.5 inhabitants per square mile (272.8/km ). There were 381 housing units at an average density of 199.3 per square mile (77.0/km ). The racial makeup of the borough was 96.82% White , 1.04% African American , 0.07% Native American , 1.26% Asian , 0.22% from other races , and 0.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of

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638-467: The population. 17.9% were of German , 15.5% English , 11.8% American , 6.7% Scottish and 6.6% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000 . There were 377 households, out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.4% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who

667-465: The purchase of the railbuses. In March 1987, SEPTA received several bids from private operators interested in running diesel-hauled trains to Newtown (as well as between Norristown and Pottstown). The operators suggested using non-union workers, which SEPTA was against. In addition, funding for these operations was allegedly questionable, and the SEPTA board rejected all offers. Beginning in 2009, portions on

696-502: The railway) will never generate enough riders to be feasible. In September 2009, the Southampton -based Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC) began discussions with township officials along the railway, as well as SEPTA officials, about the realistic possibility of resuming even minimal passenger service to relieve traffic congestion in the region. Plans call for completing the electrification to Newtown, as originally planned in

725-421: The wooden passenger cars of the oncoming train. Twenty-seven people were killed and some 70 injured. Most of those killed had burned to death, in part because the wooden cars had burned so quickly and also because of the inability of rescue workers to get access to the trains, which were wedged between the rock walls of a cut through hilly and wooded terrain without road access for fire equipment. The incident led to

754-452: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21 and the average family size was 3.76. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 30.2% under the age of 18, 13.8% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males. The median income for

783-766: Was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, but the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad leased it in 1879. Under the Reading it was known as the Newtown Branch. Following the Reading's final bankruptcy in 1976 the branch was conveyed to SEPTA ; Conrail operated services under contract until 1983 when SEPTA took full control. During the Reading Company era, an accident on the line in Bryn Athyn occurred where two steam trains collided head on with each other. Almost

812-438: Was suspended due to failing train equipment resulting in a lack of ridership. As of 2017, the train station is used as the Bryn Athyn post office. Though rail service was initially replaced with a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus, patronage remained light. The replacement bus service was far slower and less convenient than the train service it replaced, resulting in the shuttle bus being very unpopular. The travelling public never saw

841-434: Was to continue to the north, but this expansion was never built. The building was torn down in 1960, and a new shelter was constructed in 1976. It later became a part of SEPTA 's Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line . The station, and all of those north of Fox Chase station , was closed on January 18, 1983, due to failing diesel train equipment . SEPTA experimented with the line by operating the Fox Chase-Newtown diesel segment as

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