This is the very first railfan photograph I ever shot. We're on the platform at the Reading's DeKalb Street station in Norristown, Pa. for a meet between trains of the two railroads that then served the town.

On the left, a Philadelphia-bound Penn Central freight has two former PRR GP9s, one of them still wearing its Pennsy keystones.

The train is on the former PRR Schuykill Valley branch, and is passing through the site of the old PRR Norristown passenger station. This depot was the outer end of the Pennsy's Norristown commuter line until the service was discontinued in 1960.

On the right, a Reading Company commuter run is just arriving at Dekalb Street on its run up from Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. The train has a set of the Reading's 1931-vintage EMUs built for the then newly-electrified commuter service.

Since I shot this photo in 1970, the PRR branch has completely disappeared and its right-of-way used for the popular Schuylkill Valley hiking and biking trail.

The Reading depot is still there, and serves as the main Norristown stop for SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown line. This was also the Norristown stop for the Reading's main line passenger service to and from Reading and other nearby towns.

SEPTA operates the Norristown Transit Center on the site of the old PRR depot, which connects the regional rail line with the Route 100 high-speed interurban line, the former Philadelphia & Western railroad. Both lines connect with a network of SEPTA buses here.

Photographed by Thomas McCann, June 5, 1970.
Added to the photo archive by Thomas McCann, June 9, 2010.
Railroad: Reading.

Thomas McCann's awards:

» Contact the person who posted this photograph.