A Norfolk Southern intermodal freight train on the Trenton Cutoff passes over SEPTA's dormant Fox Chase/Newtown Line in 2015
Overview
Status
Operational
Owner
Norfolk Southern
Locale
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Termini
Morrisville
Glenloch
Service
Type
Freight rail
System
Norfolk Southern
Operator(s)
Norfolk Southern
History
Opened
1892
Technical
Number of tracks
1
Track gauge
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map
The Trenton Cutoff (sometimes spelled Trenton Cut Off) is a 48-mile (77 km) rail corridor in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that runs from Morrisville to Glenloch. Today used by Norfolk Southern, it consists of two rail lines: the Morrisville Line, which runs between Morrisville and Ernest (near Norristown), and the Dale Secondary between Ernest and Glenloch.[citation needed]
The corridor was opened by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1892[1] to allow main line freight traffic to run between New York City and Harrisburg without passing through Philadelphia. The Trenton Cutoff goes through the suburbs north and west of the city.[2] The second track (the original westbound track) was removed by Conrail around 1992.[3]
A low-grade line (one with very gradual rises and descents), the Trenton Cutoff runs from Conrail Shared Assets Operations' Morrisville Yard on the Northeast Corridor to GLEN interlocking where it joins the Amtrak-owned Keystone Corridor (Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line). Between Morrisville and Ernest, the Trenton Cutoff has active freight service. At Ernest, the Trenton Cutoff connects with the SEPTA Manayunk/Norristown Line (former Reading Railroad), with a connection to Norfolk Southern's Harrisburg Line via a bridge over the Schuylkill River west of the Norristown Transportation Center. From Ernest west to GLEN interlocking, the Trenton Cutoff is a single track in dark (unsignaled) territory. As of 2014, it sees one freight per day, carrying Cleveland-Cliffs steel from Coatesville to Conshohocken.[citation needed]
Originally a two-tracked electrified rail line, the catenary wire over the tracks was dismantled by Conrail to provide greater overhead clearance for double-stack container trains.[citation needed] The high voltage transmission lines running along the Trenton Cutoff from Norristown, where the Trenton Cutoff crosses over the abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad Schuylkill Branch, to Glenloch are part of Amtrak's 25 Hz traction power system, used to power trains on the Northeast Corridor and the Keystone Corridor. For the most part, the line is grade-separated, except for two public grade crossings at Bustleton Pike and County Line Road and a private grade crossing in Fort Washington. The line closely parallels the Pennsylvania Turnpike through Montgomery County. One of PECO's power lines follows the line from Willow Grove to Langhorne.
The TrentonCutoff (sometimes spelled Trenton Cut Off) is a 48-mile (77 km) rail corridor in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that runs from Morrisville...
the TrentonCutoff, a rail corridor) Plymouth, PA Glenloch, PA The Dale Secondary is part of a rail corridor called the TrentonCutoff. The Trenton Cutoff...
with the TrentonCutoff. On March 26, 1884, the Kensington and Tacony Railroad was incorporated. From a connection with the Philadelphia & Trenton at Tioga...
example of this would be the TrentonCutoff, which saved significant travel time by bypassing the city of Philadelphia. Cutoffs are not necessarily built...
service between Enola Yard near Harrisburg and Morrisville Yard via the TrentonCutoff. During testing on the PRR, 60000 pulled a maximum of 7,700 tons. Following...
Branch Schuylkill River Bridgeport King Manor US 202 Penna Turnpike TrentonCutoff Hughes Park Gulph Mills Matsonford County Line Keystone Corridor (Main...
Memorial Bridge (US 202 N) Schuylkill River Bridge (I-276 / PA Turnpike) TrentonCutoff Bridge No. 25 Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (I-476) Fayette Street Bridge...
Jersey, and on major low-grade, through-freight lines, including the TrentonCutoff, the Atglen & Susquehanna, Port Road, Philadelphia & Thorndale, Shellpot...
cross all four of the mainline tracks to access their storage tracks. TrentonCutoff SMS Rail Lines Sunnyside Yard "Conrail Operations". Archived from the...
Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania, using the former PRR/Penn Central TrentonCutoff (now Norfolk Southern's Dale Secondary) used by the former PRR as a...
operates overnight freight service between the western junction of the TrentonCutoff (a former Penn Central electrified "through-freight" line) and just...
Harrisburg, PA; and on several electrified freight branches such as the TrentonCutoff (Morrisville-Glenloch, PA). CACV also owns or has constructed Maintenance...
(Rail bridge) Also used as private truck road TrentonCutoff rail bridge Norfolk Southern Railway TrentonCutoff Swedesburg and Black Horse 1915 40°06′10″N...
and the line opened by July 1906. When combined with the railroad's TrentonCutoff and Philadelphia & Thorndale Branch, the new line permitted the PRR...
SEPTA Regional Rail Airport Line, Wilmington/Newark Line, Media/Wawa Line, Trenton Line, and / or Chestnut Hill West Line trains. SLE: Served by Shore Line...
freight cutoff begun in 1907 from Morrisville, Pennsylvania, to Colonia, New Jersey. This was a continuation eastwards of the successful TrentonCutoff. Some...
service over it. The former New York Short Line became part of Conrail's Trenton Line, with SEPTA and Conrail sharing the track between Cheltenham Junction...
White Marsh (sic), near Fort Washington, where it connected with the TrentonCutoff. The branch was electrified by the Pennsylvania from 1924 to 1952, more...
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