Trolley Archaeology
Montgomery County Rapid Transit Company
a.k.a. Skippack & Perkiomen Transit Company
Worcester Township, PA (1902 - 1925)
Trolley Archaeology
Montgomery County Rapid Transit Company
a.k.a. Skippack & Perkiomen Transit Company
Worcester Township, PA (1902 - 1925)
The extensive web
of trolley lines that connected the countryside in the early 20th century, has
left its mark on the landscape, if you know where to look.
Bridge abutments, occasional buildings, and earthwork rights-of-way are among the mute evidence left by the abandoned trolley lines. As suburban sprawl develops the roadsides, more of this evidence is lost with each passing year (or with each passing week, or so it seems).
Infrastructure of the long-abandoned Montgomery County Rapid Transit Company remains, in several places in Worcester Township, Pennsylvania. Most rural trolley lines didn't last through the 1930s. This trolley line didn't even survive that long, having been being abandoned in 1925.
In spite of the eight decades that have passed, three locations stand out. Each is easily visible from busy highways.
Click on the red pointers on the map, to view photos at those locations.
The locations shown in the map are:
History
The Montgomery County Rapid Transit Company was somewhat late in starting trolley service, with trolleys to Worcester finally running in 1907. Called the "Wogglebug" by locals, it was never a particularly successful trolley line, in part because the line was never completed. Intended to link Norristown with Souderton, the tracks were only constructed as far as Harleysville. The small towns of Center Point, Skippack and Lederach were simply not populous enough to generate sufficient traffic to make the line profitable. The last trolley car ran on June 7, 1925.
This 1923 schedule shows that by
that time, the name had been changed to Skippack & Perkiomen Transit Company.
Less than a dozen round trips were scheduled over the line on weekdays. Click
on the schedules to see larger views.
Remnants
Click on these recent (2004) photos for larger views:
In Fairview Village:
In Center Point (Worcester):
In Evansburg State Park (east of Skippack):
Conclusion
As development continues to pour more and more automobiles onto suburban roads, traffic congestion wastes more of our time. If we live in or near Worcester, chances are we get around in our cars. There's simply no choice. The better quality-of-life alternative of leaving the car at home (or parked at a station) and riding the trolley to work or school or shopping just doesn't exist. Any more.
Seeing these concrete remnants of a long-lost trolley system might remind us of the choices we've lost.
--Mike Szilagyi
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