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Norristown's service was provided by two systems: the Schuylkill Valley Transit Company, which ended trolley service in 1933, and the Lehigh Valley Transit Company, whose Liberty Bell Route served the borough from 1912 through 1951.

The Lehigh Valley Transit Company provided trolley service from Philadelphia, through Norristown to Allentown, PA from 1912 to September of 1951. Riders boarded Liberty Bell cars at the P&W Railway's elevated station at Main and Swede Streets. LVT trolleys bound for Philadelphia operated over the the P&W (now Route 100) high-speed line to Upper Darby, where patrons transferred to Market Frankford El trains. LVT trolleys bound for points north followed tracks on Airy and Markley Streets in Norristown, to just north of Johnson Highway and Swede Road, where they curved off to the right to run on high-speed right-of-way. The Liberty Bell followed this pattern through Lansdale, Souderton, Sellersville, Quakertown, and Allentown: it ran like a local streetcar through the towns, and like a high-speed railroad between towns.

In this February 1949 view, a northbound Liberty Bell Limited trolley curves from high-speed right-of-way to run up the shoulder of Dekalb Pike (U.S. 202) just north of Germantown Pike in East Norriton Township. Trolleys ran both directions on one track, on the side of the road, in all weather, and at night. By the late 1940's, early 1950's, deferred maintenance meant that the rails were often hidden by grass, mowed only by the frequent passage of both passenger and freight trolleys. No, that's not a breakdown lane, that headlight is an oncoming high-speed trolley, coming up the wrong side of the road. Imagine today's suburban traffic having to contend with that. Today, this location is known as Bunky's Corner, and a McDonald's occupies the ground to the right side of the photo.

This February 1951 photo finds LVT no. 1008 in Norristown, turning from southbound Markley Street to eastbound Airy Street, photographed from a vantage point under the Airy Street bridge. The shabby building to the right was LVT's freight station at Rink Siding. This is where Liberty Bell Limited cars were turned around for the return trip to Allentown. Today Rink Siding is a parking lot. In the early 1990's the Markley Street bridge over Stony Creek (just behind the trolley in the photo) partially collapsed into the creek below, and has been replaced by a temporary, military-style truss bridge. The reconstruction of all of Markley Street through the borough of Norristown is currently a point of contention between the borough and state highway officials. One reason for the rough condition of the street is the Liberty Bell route's old wooden railroad ties, now rotting under the pavement.

Liberty Bell Limited service in the 1940's and 50's was provided by twelve high-speed cars originally built in 1930 for the Cincinatti and Lake Erie Railroad in Ohio, and one similar car built for the Indiana Railroad. These cars were mechanically identical to the Philadelphia & Western's Bullet Cars, but with more conventional carbodies. In Ohio they were dubbed "Red Devils," and like the Bullets, they were capable of speed approaching 100 mph. They shared the Liberty Bell line with older, railroad-style passenger cars, several types of newer suburban trolleys, and two- and three-car freight trains consisting of rebuilt passenger trolleys.
Liberty Bell's ex-Indiana Railroad no. 1030 at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. 1979 Photo © Mike Szilagyi

Only one of the Libery Bell's high-speed line cars were saved. In 1952, the ex-Indiana Railroad no. 1030 was taken to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. This car was fitted as a deluxe "chair car." This is not the sort of interior one finds on a SEPTA bus.
Liberty Bell Limited car 1030. September 7, 1979 photo © Mike Szilagyi

Since the abandonment of the Liberty Bell happened relatively recently, there are many places where the right-of-way is still visible. Philadelphia Electric owns some of it, such as the line from Swede Road and Johnson Highway north to Germantown Pike, behind Hechinger's. The old substation at Township Line Road and 202 survives. More right-of-way on the west side of 202, extending across Skippack Pike and then on up to Lansdale is visible. While that right-of-way will probably never see commuter service restored, the nearby Stony Creek railroad just might.