12-06-29 PHOTOS: Farewell II the Silverliner II III

Well we return to our regular programming with the final Farewell II the Silverliner II fantrip and I say Fantrip because that is effectively what it was despite taking place on a mostly revenue train. On June 29th the one remaining Silverliner II, Reading car 9010 and one remaining Silverliner III, Airport car #235, were to make their final runs on the Cynwyd Branch before leaving service due to an expiring ADA waiver concerning their lack of PA systems. While I had originally not intended to come up for the final ride, the day before it dawned on me that I was literally never going to get another chance to ride these cars (although that wasn't quite true) and there was no reason not to go. My decision to attend was influenced by the announcement that instead of stranding any "last riders" at Cynwyd, we would be allowed to return to Center City on what would normally be a deadhead move directly into Powlerton Yard. So I paid $150 for next day Amtrak tickets (two to three times the standard cost of an "official" charter trip I might add) and arrived in time to take two final day round trips on the old cars, the penultimate and ultimate.

You can see all the photos from this trip here and also stay tuned for a special video post to follow behind this one.

I arrived at Suburban Station in time for the third to last round trip, Train 1084, to arrive on track #5 at Suburban Station.


The Reading car #9010, sill sporting its original class designation on the door, was located on the west end of the train.

PC car #235 was on the east end.

235's lefthand cab.

9010's standard cab.

9010 was in a good mood as always.

Chuchubob and friends on board early, beating the rush.

Non-riding Railfans greet the penultimate train at Bala.

Penultimate outbound trip discharges at Cynwyd. 

Due to platform work at Cynwyd the train crew was prevented by a barricade from going to the end of the wire (or Ivy Ridge) for a additional photo stops.

Silverliner III #235 from behind.

Railfans getting in their final shots on the trip that would actually have descent light.

Renown SEPTA wire train operator Vince hanging out by the doors with the CP-CYN signal, still down a bulb, displaying clear in the background.

#235 ready to return to Center City.

#235 poses with the #63 automatic signal.

#235 and 9010 sitting under the overpass at Cynwyd.

Back at Suburban with the crowd forming for the final run.

Won't see these signs on a Silverliner V.

Chuchubob and Kevin Painter in their seats for the final ride. Throughout all four trips the crew never bothered to lift tickets, which was nice as that offset my Amtrak expenditures, although had they it would have provided an interesting bump in Cynwyd Line ridership XD

The only media on the ultimate run was a reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer that interviewed both Kevin Painter and Phil Nasadowski. Here he gets some B roll material out the front of the train.

#235 full of railfans in the plush Airport seats as the train makes its final revenue run to Cynwyd.

 I actually found this informal fantrip to be a lot better than the formal one back in May because the railfan crew meant that we could take photos and videos in the rear vestibule and out the side windows as well. These shots were taken as our train makes its runal revenue run on the Cynwyd branch.



The last passengers discharged at Cynwyd.

As a surprise extra special bonus the deadhead last ride "fantrip" continued on beyond 30th St to Market East where another extended photo stop was arranged. Here #235 poses next to a brand new train of Silverliner V's.

Railfans get in their parting shots on track #2 at Market East.

There was one more surprise last ride as the train moved back to 30th Street before going out of service into Powlerton yard. The day and the era of Budd and St. Louis Car Company MU's on the Philly suburban rail network ended at 9:08PM, June 29th, 2012.

 Well that's it for Silverliner II's. Make sure you check out the Video post.