I've been working on the route again, after a short vacation!
The Line from New Holland to Millcreek isn't the only line on the Riverland Lines route, there is also a tiny branch line... well, what's left of it anyway. I'm talking about the Easton Branch, Which once ran to Easton but the service was closed down in 1951 and the tracks got removed shortly after. The line is still there, Running to East Holland.
The branch is just a few miles long these days and on the end of it's life. The exploitation of the line is getting more expensive every year and the Bus service to Easton could easly take over the Streetcar's job . I'll give this branch maybe a year of 1 or 2 untill it's closed down completely.
RSS73.jpg
2 trains pass each other at the Bridge station. You can't see it here on the picture, but there is a big (road) bridge over the river near this station. This is the only station left on the branch where 2 trains can pass each other. Trains only pass each other at Rushours, when there is a bit higher frequent connection with East Holland. Normaly there is a hourly service, except between 11Am and 1PM. (there is no service at all between those hours)
RSS74.jpg
This is a place that's gonna be missed by Railfanners! The streetcar takes a small street run under the railway bridge, which sometimes gives some great shots! This is a dangerous intersection with road traffic and a lot of accident's happen here, due to the low visability because of the bridge. The Railroad Above is from the B&M, there is no passenger service anymore since 1953, only a couple of freight trains these days.
The streetcar is only allowed to drive with a speed of 5 mph over the road section. Everyone hopes this will be helping to lower the high amount of accident's that happen over there.
The stop before the Bridge is the 55th Street, which is a flagged stop. (all the stops, except for Bridge Station and East Holland are flagged on the route.)
The Easton Branch has the follwoing Stops on it's line:
-Lincoln Rd.
-Bridge Station
- 55th Street
-East Holland
In the past there where more stations:
-63th Street (East Holland)
-Main st. (Wellington, 1951)
-South (Wellington, 1951)
-Riverview (Wellington, 1950)
-Northville Rd. (Easton, 1950)
-26th Street (Easton, 1950)
-B&M exchange (Easton, 1939)
-Mainstreet (Easton, 1950)
-Easton NHT (1948)
The B&M exchange station was used T'ill 1939, when the NHER opened their own passenger terminal at the end of the Mainstreet that year in the hope for new customers. Too bad for the NHT, it didn't work that well. The B&M service to New Holland was less frequent, but faster than the NHER. The seccond world war gave passenger transportation a small boost for the NHER, but the first part of the Easton branch would be closed in 1948.
The line was shortened to the begin of Mainstreet in Easton and the NHER terminal got demolished. This would be the begin off the end for the line.
The NHER closed down the tracks from South Wellington to Easton Mainstreet in 1950 and bus services where deployed. The part between East Holland and Wellington couldn't be closed untill a year later, when the new bridge over the river was constructed.
The B&M stopped with passenger services between New Holland and Easton in 1953, just 2 years after the NHER did. The NHER became property of the New Holland Goverment in 1954, after the company went bankrupt due to mis management.
Due to this, plans to break up the last part from East Holland to New Holland was gone... But now returned since the NHT is losing money on it and the tracks are in a very bad shape. Everything should be replaced, but thats a way too high cost for the company.
So... That's it for the History of the Easton branch line at the Riverland Lines (well, atleast for now :P). I hope i won't scare anyone away from reading and sorry for my bad english... It's not my native language and making a story like this at 3 am probarly isn't the best thing to do either...
Cheers,
Bob
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