The West Chester Railroad operates 90-minute round-trip excursions over 7.7 miles (12.4 km)[1] of former Pennsylvania Railroad track on the West Chester Branch. Trains operate Sundays, June through December. Besides the regular trains, the schedule expands with Saturday rides for a number of special events including Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Halloween, and Christmas. The railroad is owned by the for-profit 4 States Railway Service, Inc. and operated by the West Chester Railroad Heritage Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the railroad. All employees of the railroad are volunteers.[3]
No. 1 - Number 1 is a Plymouth 20-ton switcher that operated at the Glen Mills quarry. It was gasoline powered but was converted to diesel. Repainted to West Chester Railroad yellow it was put on display at the Market Street Station.[4]
No. 3 - Built as Chesapeake & Ohio #5026 it later served as number 9115 for B&O, Luntz Iron & Steel and Rohm & Haas. Bought and restored as Number 3 by Wilmington and Western Railroad after suffering freezing damage it was eventually traded to West Chester Railroad for an EMD SW1 unit. In 2022 it was repainted to its original B&O paint scheme and re-numbered to its original road number. No. 3/9115 is currently not in service.[4]
No.1803 - Is an ALCO RS-18 built for the Canadian Pacific Railway by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1960. Number 1803 was retired in 1998 and that same year was bought by the West Chester Railroad. When 1803 arrived at West Chester it was re-painted in a Brunswick green with yellow striping. Since then it has been repainted in the West Chester Railroad gray black and yellow paint scheme. No. 1803 is currently in service.[4]
No. 4213 - is an ALCO C424 built by Montreal Locomotive Works for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1965. It was acquired by the West Chester Railroad in 2010. It is painted in the West Chester Railroad gray black and yellow paint scheme. No. 4213 is currently not in service.[4]
No. 4230 - Like its sister unit 4213, number 4230 is an ALCO C424 built in 1965 by Montreal Locomotive Works for the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was acquired by West Chester Railroad in 2005 and was painted in a Pennsylvania Railroad paint scheme of Brunswick green with yellow lettering. As with 4213 it has been painted in the West Chester Railroad gray black and yellow paint scheme. 4230 was retired and left the railroad in August 2024.[4]
No. 6499 - Is an EMD GP9 built in 1957 for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as number 6499. It was owned by the Central Ohio Railroad when it was bought by the West Chester Railroad in 1997. It was repainted into a Pennsylvania Railroad scheme in 1998 with help from the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society Philadelphia Chapter. In 2022 6499 was repainted to a new red, black and yellow paint scheme for the railroad's 25th anniversary. No. 6499 is currently in service.[4]
No. 7706 - No. 7706 is an EMD GP38 built in 1969 for the Penn Central Railroad as number 7706. Following the bankruptcy of Penn Central, it was absorbed into Conrail in 1976. In the mid-1990s it was purchased by PECO Energy and later transferred to the Exelon Corporation to work in the Cromby Generating Station in Phoenixville, PA. In 2012 the unit was donated to the West Chester Railroad. No. 7706 is currently in service.[4]
In 2018 the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation commissioned a feasibility study for rebuilding the line and restoring direct commuter rail service from West Chester to Philadelphia 30th Street Station. SEPTA service below the Elwyn station was terminated in 1986 due to low ridership and unsafe track conditions[5] but the area has since grown in population and has few transportation alternatives. The study concluded that restoration was feasible but the projected ridership was not high enough to qualify for capital funding.[6]
In September 2021 local officials proposed a short-term plan to upgrade the trackage in order to provide a shuttle service between the line's Market Street station in West Chester and SEPTA's new Wawa station.[7] The WCRR's sub-lease of the tracks expires in April 2023. As of December 2022 the boro was considering a renewal for only one year while the railroad argued that it needed a long term in order that have a business plan for necessary maintenance and upgrades.[8]
