Columbia Railroad Bridge

Columbia Railroad Bridge
Columbia Railroad Bridge
Other name(s)	Columbia Bridge
Carries	CSX Trenton Subdivision
Crosses	Kelly Drive, Schuylkill River, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
Locale	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Concrete
Total length	755 feet
Width	56 feet
Number of spans	8
Opened	1920
Coordinates	39°59′08″N 75°12′13″W / 39.98556°N 75.20361°W / 39.98556; -75.20361Coordinates: 39°59′08″N 75°12′13″W / 39.98556°N 75.20361°W / 39.98556; -75.20361

Columbia Railroad Bridge is a 1920 concrete arch bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that carries CSX Trenton Subdivision rail lines over the Schuylkill River. It is located in Fairmount Park, upstream from the Pennsylvania Railroad Connecting Bridge. It is also known as Columbia Bridge.^[1]

First bridge

The first bridge was erected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1834. It had seven spans, and was constructed of white pine as a covered bridge for the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad.^[2] A inclined plane on the bridge's west side drew the railway cars up Belmont Hill by cable. The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad bought this bridge from the state in 1851. ^[1]

Second bridge

The second bridge was erected in 1886 by the Reading Railroad to carry the increasingly heavy freight traffic. It was a two track wrought iron Pratt truss bridge, in service until 1920. ^[1]

Current bridge

The current bridge was completed in 1920 with two tracks, and two more were added in 1921, but now there are only two tracks on this bridge. ^[1]

See also

• List of crossings of the Schuylkill River
• Main Line of Public Works

• 

  "From the Inclined Plane" (1838). The first Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad Bridge is visible at the bottom of the hill.

• 

  Schuylkill River map (1872).

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Columbia Bridge (Sign). Under the bridge along West River Drive, near Montgomery Drive: Fairmount Park Commission. 07-01-2006. 
2. ^ The Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad ran from Philadelphia to Columbia in Lancaster County