- Junction Railroad (Philadelphia)
The Junction Railroad was a
railroad in theU.S. state ofPennsylvania , connecting lines west of downtownPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania . It came underPennsylvania Railroad control in 1881, and was eliminated by merger in 1908.History
The Junction Railroad was incorporated on
May 3 ,1860 to connect thePhiladelphia and Reading Rail Road ,Pennsylvania Railroad , andPhiladelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad through West Philadelphia, across theSchuylkill River from downtown. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1860%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1860] |91.7 KiB , May 2004 Edition] At the time there were four lines into downtown Philadelphia from the west:
*The Reading's main line ran along the west (right) bank of the Schuylkill to Belmont, where it crossed to the east bank and entered downtown from the northwest.
*The Pennsylvania's main line hit the west shore of the Schuylkill near 32nd Street, turning southeast and crossing the Schuylkill along Market Street into downtown from the west.
*TheWest Chester and Philadelphia Railroad came from the west, meeting the west shore near Grays Ferry. It turned northeast near the river, ending up along 31st Street and ending at Market Street.
*The PW&B came from the southwest along the currentR1 Airport line and crossed the Schuylkill at Grays Ferry, entering downtown from the south.The Reading, Pennsylvania, and PW&B each bought a one-third share in the Junction Railroad on
August 1 ,1861 , and the company was organized on October 3. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1861%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1861] |176 KiB , May 2004 Edition] Construction began from Belmont to West Philadelphia in 1862, includingtrackage rights along the PRR between 35th Street (nowZoo Interlocking ) and Market Street; [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1862%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1862] |140 KiB , May 2004 Edition] this opened onNovember 23 ,1863 . From West Philadelphia south to Grays Ferry, the Junction Railroad mostly paralleled the WC&P, and had to cross it somewhere, leading to a dispute between the two companies and a delay in opening the southern half. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1863%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1863] |140 KiB , May 2004 Edition] One track opened south of the WC&P crossing at Spruce Street in December 1864, giving a temporary routing via the WC&P through West Philadelphia. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1864%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1864] |109 KiB , June 2004 Edition] The final portion, from Market Street to Spruce Street, including the Market Street Tunnel, opened onJuly 1 ,1866 . [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1866%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1866] |89.2 KiB , June 2004 Edition]The
Connecting Railway , operated by thePhiladelphia and Trenton Railroad , opened in 1867. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1867%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1867] |98.3 KiB , June 2004 Edition] It served as another connecting link, running from the Junction Railroad and PRR main line atZoo Interlocking east to the lines heading north from downtown.In 1871, the south end was reconfigured due to the
Darby Improvement , which moved the PW&B to the currentNortheast Corridor alignment; [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1871%20Jan%2005.pdf PRR Chronology, 1871] |72.9 KiB , January 2005 Edition] the old alignment was leased to the Reading in 1873. The Reading began operating passenger trains over the entire Junction Railroad onSeptember 3 ,1873 , with a transfer to the PW&B at Grays Ferry. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1873%20Feb%2004.pdf PRR Chronology, 1873] |100 KiB , February 2005 Edition] OnApril 1 ,1876 , the Reading leased the northern piece of the line for a year to access a temporary station for U.S.centennial celebrations. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1876%20April%2006.pdf PRR Chronology, 1876] |116 KiB , April 2006 Edition]The PRR ownership of the middle portion led to problems starting in 1880, when the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad shifted its New York traffic coming off the PW&B to theDelaware and Bound Brook Railroad , using the entire Junction Railroad to Belmont. The PRR gained control of the PW&B in 1881, forcing the B&O to build theBaltimore and Philadelphia Railroad to retain Philadelphia access; this line completely avoided the Junction Railroad by running along the east bank of the Schuylkill. [Centennial History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Chapter 32] Through Reading trains were also moved off the Junction Railroad, using the B&O's route instead.Fact|date=February 2007The PB&W leased the Junction Railroad on
March 1 ,1899 .Fact|date=February 2007 The PRR'sWest Philadelphia Elevated Branch , completed in 1904, provided an alternate route for freight trains that would use the central piece of the Junction Railroad through the Market Street Tunnel or the PRR's River Line along the Schuylkill. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1904%20Mar%2005.pdf PRR Chronology, 1904] |61.9 KiB , March 2005 Edition] The Junction Railroad was merged into the PRR onMarch 31 ,1908 , becoming theBelmont Branch north of and theGrays Ferry Branch (also32nd Street Branch ) south of West Philadelphia. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1908%20Mar%2005.pdf PRR Chronology, 1908] |52.2 KiB , March 2005 Edition] Except for the Market Street Tunnel, the Grays Ferry Branch was part of the main line from Broad Street Station towards Baltimore. The Belmont Branch remained a connection to the Reading; after the PRR and Reading both became part ofConrail in 1976, it became part of the Harrisburg Line, along with theWest Philadelphia Elevated Branch andDelaware Extension toGreenwich Yard . [ [http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Conrail/ Conrail System Map Showing The Proposed Allocation Of Conrail Lines & Rights] ,July 9 ,1997 ] In the 1999 breakup of Conrail, the Harrisburg Line south of Belmont becameCSX Transportation 'sHarrisburg Subdivision . The old Junction Railroad through the Market Street Tunnel has been abandoned , and the rest of the line is now aSEPTA Regional Rail main line toArsenal Interlocking andAmtrak 'sNortheast Corridor to Grays Ferry.Fact|date=February 2007ee also
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Connecting Railway References
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