The Delaware Extension was a rail line owned and operated by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The line ran from Arsenal Interlocking in West Philadelphia southeast, south, east and north to the intersection of Delaware Avenue (now Columbus Boulevard) and Dock Street. It met the

West Philadelphia Elevated The West Philadelphia Elevated, also known as the High Line or Philadelphia High Line, is a railroad viaduct in the western part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The structure spans the railway lines of 30th Street Station, parallel to the main tra ...

at Arsenal, crossed the Schuylkill River on the

Arsenal Bridge The Government Bridge or Arsenal Bridge spans the Mississippi River, connecting Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. The Iowa Interstate Railroad uses the upper deck of the bridge for its ex-Chicago and Rock Island Railroad route between ...

, intersected with the Washington Avenue Branch, Girard Point Branch, Swanson Street Branch (twice), and Washington Avenue Branch again in South Philadelphia, and became the Delaware Avenue Branch at Dock Street.

Form CT1000, List of Stations and Sidings and Instructions for Making Reports to the Superintendent Car Service
The line from Arsenal to Greenwich Yard on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

is now part of

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Harrisburg Subdivision The Harrisburg Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line is located in the city of Philadelphia, connecting Greenwich Yard and the Philadelphia Subdivision with the Trenton Subdivisi ...

. From Greenwich Yard north to Dock Street, the line is owned by the Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad and used by both CSX and the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

under

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

trackage rights.

History

Construction began on the first piece of the line, from Arsenal (then on the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad) over the Arsenal Bridge to Washington Avenue west of 25th Street (then on the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad's main line), in 1860. The PRR acquired trackage rights over the WC&P from their main line at Market Street south to Arsenal in exchange for building a second track to handle the increased traffic. The PRR also gained trackage rights over the PW&B and their leased

Southwark Rail-Road The Southwark Rail-Road was a small part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History The Southwark Rail-Road was chartered on April 2, 1831. The company constructed tracks in 1835, along Broad Street from South Street ...

to the foot of Washington Avenue at the

, and the line opened on January 27, 1862; the PW&B was allowed to use the Arsenal Bridge as part of the agreement. The PRR began using the new Junction Railroad rather than the WC&P on August 12, 1866. , June 2004 Edition The first extension, south on 25th Street to Long Lane (Point Breeze Avenue) and then southwest to the

Philadelphia Gas Works Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) is the United States' largest municipally owned natural gas utility. Construction was completed by engineer Samuel V. Merrick on January 22, 1838, and operations continued from the 1800s to the present day. History ...

at Point Breeze, opened on January 27, 1863. It was extended further south along 25th Street and east along the current

Schuylkill Expressway The Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as "the Schuylkill", is a Controlled-access highway, freeway through southern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Philade ...

alignment to the

at Greenwich Point in March 1866, giving the PRR its own port. , June 2004 Edition In July or August 1874, it was extended north along Delaware Avenue (Columbus Boulevard) to a new freight station at Dock Street, replacing the PRR's use of the

City Railroad A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

along Market Street. , March 2005 Edition A new alignment for the east-west part was built later.{{Fact, date=February 2007 The line passed to Penn Central Transportation in 1968,

in 1976, and was assigned to

in 1999, becoming part of their

References

Pennsylvania Railroad lines Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania 1862 establishments in Pennsylvania