Frankford Junction is a
railroad junction
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge), provided by ''points'' ( ...
, and former
junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated on or close to a junction where lines to several destinations diverge. The usual minimum is three incoming lines. At a station with platforms running from left to right, the minimum ...
,
located on the border between the Harrowgate neighborhood of Philadelphia and
Frankford, Philadelphia. At the junction, the 4-track
Northeast Corridor line from Trenton connects with the 2-track
Atlantic City Line
The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...
from Atlantic City in the northeastern portion of Philadelphia about northeast of
North Philadelphia station
North Philadelphia station is an intercity rail and regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located on North Broad Street in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Southeastern Pennsylv ...
.
It lies near the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Butler Street, to the west of the interchange between
Interstate 95 and the approach to the
Betsy Ross Bridge
The Betsy Ross Bridge, also known as the Ross Memorial Bridge, is a continuous steel truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was built from 1969 to 1974, and opened in April 1976, du ...
. It has been used for rail transportation since 1832 but has not served as a
station since October 4, 1992.
Overview
The junction has seen a mass of freight and passenger service throughout its existence. In 1832 the
Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad
The Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad was a railroad from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Trenton, New Jersey. Opened in 1832, it became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in 1871. The majority of it is now part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
...
(P&T) was formed and started service with a small yard. The line extended southwest of the junction and on to destinations north. In 1871 the railroad was leased by the
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). During this time a new branch was formed, namely the Tioga Street Branch, consisting of trackage running down the middle of Tioga Street. The branch was later sold to the
Kensington and Tacony Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad operated the
Connecting Railway
The Connecting Railway was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated to build a connection between the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad and the PRR in the city of Philadelphia.
Construction and assembly Connecting Railway
The PRR c ...
(part of today's
Northeast Corridor) that carried trains to the south.
Through time the junction passed from the Pennsylvania Railroad to the
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
and finally to
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
. During the era of the PRR they operated the ''Congressional'', which passed through the junction. Amtrak now operates the ''
Acela Express
The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermediate stops, inclu ...
'' and ''
Northeast Regional
The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busi ...
'' through the junction, although the 4° turn through it imposes the second-lowest speed limit along the Northeast Corridor line of .
The junction started to dwindle as a station in its older years, with the last service coming from
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
(SEPTA) in the 1990s along the
Trenton Line
The Trenton Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system. The route serves the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with service in Bucks County along the Delaware River to Trenton, New Jersey.
Route
Trenton L ...
(formerly known as the R7 Line). The junction still sees many trains, both freight and passenger, none of which serve the station platforms that still exist. Today the original P&T line still stretches for a few city blocks, terminating abruptly at Ann Street. It is still used for local freight service. A
Conrail freight line splits from the Northeast Corridor at this location and continues to New Jersey via the
Delair Bridge
The Delair Bridge (officially the Delair Memorial Railroad Bridge) is a railroad bridge with a vertical-lift section that crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy ...
.
NJ Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
maintains the
Atlantic City Line
The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...
through the junction that serves
30th Street Station
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
to
Atlantic City Rail Terminal
The Atlantic City Rail Terminal is Atlantic City, New Jersey's train station, located inside of the Atlantic City Convention Center. It has five tracks served by three platforms and functions as the easternmost terminus of the NJ Transit Atlanti ...
with local service daily. Amtrak and SEPTA pass through on the Northeast Corridor. There is an abandoned track that used to be for local freight on the north side of the junction. The switching yard is still maintained with continuously decreasing service.
Accidents
On September 6, 1943, a
deadly accident occurred when an axle detached from a train as the result of an undiscovered
hot box
A hot box is the term used when an axle bearing overheats on a piece of railway rolling stock. The term is derived from the journal-bearing trucks used before the mid-20th century. The axle bearings were housed in a box that used oil-soaked ...
, causing it to derail.
79 people were killed and more were injured.
On May 12, 2015, Amtrak Northeast Regional #188 from Washington DC to New York
derailed as it was traversing Frankford Junction. Eight people were killed.
See also
*
Delair Bridge
The Delair Bridge (officially the Delair Memorial Railroad Bridge) is a railroad bridge with a vertical-lift section that crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy ...
along the Atlantic City Line is just southeast of Frankford Junction
*
Frankford Arsenal
The Frankford Arsenal is a former United States Army ammunition plant located adjacent to the Bridesburg neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, north of the original course of Frankford Creek.
History
Opened in 1816 on of land p ...
was east-northeast of the junction starting in 1816
*
Frankford Junction train wreck
The Frankford Junction train wreck occurred on September 6, 1943, when Pennsylvania Railroad's premier train, the ''Congressional Limited'', crashed at Frankford Junction in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the Unite ...
details the September 6, 1943 accident
*
Philadelphia train derailment describes the May 12, 2015 incident
*
Lists of rail accidents
This is the list of rail accident lists.
Lists By year
By type
* By country
* By death toll
* Terrorist incidents
See also
* Classification of railway accidents
* Derailment
*Rail Transport
* Train wreck
* Tram accident
A tram accident is ...
References
{{SEPTA Regional Rail stations
Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania
Rail transportation in Philadelphia
Rail junctions in the United States
Former SEPTA Regional Rail stations
Stations on the Northeast Corridor
Former railway stations in Philadelphia
Former Pennsylvania Railroad stations