The Southwark Rail-Road was a small part of 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 ...

system in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

History

The Southwark Rail-Road was chartered on April 2, 1831. The company constructed tracks in 1835, along Broad Street from South Street to Washington Avenue, and along Washington Avenue from Broad Street to 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 ...

. At the intersection of Broad Street and Washington Avenue, the

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) was an American railroad that operated independently from 1836 to 1881. It was formed in 1836 by the merger of four state-chartered railroads in three Middle Atlantic states to create a ...

ended at the Southwark Rail-Road. The PW&B's passenger station was just west of Broad Street; the Southwark Rail-Road was intended for freight, and was leased to and operated by the PW&B. At the South Street end, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad continued north on Broad Street. The tracks on Broad Street were removed in 1870. Around the same time, tracks were built along the riverfront from the yard at the river north to Almond Street (now Kenilworth Street), connecting it to the

's Delaware Extension. On March 28, 1877, the Southwark Rail-Road was merged into the

, along with several other railroads. In 1881, the

bought up the majority of the PW&B's stock. The company was later merged into the

Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad The Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (PB&W) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia in the 20th century, and was a key component of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system. Its ...

, another PRR subsidiary.

References

Corporate Genealogy - Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington RailroadRailroad History Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwark Railroad Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Companies affiliated with the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway companies established in 1831 Railway companies disestablished in 1877 American companies established in 1831