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 track of the station, in a north-south direction. The approach made of brick arches is the longest brick bridge and probably the longest brick building in the United States.

The viaduct was built in 1903 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and is now part of the Harrisburg Subdivision of CSX Transportation.

History

At the turn of the century, the Pennsylvania Railroad upgraded several routes to improve the handling of freight traffic, so that passenger and freight trains could be run on separate lines as much as possible.

In the metropolitan area of Philadelphia, the route of the Northeast Corridor around Broad Street Station proved to be a bottleneck. The terminus station sat on the east side of the Schuylkill River and was connected via a wye on the west side of the river to the main line running there. In the area of these tracks there were also a railroad yard, various industrial plants, and after 1903, the West Philadelphia Station for through north-south trains. (West Philadelphia Station was replaced by 30th Street Station in 1933.)

Connections to other railroad lines were nearby. On the north side, these included the Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg Main Line to Harrisburg, the entrance to the 37th Street Yard, and the Junction Railroad, a connection to the PRR competitor Reading. On the south side, these included the line to West Chester and the connection to the Port of Philadelphia in the south of the city.

With the West Philadelphia Elevated, two through tracks for freight traffic in north-south direction could be carried over these railway facilities. This would allow freight trains coming from New York City or Harrisburg to travel south to Baltimore and Washington, DC without stopping. Likewise, the Junction Railroad and the entrance to the port were connected to the viaduct.

The construction was approved on December 24, 1902, by the city administration. The construction work was completed by the end of 1904.
PRR CHRONOLOGY 1904 March 2005 Edition
(PDF; 63 kB)''. ''(accessed December 31, 2008)''

Description

The viaduct extends over a total length of in the north-south direction and can be reached at both ends via railroad embankments. It makes a gentle left turn, which is required by the layout of the tracks around 30th Street Station around and ultimately by the Schuylkill itself.

The southern approach lies between the tracks of the Northeast Corridor and the Schuylkill. Arsenal Interlocking, which marks the merger of the two lines, is located there. From the east, the Harrisburg Subdivision comes from the port and has just crossed the Schuylkill on the Arsenal Bridge, and from the southwest is the connecting track from the northeast corridor, which also serves as access from the parallel CSX Philadelphia Subdivision. The viaduct starts just after the merge of the two lines, about directly southwest of 30th Street Station.

The High Line initially runs in a northeasterly direction. It crosses the main tracks of the Northeast Corridor at an acute angle, then passes immediately to the east of the Penn Medicine SEPTA station and over the South Street bridge. After about , the viaduct turns north and crosses Walnut Street, Chestnut Street, Ludlow Street, Market Street, and John F. Kennedy Boulevard in succession. The route runs along 31st Street in this area, following the alignment of the street grid. Then, it goes about west past the train sheds of 30th Street Station. The upper platform level of the tower station is crossed at its extreme western end.

Next it begins a long left turn, which runs above the northern tracks of 30th Street Station. About after crossing the Spring Garden Street bridge, the viaduct connects to a long ramp that ends at 34th Street. This area is just southeast of Zoo Interlocking, the wye between the Northeast Corridor and the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line.

The ramp at the north end leads down to the middle of the track. However, at this point there are no more rail connections since about 1995.Mike Brotzman:
Zoo Tower
', 2008. ''(accessed January 1, 2009)'' The route heads northwest for about through a tunnel and leads to CSX's Trenton Subdivision, which in turn leads to Jersey City

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases