52nd Street (Pennsylvania Railroad station)
Encyclopedia
52nd Street is a closed railroad station in the West Philadelphia
section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) at the junction of its Main Line
and its Schuylkill Branch
. Today, these lines are the SEPTA Regional Rail
Paoli/Thorndale Line
and Cynwyd Line
, respectively.
At 52nd Street, the Main Line is on an embankment at-grade, while the Schuylkill Branch is on an elevated structure including a Parker through truss spanning 388 feet (118.3 m) over the Main Line on an extreme skew. A lit sign informed inbound passengers which platform the next train to Center City, Philadelphia
would depart from.
Through merger and bankruptcy, the station and the trains serving it passed from the PRR to the Penn Central to Conrail, which abandoned all service to the station in 1980. Proposals have been made to reopen the station, either in conjunction with projects such as the Schuylkill Valley Metro
, or as part of community revitalization efforts.
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...
section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) at the junction of its Main Line
Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad)
The Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was a rail line in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, connecting Philadelphia with Pittsburgh via Harrisburg...
and its Schuylkill Branch
Schuylkill Branch
The Schuylkill Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the former Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line ran from the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line at 52nd Street in Philadelphia north via Norristown, Reading, and Pottsville to Delano Junction...
. Today, these lines are the SEPTA Regional Rail
SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system consists of commuter rail service on thirteen branches to over 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and its suburbs. Service on most lines runs from 5:30 AM to midnight...
Paoli/Thorndale Line
Paoli/Thorndale Line
The Paoli/Thorndale Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line running from Center City Philadelphia to Thorndale in Chester County.-Route:This branch utilizes one of the oldest sections of what is now Amtrak's Keystone Corridor, an electrified 104-mile two to four-track high-speed route between Harrisburg...
and Cynwyd Line
Cynwyd Line
The Cynwyd Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line running from Center City Philadelphia to Cynwyd in Montgomery County.Originally known as the Ivy Ridge Branch, service was truncated on October 25, 1986 from Ivy Ridge to its current terminus at Cynwyd....
, respectively.
At 52nd Street, the Main Line is on an embankment at-grade, while the Schuylkill Branch is on an elevated structure including a Parker through truss spanning 388 feet (118.3 m) over the Main Line on an extreme skew. A lit sign informed inbound passengers which platform the next train to Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
would depart from.
Through merger and bankruptcy, the station and the trains serving it passed from the PRR to the Penn Central to Conrail, which abandoned all service to the station in 1980. Proposals have been made to reopen the station, either in conjunction with projects such as the Schuylkill Valley Metro
Schuylkill Valley Metro
The Schuylkill Valley Metro was a proposal for a 62-mile railway system that would link Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the city of Reading, Pennsylvania in central Berks County, USA, using the SEPTA Manayunk/Norristown Line and Cynwyd Line, as well as two current freight-only rights-of-way owned...
, or as part of community revitalization efforts.