Harrisburg Subdivision
Encyclopedia
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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...
. The line is located in the city of Philadelphia, connecting Greenwich Yard and the Philadelphia Subdivision with the Trenton Subdivision
Trenton Subdivision
The Trenton Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The line runs from Park Junction in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania northeast to Manville, New Jersey along a former Reading Company line....
along a former 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....
line. Much of the Harrisburg Subdivision is the High Line or West Philadelphia Elevated along 31st Street over the 30th Street Station
30th Street Station
30th Street Station is the main railroad station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the five stations in SEPTA's Center City fare zone. It is also a major stop on Amtrak's Northeast and Keystone Corridors...
area.
The line begins at Greenwich Yard in South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
, where it meets the Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad
Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad
The Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad owns a long railroad line running along the Delaware River waterfront in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created in 1889 to allow any Philadelphia railroad to access the waterfront...
. It heads west alongside the Delaware Expressway (Interstate 95) and then north along and partially elevated over 25th Street, turning west at Washington Avenue to cross the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
on the Arsenal Bridge. At Arsenal Interlocking, on the west side of the Schuylkill, a branch runs southwest alongside Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
to a junction with the Philadelphia Subdivision near Lindbergh Boulevard. The main line heads north from Arsenal, rises onto the elevated structure, and crosses to the west side of the Northeast Corridor. It heads north above 31st Street, finally touching down in the southeast approach to Zoo Interlocking. It leaves that enterlocking to the north, staying on the west side of the Schuylkill, and ending at the Trenton Subdivision
Trenton Subdivision
The Trenton Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The line runs from Park Junction in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania northeast to Manville, New Jersey along a former Reading Company line....
at Belmont.
History
The oldest portion of the Harrisburg Subdivision, along the west side of the Schuylkill from Grays FerryGrays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Grays Ferry, also known as Gray's Ferry, is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia bounded by 25th Street on the east, the Schuylkill River on the west, Vare Avenue on the south, and Grays Ferry Avenue on the north. The section of this neighborhood west of 34th Street is also known as The Forgotten...
southwest to the Philadelphia Subdivision, was opened in 1838 by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
. A new PW&B line, now the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
, opened in 1872; the old line was leased to the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road the next year.
From Arsenal east over the Arsenal Bridge and south along 25th Street to near Packer Avenue, 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....
built the Delaware Extension, completing it in 1862. The rest of the line, south and east to Greenwich Yard, opened in 1900 as the Schuylkill River Branch Extension to serve League Island
League Island
League Island was an island in the Delaware River, part of the city of Philadelphia, just upstream from the mouth of the Schuylkill River, which was the site of the Philadelphia shipyard, which eventually became the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, now known as the Philadelphia Naval Business...
.
The part of the Harrisburg Subdivision north of Zoo was built by the Junction Railroad
Junction Railroad (Philadelphia)
The Junction Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, connecting lines west of downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It came under Pennsylvania Railroad control in 1881, and was eliminated by merger in 1908.-History:...
and opened in 1863, connecting to what was then the main line of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road at Belmont. The Junction Railroad also built the piece from Arsenal southwest to Grays Ferry, opened in 1866. Through leases and mergers, the Junction Railroad became part of 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....
; the part from Zoo to Belmont was the Belmont Branch. The West Philadelphia Elevated, completed in 1904, was built by the PRR as a separate freight route through the 30th Street Station area between Arsenal and Zoo Interlockings.
The entire line became part of Conrail in 1976; the Delaware Extension, West Philadelphia Elevated, and Belmont Branch were grouped with the former Reading Company
Reading Company
The Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...
line to Reading and Harrisburg as the Harrisburg Line
Harrisburg Line
The Harrisburg Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Philadelphia west to Harrisburg along the former Reading Company main line....
. In 1998, Conrail reconstructed the south end of the line, adding a direct connection from the Chester Secondary to CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision and allowing CSX-Conrail freights to use the High Line. The entire line from south of Arsenal to Belmont was assigned to CSX in the 1999 breakup of Conrail, while the rest of the Harrisburg Line
Harrisburg Line
The Harrisburg Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Philadelphia west to Harrisburg along the former Reading Company main line....
became a Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
line.
External links
- Historic American Engineering Record, Pennsylvania Railroad, West Philadelphia Elevated, Parallel to Schuylkill River, north of Arsenal Bridge, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA