The Philadelphia Chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society

Established in 1936

Inexorably, the CSX Trenton Line double stack clearance project between CP Nice and CP Wood has plodded along these past several years. The 16 bridges along the route each present a different problem. While most are a simple cut and drop like at Rhawn Street, others are much more complicated. At CP Nice where the line runs under the SEPTA Main Line, the goal was to drop the rails enough to clear the bridge while accounting for the lack of amphibious equipment and crews for trains passing through the very flood-prone area (Snorkels for the engineer and conductor??? Bring back the U-Boats???). The Low Grade Line below SEPTA's Wayne Junction Station is basically sitting on bedrock, so blasting will probably be involved in lowering the track there, a tricky situation under a major train station in a very developed urban area. And then there is Woodbourne. Passing under the NS Morrisville Line, the CSX single track merges with SEPTA's West Trenton/Neshaminy Line at CP Wood. The tracks, originally laid out by the Reading Company, are very close together, and dropping the freight line four feet next to the passenger lines without major disruptions will be no mean feat.

And so it begins ... or at least appears to begin ... here as it looks facing north ...

All pictures April 18 2012 Copyright © 2012 John P. Almeida

Photographs for personal use only. All rights reserved by original owner of image. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without express written permission is prohibited.