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The Philadelphia Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society Established in 1936
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Histories of local railroad operations
The Pennsylvania Railroad
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The Pennsylvania Railroad was chartered on April 13, 1846 and merged with the New York Central to form the Penn Central on February 1, 1968. Headquartered in Philadelphia, it was considered by itself and many others as "the Standard Railroad of the World". It was one of the largest railroads, with rail stretching from New York, Washington DC, Chicago, St. Louis and just about all points between. It was also part owner for a time in other railroads, namely the Lehigh Valley, the Long Island and the Norfolk and Western. | |
| Pennsylvania Station - 30th Street | ||
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The main passenger stations in the Philadelphia area were Pennsylvania Station (30th Street Station), Broad Street Station (later replaced by Suburban Station) and North Philadelphia Station. The railroad designated the direction of travel in relation to ZOO interlocking, located between 30th Street Station and North Philadelphia Station and named for its proximity to the Philadelphia Zoo. ZOO was probably one of the most complex interlockings ever created, with flyovers and duck-unders allowing trains unrestricted travel in all directions. Trains traveling compass north of ZOO between New York and ZOO were designated as east (north to New York) and west (south from New York). Trains traveling compass south of ZOO between Washington DC and ZOO were designated as south (south to Washington DC) and north (from Washington DC). Since its creation in the 1930's, Penn Station (30th Street Station), located in West Philadelphia just across the Schuykill River from Center City, was a station for both commuter and north-south inter-city travel. Many east-west trains such as the Broadway Limited stopped only at North Philadelphia, connecting to the Main Line at ZOO. For many years, Broad Street Station, built in the 1880's and razed in the 1950's, was the main Center City terminal and housed the offices of the railroad. It had an enormous train shed, but was a stub ended terminal that required trains to make complicated moves to service it. Its platforms were also above street level, which made the approach from 30th Street Station a huge viaduct called the Chinese Wall, basically splitting Center City west of Broad Street in half. The station that replaced it, Suburban Station, is subterranean, eliminating the Chinese wall, and was primarily used by commuters in the Philadelphia area. | |
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| Broad Street Station | ||
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| North Philadelphia Station | ||
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The lines that serviced Philadelphia were the New York line to the north, the Main Line to the West, and the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington line to the south, as well as the Kensington and Tacony Branch, the West Chester Branch, the Chestnut Hill Branch, the Bustleton Branch, and the Belmont Connecting Railroad. | |
| Pennsylvania License Plate with PRR K4 | ||
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The main yard for freight traffic was Greenwich Yard in South Philadelphia. Servicing the docks along Delaware Avenue, ore and coal traffic as well as merchandise was handled here. It was also the destination for trains for the annual Army-Navy football game held at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium (later renamed JFK Stadium). Nearby was the Philadelphia Navy Yard and many refinery facilities. Much of the trackage along the waterfront was actually owned by the Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad, over which both the Reading and Pennsylvania Railroads had track rights. Other yards in the area were Race Street Yard and Penn Coach Yard near 30th Street, and Frankford Junction Yard on the New York main. | |
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PRR 5711 on Delaware Avenue May 9, 2002 |
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| Its electrified territories included what are now Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC) from New York and Washington DC, and Amtrak's Harrisburg line from Philadelphia to Harrisburg (the Mainline), as well as a few South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) commuter routes in the Philadelphia area: the R5 Downingtown/Paoli, the R2 Wilmington, the R3 Elwyn, the R7 Trenton and the R8 Chestnut Hill West. Non-electrified routes that remain are used by Norfolk Southern, CSX and Conrail Shared Assets Operations and include Greenwich Yard (CSX), the Trenton Cut-Off and part of Morrisville Yard (NS), the Bustleton Branch and the Kensington and Tacony Branch (CSAO) and the High Line, Belmont Connecting Railroad, and "O" track that parallels the NEC leading to Frankford Junction, the Delair Bridge and Pavonia yard in Camden NJ (used by all three). | ||
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Pennsylvania Railroad Genealogy Predecessors, subsidiaries and affiliated railroads |
| Akron & Barberton Belt Railroad |
| Allegheny Valley Railroad |
| Ashbourne, Cheltenham and Philadelphia Railroad Company |
| Bala, Haverford and Villanova Passenger Railroad Company |
| Baltimore and Eastern Railroad Company |
| Baltimore and Potomac Railroad |
| Belvidere-Delaware Railroad |
| Bradford Railroad |
| Broad Street Underground Railroad Company |
| Bustleton and Eastern Railroad Company |
| Bustleton Railroad Company |
| Calumet & Western Railroad |
| Camden and Amboy Railroad |
| Camden & Burlington Railroad |
| Catonsville Short Line Railroad |
| Chartiers Southern Railway |
| Cherry Tree & Dixonville Railroad |
| Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad |
| Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railroad |
| Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Railroad |
| Cincinnati, Richmond & Fort Wayne Railroad: |
| Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railroad |
| Columbus, Sandusky and Hocking Railroad |
| Connecting Railway Company |
| Connellsville & Monongahela Railroad |
| Cumberland Valley Railroad |
| Delaware, Maryland & Virginia Railroad |
| Delaware Railroad Company |
| Detroit Union Railroad, Depot & Station Company |
| Elmira & Lake Ontario Railroad |
| Elmira & Williamsport Railroad |
| Engelside Railroad Company |
| Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad |
| Fair Hill Railroad Company |
| Frankford and Holmesburg Railroad Company |
| Frankford Creek Railroad Company |
| Freehold and Jamesburg Railroad |
| Germantown and Chestnut Hill Railroad Company |
| Grand Rapids and Indiana |
| Harrison & East Newark Railroad |
| Hudson & Manhattan Railroad |
| Johnsonburg Railroad |
| Kensington and Tacony Railroad Company |
| Lehigh Valley Railroad |
| Little Miami Railroad |
| Logansport & Toledo Railway Company |
| Long Island Railroad Company |
| Lorain, Ashland & Southern Railroad |
| Louisville Bridge & Terminal Railway |
| Lykens Valley Railroad |
| Mansfield, Coldwater and Michigan Railroad |
| Manufacturer's Railway |
| Market Street Underground Railroad Company |
| Massillon & Cleveland Railroad |
| Monongahela Railway |
| Mountour Railroad |
| New York Bay Railroad |
| New York and Long Branch Railroad |
| New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad |
| Norfolk and Western Railway |
| Northern Central Railroad Company |
| Ohio River & Western Railroad |
| Overbrook, Bryn Mawr and Paoli Railway Company |
| Overbrook, Wayne and Paoli Railway Company |
| Paoli, Wayne and Overbrook Street Railway Company |
| Pemberton & Hightstown Railroad |
| Pennsylvania & Atlantic Railroad |
| Pennsylvania, Ohio & Detroit Railroad |
| Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines |
| Pennsylvania Tunnel & Terminal Company |
| Perth Amboy & Woodbridge Railroad |
| Philadelphia, Bala and Narberth Railway Company |
| Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad |
| Philadelphia, Baltimore and Wilmington Railroad Company |
| Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad |
| Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr and Paoli Street Railway Company |
| Philadelphia and Bustleton Railway Company |
| Philadelphia, Bustleton and Trenton Railroad Company |
| Philadelphia & Erie Railway |
| Philadelphia, Germantown and Chestnut Hill Railroad Company |
| Philadelphia & Long Branch Railroad |
| Philadelphia & Trenton Railroad |
| Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company |
| Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad |
| Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny Railroad |
| Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad |
| Pittsburgh, Ohio Valley and Cincinnati Railroad |
| Pittsburgh & Steubenville Railroad |
| Pittsburgh, Youngstown & Ashtabula Railway Company |
| Radnor Belt Line Street Railway Company |
| Redstone Central Railroad |
| Richmond-Washington Company |
| Rocky Hill Railroad |
| Roxborough Railroad Company |
| St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad |
| Shamokin Valley & Pottsville Railroad |
| South Chicago & Southern Railroad |
| Steubenville & Indiana Railroad |
| Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad |
| Toledo, Columbus & Ohio River Railroad |
| Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad |
| Toledo, Tifflin and Eastern Railroad |
| Toledo and Woodvale Railroad |
| Trailer Train Corporation |
| Union Railroad of Baltimore |
| United New Jersey Railroad |
| Vandalia Railroad |
| West Jersey and Seashore Railroad Company |
| Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad |
| Wheeling Terminal Railroad |
| Winfield Railroad |
| York, Hanover & Frederick Railroad |
| Youngstown & Ravenna Railroad |
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Website created June 12, 2002
Last Updated January 9, 2005
