- Harrisburg Subdivision
The Harrisburg Subdivision is a
railroad line owned byCSX Transportation in theU.S. state ofPennsylvania . The line is located in the city of Philadelphia, connectingGreenwich Yard and thePhiladelphia Subdivision with theTrenton Subdivision [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20030120071113/www.trainweb.org/csxtimetables/Baltimore/Harrisburg.html CSX Timetables: Harrisburg Subdivision] ] [ [http://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=customers.news-detail&i=23578 CSX Curfew Update for Week of August 15] : "Harrisburg Subdivision, From 58th Street to CP Gray and from CP Gray to Stadium"] along a formerPennsylvania Railroad line. Much of the Harrisburg Subdivision is the High Line or West Philadelphia Elevated along 31st Street over the30th Street Station area.The line begins at Greenwich Yard in
South Philadelphia , where it meets thePhiladelphia Belt Line Railroad . It heads west alongside theDelaware Expressway (Interstate 95) and then north along and partially elevated over 25th Street, turning west at Washington Avenue to cross theSchuylkill River on theArsenal Bridge . AtArsenal Interlocking , on the west side of the Schuylkill, a branch runs southwest alongsideAmtrak 'sNortheast Corridor to a junction with thePhiladelphia 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 toZoo Interlocking . It leaves that enterlocking to the north, staying on the west side of the Schuylkill, and ending at theTrenton Subdivision at Belmont.History
The oldest portion of the Harrisburg Subdivision, along the west side of the Schuylkill from Grays Ferry southwest to the Philadelphia Subdivision, was opened in 1838 by the
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad . [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1838%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1838] |90.6 KiB , June 2004 Edition] A new PW&B line, now theNortheast Corridor , opened in 1872; [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1872%20Feb%2005.pdf PRR Chronology, 1872] |86.1 KiB , February 2005 Edition] the old line was leased to thePhiladelphia and Reading Rail Road the next year. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1873%20Feb%2005.pdf PRR Chronology, 1873] , February 2005 Edition]From Arsenal east over the
Arsenal Bridge and south along 25th Street to near Packer Avenue, thePennsylvania Railroad built the Delaware Extension, completing it in 1862. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1862%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1862] |140 KiB , June 2004 Edition] The rest of the line, south and east to Greenwich Yard, opened in 1900 as the Schuylkill River Branch Extension to serveLeague Island . [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1900%20Mar%2005.pdf PRR Chronology, 1900] |59.2 KiB , March 2005 Edition]The part of the Harrisburg Subdivision north of Zoo was built by the Junction Railroad and opened in 1863, connecting to what was then the main line of the
Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road at Belmont. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1863%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1863] |140 KiB , June 2004 Edition] The Junction Railroad also built the piece from Arsenal southwest to Grays Ferry, opened in 1866. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1866%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1866] |89.2 KiB , June 2004 Edition] Through leases and mergers, the Junction Railroad became part of thePennsylvania Railroad ; the part from Zoo to Belmont was the Belmont Branch. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1908%20Mar%2005.pdf PRR Chronology, 1908] |52.2 KiB , March 2005 Edition] 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. [PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1904%20Mar%2005.pdf PRR Chronology, 1904] |61.9 KiB , March 2005 Edition]The entire line became part of
Conrail in 1976; the Delaware Extension, West Philadelphia Elevated, and Belmont Branch were grouped with the formerReading Company line to Reading and Harrisburg as theHarrisburg Line . [ [http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Conrail/ Conrail System Map Showing The Proposed Allocation Of Conrail Lines & Rights] ,July 9 ,1997 ] In 1998, Conrail reconstructed the south end of the line, adding a direct connection from the Chester Secondary to CSX'sPhiladelphia Subdivision and allowing CSX-Conrail freights to use the High Line. [ [http://fp.users.fast.net/jprock/newspage.htm Philadelphia Area Rail News, 1998-99] ] The entire line from south of Arsenal to Belmont was assigned to CSX in the 1999 breakup of Conrail, while the rest of theHarrisburg Line became aNorfolk Southern Railway line.ee also
*Market Street Tunnel
References
External links
*
Historic American Engineering Record , [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(DOCID+@lit(PA1645)) Pennsylvania Railroad, West Philadelphia Elevated, Parallel to Schuylkill River, north of Arsenal Bridge, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA]
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