Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1
Railroad bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1 was a swing steel through truss that spanned the Schuylkill River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Kingsessing and Grays Ferry neighborhoods.
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1 | |
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Coordinates | 39.9406°N 75.2050°W / 39.9406; -75.2050 |
Crosses | Schuylkill River |
Locale | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Other name(s) | Grays Ferry Railroad Bridge, PRR South Philadelphia Branch Bridge |
Owner | Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad; Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad; Penn Central; Conrail; City of Philadelphia |
Characteristics | |
Design | Through truss swing bridge |
Material | Steel |
Total length | 387.5 feet (118.1 m) |
Longest span | 226.6 feet (69.1 m) |
No. of spans | 3 |
History | |
Constructed by | American Bridge Company |
Construction start | 1901 |
Opened | 1902 |
Closed | 1976 |
Replaces | Newkirk Viaduct |
Location | |
Part of a long succession of ferry and bridge crossings at this location, the bridge was built in 1901 for the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad by American Bridge Company.[1] Over the decades, ownership of the bridge passed to PW&B successor railroads: the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad, then to Penn Central, then to Conrail, which formally placed it out of operation in 1976.
In 2017, Conrail conveyed the bridge to the City of Philadelphia, part of a plan to extend the multiuse Schuylkill River Trail.[2][3] The bridge's truss and superstructure were demolished in August 2018, with the pilings spared to serve as a foundation for a planned bike-pedestrian bridge.[4]