Construction of MFL between Girard & 2nd St in '70s

scotty269 wrote:

SubwayTim wrote:

trainspotter71 wrote:I found an old picture of the original portal on the Frankford side.

http://thejoekorner.quuxuum.org/phila/1512018.gif

That photo must be on a different server, because when I clicked on the link I got "Not Found"..."http://thejoekorner.quuxuum.org/phila/1512018.gif not found on this server".

It's from 2005, which means that image has probably been gone for quite some time..

The picture is still there on the site. Here's the link:

http://www.thejoekorner.com/photos/phila/index.html

Septaman113 wrote:I definitly remember the El construction back then.I also remember that old portal and that was a sharp and noisy turn going into 2nd St.Also does anyone remember when there was the hole at 2nd and Market and could look down on to the tracks?That wooden structure looked and sounded so rickety that I remember thinking is it going to hold this heavy train.Talk about memories.Back then I was always riding the el back and forth,running through the cars,being kid like.

You remember that wooden structure too? It WAS wood, right? Didn't it look flimsy? And the height of it wasn't reassuring either! It must have been around 80 feet high. How did it ever hold up a six car consist of M3's??

I also remember how noisy it was at the turn in the portal. It was bordering on unbearable. What exactly causes that screeching noise? Is it the wheels rubbing against the sharp curve of the tracks?

trainspotter71 wrote:I also remember how noisy it was at the turn in the portal. It was bordering on unbearable. What exactly causes that screeching noise? Is it the wheels rubbing against the sharp curve of the tracks?

Flanges rubbing against the rails, yes indeed! And if they weren't oiled (usually on the inner guard rails), it would be so much louder.

Hello, I am new to this forum, and my first post, That temporary EL structure was of steel construction, and orange in color. I remember it very well as I lived only a couple of blocks from there, and used to go and watch the goings on. I even have some photos of it. but it appears that this site does not have a photo gallery where I can upload the photos from my computer. I also have photos of the old Fairmount station before demolition. Also back when the Ben Franklin bridge was being built, they did use wood to give the EL extra support while the bridge was being built. This would be a ca.1925 shot of the EL at the time of the Ben Franklin Bridg Constuction.

TWTRTECH, I also remember the temporary construction as being steel, but I was reasonably young, in high school, at the time and did not want to imply that any of the geezers who thought it was wood had failing memories. After all, it's still possible they and I might get side by side rocking chairs at the home.

Here would be two scans of photos I took of the temporary EL structure during the building of I-95 in 1977..[/attachment]

WOW!!! Thank you so very much, TWTRTECH!!! I have been wanting for years to see pictures of that temporary structure.
So it was steel after all. Maybe what I recalled seeing was wood scaffolding when the structure was being erected, but I do recall seeing orange structures, too. I was six at the time so I didn't know too much about what I was seeing.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I've been wondering how wood would have held up the trains as they sat there. It makes sense that it was constructed of steel.

Is there any chance you can describe or make a diagram of before, during and after construction, of the route the tracks took and where in relation this temporary structure was? And also in relation to where I-95 was before, during and after construction? I remember riding in a train and seeing trains sit there on that temporary structure to wait for our train to pass, or did I remember this wrong as well?

Thanks again for posting the pictures!

You have to remember I-95 did not exist before the 1970s in this area. As for the EL, well it pretty much ran over Front street, with a stop at Fairmouunt Ave. then all the way down to Arch st., where it shifted to the left between Front and Water sts. to enter the subway porthole for Market st. At this link is a 1934 aerial view, and it allows you to zoom in on the area of Front and Laurel sts. and see the old EL structure.http://digital.hagley.org/cdm4/item_vie ... OX=1&REC=4

A picture of the EL structure I took before demolition. Area of Front and Poplar, ca.1977

Those are great pictures. I kind of recall the orange steel structure underneath but I do remember the catwalk and railing being wood. I was 12 at the time and I remember the Fairmount Station.

Septaman113 wrote:Those are great pictures. I kind of recall the orange steel structure underneath but I do remember the catwalk and railing being wood. I was 12 at the time and I remember the Fairmount Station.

Yes most of the catwalks did have wood boards along the line, but were slowly being replaced by expanded steel walkways. Oh and a couple of photos of the Fairmount station I took some time before demolition

A few more shots of the Fairmount EL station I took before demolition,..

Also found these two photos I took during the I-95 construction near Front and Ellen st. the first one I took from atop the unfinished I-95 at what will be the new roadbed for the EL looking north. The next one is on Front st looking north toward Ellen st.

Also to see the early construction photos of the Front street/Kensington Ave. EL(1915~1922), go to this linkhttp://lcpdams.librarycompany.org:8881/ ... on_id=1164

I took a ride to Front & Fairmount yesterday. Some of the old buildings are still there and Front St still has cobblestones and tracks down the middle. The Cold Storage building is still there and the where the building entrance's were are just empty lots on both sides. The eastbound side the garages next to it are still there and the houses behind on Fairmount are there also but they've be rehabbed extensively. I walked up Front St to see if I could see any spots where the pillars were but I only seen a a few with patched concrete so they may have been where the pillars were.



I like those old pictures. If you find more, please keep posting them. Thanks.