• Rail Yard in Philadelphia (Port Richmond) history

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania

Moderator: bwparker1

  by carajul
 
UPDATE: I've come to learn that this is Port Richmond Yard. I'd like to know why the Port closed? All the ship slips are abandoned today.

Can anyone give me a history on the 11 track rail yard that was under Kensington Ave in Phili? I was watching the movie Rocky II from 1979 and it shows Sly Stalone jogging along railroad tracks and a Conrail switcher passes him. The conductor yells "hey Rocky". A camera shot aparently from the B Street bridge looks out over the horizon and you see a substantial yard. Today only 1 track is here. After Kensington St bridge it opens to 5 tracks. But back in 1979 it looked rather substantial. Why did CR remove all this yard track?
Looks like Aramingo Ave went under the yard and the yard was elevated on a huge bridge. Looked pretty substantial at the time. Arials show the yard disappearing in the early 90s.
  by rrbluesman
 
Short answer, Reading's Port Richmond Yard was obsolete and redundant. As the post-WWII environment progressed, the coal shipping, heavy materials shipping, and need for the yard declined parallel to the progressive abandonment/consolidation of the broader port and shipping facilities. The heavy industry in Port Richmond and its surrounding areas had been in steep decline since the mid-1950s. The docks and piers were undersized for modern freight ships, cargo types and loads began to change and were no longer compatible with the storage warehouses on the piers.

ConRail had little reason to retain or maintain facilities that were technologically obsolete, unlikely to return to industrial or shipping use, and duplicitous. The former Penn Central/Pennsylvania Railroad Greenwich yard as larger, nearby or connected to the new shipping and transload ports, was at the time still connected to an area where port trade and heavy industry existed and had better connections to the former PC/PRR which CR was much more interested in retaining over the former Reading.
  by pumpers
 
Until a few years ago Conrail had an engine service building just on the river side of 95, with something like half a dozen bays. I think it is no longer used, at least for Conrail engine service.
I used to drive by a lot (but hardly anymore), and until a few years ago, if not today(?) there was also some kind of gravel(?) operation with huge piles. They may have been making asphalt at one time, not sure.
Google maps shows a large tank car to/from tank facility. What is moving which way, and if it is still happening, I don't know.