Schuylkill River line

[radioboy]

I was reading that there was once B&O passenger service along the tracks on the east bank of the Schuylkill River, with a stop at the Walnut St bridge. Where can I find more information on this line?

[amtrakhogger]

The B&O ran passenger trains from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia (and through to Jersey City) until 1958. The B&O's station was in the vicinity of 24th and Chestnut Streets and has long since been torn down. For more info, do a Wikipedia search for the B&O in Philadelphia.

[CarterB]

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24th_Stree ... delphia%29

[JimBoylan]

Links to photos of the boat service to B & O's 24th St. station in Philadelphia, Pa., back in 1902:

http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchi ... setId=5690

http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchi ... setId=5686

http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchi ... setId=5687

http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchi ... setId=5687

A neighbor, Mrs. Cusak of 1709 North Redfield St., was the newsstand lady during the 1955 hurricane, and was marooned on top of her counter until a rowboat could get into the station.

I rode the last B & O train from Washington to Philadelphia, which was the 3 car Daylight Speedliner. The lunch counter car led, we were in the middle car, and the Girl Scouts had all of the last car. Everyone was getting autographs on the anniversary place mats.

[JimBoylan]

Sorry, there was a duplicate link in the previous post. Here are 2 other photos of the 24th St. station:
http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchi ... setId=5685
http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchi ... setId=5684

[ExCon90]

Look for a copy of The Royal Blue Line, by Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., for chapter and verse about that whole operation.

[skabat169]

Since I'm attempting to model the 1960s, I'm more interested in the freight operations of this line. Anyone know a good source for photos, trains operated, and typical power for through trains, Eastside Yard, and locals?

[John Johnstone]

My Dad worked in the Planning Dept. for the Reading Co. and there were some joint negotiations for the B&O to run out of Philadelphia's Reading Terminal via the City Branch to Washington, since that stretch of the line was built for high speed. As ridership was dwindling in the late 50's, The Reading Co. scrapped the idea.

[Schuylkill Valley]

I'm not sure if this will help what your looking for , but here are a few copies of the blue print of the City Branch of Philadelphia This a Reading Company blue print from Oct. 1, 1921. I scanned this in Blue and also with out the blue background.
I own close to 100 prints of the Reading Company. Let me know if this helps you at all. I have more where this came from.
Len.

[John Johnstone]

The tunnel for the connection to the City Branch is still present. I rode on the City Branch once during Hurricane Agnes en route to Reading PA. The RDC took a sharp turn out of the Terminal, went down hill and under Broad St. at about 5 mph. The train rocked back and forth a lot before going into the tunnel and then we picked up some speed after we crossed the Schulykill and onto Reading's Main Line. Our first stop was Valley Forge.

[Fairmountfrank]

I grew up in the Fairmount section of Philly, and as a child used to hang out along thr B&O/RDG line from the north entrance of the Art Museum tunnel (2601 Parkway) to the switch tower at Poplar Street, and north to the PRR overpass above Girard Avenue and then thru the east side of Fairmount Park. Couldn't afford a camera at the time. Anyoue have any photos of the area in the 1950's or early 60"s? Any leads appreciated. Thanks.
Frank

[hutton_switch]

I grew up in the Fairmount section of Philly, and as a child used to hang out along thr B&O/RDG line from the north entrance of the Art Museum tunnel (2601 Parkway) to the switch tower at Poplar Street, and north to the PRR overpass above Girard Avenue and then thru the east side of Fairmount Park. Couldn't afford a camera at the time. Anyoue have any photos of the area in the 1950's or early 60"s? Any leads appreciated. Thanks.
Frank

Photos IN GENERAL, not just from the time period you are asking about, are EXTREMELY RARE. Even photos of the old B&O station in Philly are very hard to come by. You will be fortunate to find any, if you ever do.

[hammersklavier]

Try searching at PhillyHistory.org or in Temple University's Urban Archives.

These are the most complete online repositories of historic Philadelphia photographs. Even then, if you go to the Historical Commission, Free Library, or Paley Library, you'll likely find something not online.