The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Bridge at West Falls is a stone and iron plate girder bridge that is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It carries two CSX Trenton Subdivision tracks over Kelly Drive, Schuylkill River, and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (formerly West River Drive).
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Bridge at West Falls | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Reading Railroad Bridge at West Falls, looking east toward Kelly Drive | |
| Coordinates | 40°00′23″N 75°11′33″W / 40.00639°N 75.19250°W |
| Carries | CSX Trenton Subdivision |
| Crosses | Kelly Drive, Schuylkill River, and Martin Luther King Drive (formerly West River Drive) |
| Locale | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Material | Stone |
| Width | two tracks |
| Longest span | 92.8 feet (28.3 m) |
| No. of spans | 9 |
| Piers in water | 6 |
| History | |
| Construction end | 1890 |
| Location | |
 | |
History and notable features
editThis was built in 1890 by the Reading Railroad, and forms a "Y" junction with the adjacent Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Schuylkill River Viaduct (1854).[1][2][3]
The bridge consists of an 80-foot (24 m) stone arch over Kelly Drive and eight plate-girder spans that follow a 6-degree curve.
See also
editGallery
edit-
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge, West Falls, looking upstream from Kelly Drive
References
edit- ^ "The Nolan Brothers: Reading's Great Railroad and Bridge Building Firm." Reading, Pennsylvania: The Daily Times and Dispatch, November 16, 1891, p. 11 (subscription required).
- ^ "The Great Conewago Bridge." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: The New Era, October 1, 1892, p. 7 (subscription required).
- ^ "What M'Leod Did for the Reading." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 30, 1893, p. 7 (subscription required).
External links
edit- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-553, "Bridge at West Falls"
- Photo of Y-junction on Flickr
- Photo of freight train crossing bridge on Flickr