Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1
	2011 photo
Coordinates	39°56′26″N 75°12′18″W / 39.9406°N 75.2050°W
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

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.

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 bike-pedestrian bridge.^[4] The new bridge, dubbed Schuylkill Crossing, is slated for completion in summer 2024.^[5]

^ Spivey, Justin M. (April 2000). "Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad, Bridge No. 1" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
^ Saksa, Jim (May 5, 2016). "City set to acquire Schuylkill River Swing Bridge from Conrail, clearing path for bike and ped trail river crossing". Plan Philly. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
^ "Bridging the Schuylkill River Trail". NBC 10 Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
^ "Schuylkill Crossing". Schuylkill Banks. 2016-07-21. Archived from the original on 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[HAER_PA-547-1] Spivey, Justin M. (April 2000). "Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad, Bridge No. 1" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2017-12-15.

[planphilly5may2016-2] Saksa, Jim (May 5, 2016). "City set to acquire Schuylkill River Swing Bridge from Conrail, clearing path for bike and ped trail river crossing". Plan Philly. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.

[3] "Bridging the Schuylkill River Trail". NBC 10 Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2017-11-14.

[4] "Schuylkill Crossing". Schuylkill Banks. 2016-07-21. Archived from the original on 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2019-03-06.

[:0-5] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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