User talk:Dthomsen8/Rail Bridge/B&O Railroad Bridge
B&O Railroad Bridge | |
|---|---|
 B&O Railroad Bridge looking southwest | |
| Coordinates | 39°56′08″N 75°12′21″W / 39.93556°N 75.20583°W |
| Carries | CSX Philadelphia Subdivision |
| Crosses | Schuylkill River |
| Locale | Grays Ferry neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Other name(s) | CSXT's Schuylkill River Bridge |
| Owner | CSX Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Piers in water | 3 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1910, rehabilitated in May, 2004 |
| Location | |
 | |
B&O Railroad Bridge is a 1910 swing bridge in the Grays Ferry neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that carries CSX Philadelphia Subdivision rail lines over the Schuylkill River.[1] It is located upstream from the Passyunk Avenue Bridge. It is also known as CSXT's Schuylkill River Bridge.
Construction and history
[edit]The original bridge at this site was opened on July 11, 1886, when freight service began on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's extension to Philadelphia (now the CSX Philadelphia Sub).[2] The original bridge was a four-span iron through truss bridge with a center swing span for the passage of river traffic.[3][4] The B&O replaced it with the current bridge, a three-span through truss bridge with center swing span, in 1910. The rebuilding was done by the American Bridge Company. During the process, a tugboat passing the bridge grounded on the riverbank and had to be freed by a B&O locomotive.[5] The bridge was struck by the tugboat Radnor, hauling a barge loaded with oleum, on March 12, 1924.
The bridge was originally protected by a mechanical interlocking, which was revised in 1914.[6] It was replaced in 1946 with an electrical interlocking, which also controlled the nearby junction with the Reading Company at Eastwick.[7]
Modern rehabilitation
[edit]
In 1977, the Chessie System, then owner of the bridge, did engineering studies of the swing bridge mechanisms, and determined that extensive rehabilitation was needed. However, the project was placed on hold for decades, and, despite associated FRA violations and operational difficulties, was not revived by successor CSX Transportation until late 2003. Completion was planned for May, 2004. There were issues with rail traffic, controlled by CSX, and river traffic, with the US Coast Guard concerned with the fact that during construction the bridge cannot be opened.[1]
The rehabilitation was completed on time in May, 2004, including extensive work on the miter rails, which are mechanisms allowing for disconnecting the steel rails when the bridge is opened, and reconnecting the rails when the bridge is returned to rail traffic.[8]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Judge, Tom (2004-10). "Shaping up bridge for second 100 years; CSXT's Schuylkill River bridge in Philadelphia carries heavy volumes of traffic, but needed rehab to do the job into a second century". Bnet: Reference Publications. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
In 1910, the Baltimore & Ohio constructed a two-track swing bridge spanning the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ NRHS Bulletin. 38. National Railway Historical Society: 42. 1973.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Harwood, Herbert H. (2002). Royal Blue Line. JHU Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0801870613.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Patterson, William Macfarland (1893). A practical treatise on foundations. J. Wiley & Sons. p. 130.
- ^ Railway and Locomotive Engineering. 23: 492. 1910 http://books.google.com/books?id=a_xKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA492.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Summary of Signal Work in 1914". Railway signaling and communications. 8: 22. 1915.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Railway Age. 121: 314. 1946.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "RIDEX® INSTALLATIONS, SCHUYLKILL RIVER SWING BRIDGE, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA". CMI-Promex, Inc., 7 Benjamin Green Road, Pedricktown, NJ 08067. 2004. Archived from the original on 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
Four photos of miter rails installed on the bridge