Reading Viaduct, Philadelphia (Western Spur)




August, 2004. Reading Viaduct, Philadelphia (above 12th Street at Noble). In 1984, SEPTA abandoned commuter rail operations at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal, replacing in the process a half mile section of elevated track between Fairmount Avenue and the terminal with a tunnel leading to the new "Market East" commuter station. Most of the abandoned viaduct section has been virtually forgotten for 20 years, largely overgrown with vegetation but with the original tracks, catenary, and signals surprisingly well preserved. It's rather a small-scale version of Manhattan's West Side "High Line," and, just as in NYC, has recently attracted recognition as a potentially valuable urban resource rather than simply a decaying eyesore. For example, see www.readingviaduct.org.

A freight spur to the west, once known in local railroad parlance as the "City Subway" or the "Pennsylvania Avenue Subway," provided a connection to the B&O Railroad line at Park Junction (near Poplar Street just past Pennsylvania Avenue). The City Subway ran underground along Pennsylvania Avenue between 27th and 21st Streets and then in an open cut parallel to Callowhill Street (at about Noble), finally ramping above ground at 13th Street to meet the main Reading viaduct at the Callowhill substation (at 11th Street). The primary freight customers were, at least in more recent years, the Philadelphia Inquirer's printing plant and the giant Reading freight warehouse (both above the line at Broad Street). Electrification does not appear to have ever been installed on the line. I am unsure exactly when freight service ended, although it continued at least into the 1980's. By now, most of the tracks and sidings of the City Subway have long been removed or paved over, with a few short sections visible along former freight sidings.

One of the best preserved parts of the City Subway right-of-way is a fenced-off viaduct between 13th Street and the Callowhill substation. This viaduct, once its tracks were removed after freight service was discontinued, apparently served as a vehicle access road for the substation. This photo faces east along the City Subway spur (on the viaduct at about 12th Street, looking toward the Callowhill substation). The railroad signal at right betrays the path's original use.

Image taken with a Bronica SQ-Ai 6x6 camera with 80mm f/2.8 lens on Fuji Velvia film, under available light.

Copyright © 2004 by Matt Blaze. All rights reserved. You may not copy, modify or use this image for any commercial or non-commercial purpose without permission.

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