West Philadelphia Elevated

Now part of the Harrisburg Subdivision of CSX Transportation, the viaduct was built in 1903 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to allow through freight trains to bypass rail yard, industrial sidings, and a passenger station.

On the north side, these included the Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg Main Line to Harrisburg, the entrance to the 37th Street Yard, and the Junction Railroad, a connection to the PRR competitor Reading.

With the West Philadelphia Elevated, two through tracks for freight traffic in north-south direction could be carried over these railway facilities.

This would allow freight trains coming from New York City or Harrisburg to travel south to Baltimore and Washington, DC without stopping.

[1] The viaduct extends over a total length of 8,140 feet (2,480 m) in the north-south direction and can be reached at both ends via railroad embankments.

It crosses the main tracks of the Northeast Corridor at an acute angle, then passes immediately to the east of the Penn Medicine SEPTA station and over the South Street bridge.

This area is just southeast of Zoo Interlocking, the wye between the Northeast Corridor and the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line.

The West Philadelphia Elevated was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to accommodate freight traffic along the Northeast Corridor.

Freight trains were routed along the secondary tracks next to the main line itself, the most important of which was the connection to the port at the southern end.

With the expansion of the Northeast Corridor for the Acela Express in the early 1990s, the freight traffic was then almost completely shifted to the parallel lines of the former PRR competitors Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) and Reading, which at that time both belonged to CSX.

[4] The basic construction of the two steel sections is a series of supporting frames ("portals") along the route, upon which a longitudinal beam pair rests for each of the two tracks.

The associated spans often have excess length and are then either designed as a deck truss or (for larger passage heights) as a half-through plate girder bridge.

For the catenary, the typical PRR portal masts were used, which carry traction power lines at the highly extended upper ends of their supports.

The West Philadelphia Elevated near Walnut Street.
The High Line bypasses the area around 30th Street Station.
The viaduct on the map near 30th Street Station.
The ramp with brick arches on the north end.
One of the steel sections.
Various longer spans along the route.
The crossing of the Northeast Corridor at the southern end.
Two of the brick arches.