Philadelphia Roosevelt Blvd Subway

[trolleyman541]

There is a subway Station under Roosevelt Blvd in Philadelphia
The name of that station is called Adams Avenue, build in 1967 by the City of Philadelphia, however if never saw any trains in it nor tracks laid.
The line was to have branch off the The Broad Street Subway just north of the Hunting Park Station, but the train line would have ran in it's own tunnel under Broad Street but above the current Broad Street Subway Line.

I saw these plans come up and figured I would post them here, sure would have made things different.

http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/Detail.aspx?assetId=42794

[Jersey_Mike]

Yes a station shell was built under Roosevelt Ave by the old Sears complex. It was never connected to anything and was mostly demolished when the complex was knocked down in the late 1990s.

[BuddSilverliner269]

Yes a station shell was built under Roosevelt Ave by the old Sears complex. It was never connected to anything and was mostly demolished when the complex was knocked down in the late 1990s.

Actually Mike, this is speculation as the station sat under the parking gararge and not under the complex itself.It probably suffered when the building was imploded. This has never been proven or disproven that the station is gone and just for my mind, I'd like to think its still there.Hehe.

[scotty269]

Try doing a search for "boulevard subway" and "northeast subway" and you'll find many discussions on the topic.

[BuddSilverliner269]

Try doing a search for "boulevard subway" and "northeast subway" and you'll find many discussions on the topic.

who? Me? All Im saying is that none of us has been able to prove that the station is gone, and in the back of my mind, Id like to think that its a survivor.........

[Patrick Boylan]

ok, BuddSilverliner269, how about you and me grab a couple of picks, shovels and backhoes and start digging around there. If we don't find anything that still won't represent proof that it isn't there, just that we dug in the wrong spot, and you can still think that it's a survivor

[AlexC]

I dont think I've ever seen pictures inside the thing... nevermind gone... maybe it never really existed?

[JeffK]

At the risk of going somewhat OT, does anyone know if there are similar station shells anywhere on the half-built Arch Street Loop? Years ago I heard that parts of the tunnel are essentially rail-ready, including a section that's accessible from the Trocadero Theatre. True or just rumor?

[prr60]

When the "new" Sears retail store was constructed in the 1960's in what had been the parking lot for the old store (located in the warehouse building), a parking garage was constructed to replace the lost at-grade parking. The parking garage was in the right of way for the proposed BSS Northeast Extension. To accommodate the future subway, the garage was built with the rough construction of a future station in what was effectively the basement. It was not much more than the structural space for the station and the needed stairways and other access. There was nothing constructed for the subway on the Sears site other than the station structure under the garage.

In the mid-1990's, Richard Rubin purchased the then unused Sears site for redevelopment into a retail complex. All the former Sears structures were removed except for the old heating plant and chimney (left as a landmark feature). The warehouse building was imploded. The retail store and the adjacent garage were demolished by conventional means. The PECO transmission line which ran through the site along the abandoned Oxford Road branch of the PRR was relocated to a route alongside Adams Avenue.

The garage demolition included removal of the old station structure to a point below grade, and backfilling. I saw the station during the demolition process. There was not that much to see: kind of a big concrete basement.

[CarterB]

What would the route map for this extension have been? Where would it have branched off the Market St line? How much would have been below grade, how much, if any at or above grade?

[Quinn]

What would the route map for this extension have been? Where would it have branched off the Market St line? How much would have been below grade, how much, if any at or above grade?

I think the extension would have branched from the Broad Street line just north of Erie.

[dcipjr]

The flying junctions for this extension were built, and can be seen north of Erie station today.

[TWTRTECH]

I know this is an old thread but I came across these photos from the Phillyhistory.org site, one photo description is stated as this"Trains and transit. Note: Envelope also marked with name Bob Rubin. Note: Metadata from a folder containing a print of this image indicates that this image was taken in the "Northeast Subway."http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/Detail.aspx?assetId=122585 these are the other two photos, I wonder if this would be the station under the Sears parking lot.?

[MariusP]

Is this section still extant? I understand the bit built for the old Sears building was demolished at the same time as the building. Another short stretch of tunnel branching off of the trunk line at I believe Erie(?) Ave is used to store equipment. Not sure if there is more tunnel beyond the storage section that is untracked?

[trackwelder]

there's some sort of large open area to the right of the northbound ramp, above 4 track, but the tunnel end is maybe ten feet past the end of track. some very old rail up there, all date stamped from the thirties.