City Branch (was "Abandoned SEPTA Rail tunnel in philly?")

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/139167719.html

In the subterranean shadows, the models scurry at the sound of people tromping their way. They won't say why they chose this abandoned SEPTA tunnel for a fashion shoot, though the cavernous space does offer a darkly glamorous backdrop.

VanMeter has reimagined the remnants of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway as a path where pedestrians and cyclists (and maybe even fashion models) could travel without ever crossing a street.

What was this tunnel previously used for?

It's the City Branch. I'll let the historians list what ran on it and until when.

your quote answers your question: it was part of the

Philadelphia & Reading

railroad. One of its last customers was the Inquirer newspaper printing plant at 16th and Callowhill.

The article's a bit vague about when it's talking about the Reading's 9th St branch viaduct, and this tunnel, which was the City Branch, which ran roughly between Callowhill St and Spring Garden St, once upon a time from the Delaware River to the Schuylkill River-Art Museum, where it made a right turn and had what's now CSX's line join it.
The part the article mentions

The trip began near Girard Avenue, wandered through the 52-foot-wide tunnel, burst into sunlight near the Rodin Museum, and continued through the Whole Foods parking garage before resurfacing near 20th Street.

begins at CSX's active line in a cut under between 34th and 33rd St, bridge under Girard Ave, then Poplar St.
Just south of Poplar St it's at street level, that's probably where the article's tour started
Then it descends into another cut beside Pennsylvania Ave.
At 27th St Pa Ave widens to cover the railroad and create the 'subterranean shadows'.
Between 26th and 25th St CSX's track turns south into its own tunnel.

New and old pic's......................

Few more...............

Nice pix! How were you able to take them (at least the modern ones, haha!) because as the article noted anything inside the ROW is off-limits.

Or, umm, uh, is that a question I shouldn't be asking....

http://viaductgreene.org/

Has some nice pictures of the city branch and the Reading viaduct. The site has a few historical rail geek articles and maps too.

What a shame to let this transit asset go to waste...

This is like a $1 billion head-start on a subway surface extension.

The line would intersect #15 on Girard and the dormant #23 tracks on 11th/12th for an existing cc loop. The right way to do it would be to get under ground to the 15th and 13th ss stations somehow.

I know there was some study done and ridership levels were considered too low, but an unground rail link from center city to the art museum? and then on to the zoo? I think ridership would be huge.

Articulated inbound 48s are SRO by Pennsylvania and Brown every day (it runs past my house). I don't get it.

The trouble is the City Branch isn't really close enough to Center City.

However it would link several large developments in Proposed in Center City , the Waterfront , and West Philly.... It would link the future Waterfront Network to the 15 Trolley... The City Philly from what i heard is very angry about this , they had banked on another East - West line.....

http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... ch#p967543
http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... &start=615
http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... h#p1015242

nittany4 wrote: This is like a $1 billion head-start on a subway surface extension.

More like a $991 million head-start; SEPTA already spent the rest buying the abandoned line from Conrail.

Matthew Mitchell wrote:The trouble is the City Branch isn't really close enough to Center City.

30k people (and growing) living in the "art museum area" [not to mention the, err, art museum, which recently discovered vaulted ceilings in a subterranean hallway that was intended to house the parkway line subway stop]. the city branch cut also skirts logan sq

Is Fairmount growing as a residential area? Yes. But the City Branch runs perpendicular to the direction those people are traveling to go to work. What I meant in my remark was that the City Branch was too far from Center City for passengers to walk from the City Branch to their destination. Then you have to make a commitment as to where that route travels south to the Market St. corridor. Too far west and you don't make much use of the City Branch; too far east and you miss all the west of City Hall destinations.

But the City Branch does look good on a cocktail napkin.

Suburban Station wrote: [not to mention the, err, art museum, which recently discovered vaulted ceilings in a subterranean hallway that was intended to house the parkway line subway stop].

This sounds interesting. Do you have a link to more information?