Tunnel Under Powelton Yard?

Hello everyone, I had a question regarding something I've seen on every inbound train from the R5 since I was a toddler. I noticed that right here, there is evidence that there were one two tracks that went below the yard. Where did they go? I have to assume it has something with the tunnel SEPTA trains use to get from 30th to the NEC going southbound, but I'm not entirely sure why it was ever necessary.

Bonus question: why is this connection kept open? I wouldn't think that any trains need to bypass Philadelphia entirely, yet every time that I go by, the railheads are shiny. Amtrak work trains maybe?

First question: For freight traffic and abandoned long ago.

Second question: That is the New York-Pittsburgh Subway. It is used very, very frequently to wye trains. Amtrak uses it every single day to spin the diesel off 42.

1st question: Before 30th St. lower level was built, Northeast Corridor thru trains that didn't pull into and back out of Broad St. Station used that tunnel to get to the North - South platforms at West Philadelphia (32nd St.) station. They were about under the curve in J.F.K. Blvd.

CNJGeep wrote:First question: For freight traffic and abandoned long ago.

Fascinating. Why not take the high line?

CNJGeep wrote:Second question: That is the New York-Pittsburgh Subway. It is used very, very frequently to wye trains. Amtrak uses it every single day to spin the diesel off 42.

The Broadway last used it in early 1989 to run through to and from NYP and bypass 30 Street entirely.

R36 Combine Coach wrote:

CNJGeep wrote:Second question: That is the New York-Pittsburgh Subway. It is used very, very frequently to wye trains. Amtrak uses it every single day to spin the diesel off 42.

The Broadway last used it in early 1989 to run through to and from NYP and bypass 30 Street entirely.

Really? I thought the Broadway always stopped at 30th...

CNJGeep wrote:First question: For freight traffic and abandoned long ago.

mcgrath618 wrote:Fascinating. Why not take the high line?

The High Line wasn't built until about 1900. After then, mostly passenger trains used that tunnel until about 1934, when the Lower Level of 30th St. was opened.

mcgrath618 wrote:

R36 Combine Coach wrote:

CNJGeep wrote:Second question: That is the New York-Pittsburgh Subway. It is used very, very frequently to wye trains. Amtrak uses it every single day to spin the diesel off 42.

The Broadway last used it in early 1989 to run through to and from NYP and bypass 30 Street entirely.

Really? I thought the Broadway always stopped at 30th...

"Back in the day," all east-west trains stopped only at North Philadelphia, and platform signs at Suburban Station would indicate that a Chestnut Hill or Trenton local was a connection for a particular train to the West. Coming into Philadelphia from New York on a train for Harrisburg and beyond, conductors would announce "North Philadelphia, the ON-LY stop in Philadelphia." At that time there was an underground passageway from North Philadelphia station on the Broad St. Subway to the station (I suppose it's still there, but closed off for safety).
When the Broadway used the Pittsburgh Subway I think was also the time when the Washington section operated via 30th St. instead of the Port Road and made the 30th St. stop.

ExCon90 wrote:

mcgrath618 wrote:

R36 Combine Coach wrote:

CNJGeep wrote:Second question: That is the New York-Pittsburgh Subway. It is used very, very frequently to wye trains. Amtrak uses it every single day to spin the diesel off 42.

The Broadway last used it in early 1989 to run through to and from NYP and bypass 30 Street entirely.

Really? I thought the Broadway always stopped at 30th...

"Back in the day," all east-west trains stopped only at North Philadelphia, and platform signs at Suburban Station would indicate that a Chestnut Hill or Trenton local was a connection for a particular train to the West. Coming into Philadelphia from New York on a train for Harrisburg and beyond, conductors would announce "North Philadelphia, the ON-LY stop in Philadelphia." At that time there was an underground passageway from North Philadelphia station on the Broad St. Subway to the station (I suppose it's still there, but closed off for safety).
When the Broadway used the Pittsburgh Subway I think was also the time when the Washington section operated via 30th St. instead of the Port Road and made the 30th St. stop.

Everyone:
The engine change point on Trains #41 west and #40 east was transferred to Philadelphia from
Harrisburg with the April 27, 1980 schedule change. The Broadway Limited began to serve
Philadelphia by way of 30th Street Station instead of North Philadelphia.

The train would run "backwards" NYP-PHL under electric power and then forward with diesels.
The Summer 1983 schedule shows 12 minutes for #41 and 15 minutes for #40 to change
locomotives at PHL.

EC90: Yes-Trains #440 and #441 from Washington was rerouted via Philadelphia October 26, 1975
from running up the "Port Road" from Perryville, MD to Harrisburg. With the April 27, 1980 schedule
change the Broadway Limited would be combined in Philadelphia - for one year. With the April 26,
1981 schedule change #440 and #441 WAS-PHL would be eliminated.

I remember changes concerning the Broadway Limited because I rode these trains averaging
one round trip per year for the 12 year period between 1973 and 1984 between NYP-CHI.
Good travel memories there from those Broadway Limited trips!
MACTRAXX

The tunnel you're referring to is the former Gray's Ferry branch.

viewtopic.php?t=64616" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Everyone:

With this discussion about trains using the "Pittsburgh Subway" I will add two sources of historical
information to this (and many regional rail-related topics) subject:

The PRR and subsequent rail chronological history (up to 1989) in PDF form:
http://prrths.com/newprr_files/Hagley/P ... _intro.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The 1970s are listed by year and the decade of the 1980s (1980-1989) is listed together.

The Keystone Service History Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Service#history" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The "Through Service" section shows through HAR-NYP train operations.

MACTRAXX

Just a bit up the track in Ardmore, there is an interesting artifact along the northern side of the tracks:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0117578 ... a=!3m1!1e3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you are riding along the Keystone Corridor you notice some sort of construction at this location. Is this where the Philadelphia and Columbia joined what is now the Main Line from the Belmont Plane?

rcthompson04 wrote:Just a bit up the track in Ardmore, there is an interesting artifact along the northern side of the tracks:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0117578 ... a=!3m1!1e3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you are riding along the Keystone Corridor you notice some sort of construction at this location. Is this where the Philadelphia and Columbia joined what is now the Main Line from the Belmont Plane?

Not sure. It might be the remnants of a team track. You can see it still near the Wawa:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0112674 ... 384!8i8192" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Typically, those timber-structure elevated sidings were for home heating coal delivery. They are slowly washing away from the landscape with time. On the R5, there is one across from the MU yard at Lansdale (Krupp-Meyers), one in North Wales on the outbound side south of Walnut St., one in Ambler just north of the old station, 2 in Glenside (one on the outbound side just north of Carmel (Glenside coal & Lumber) and one just south of the station on the inbound side. If you look on the old 9th St branch, you can see evidence of old coal dump spurs on both sides between Wayne Jct and Spring Garden Station.

Until the late 50’s, anthracite was a cheap way to heat your house or business. However, it wasn’t convenient. Even stoker-fired furnaces needed the hopper refilled once per day and the ash pan dumped every 2 days. The grates needed shaking every 12 hours to keep the air flowing under the damper. Most people dumped the ashes in the alley behind their house. It was very labor intensive. Oil (although more expensive per BTU of home heat) was too convenient and allowed people the freedom to travel in the winter without having someone stay home to “tend the coal furnace”.

Look closely out the side window when you travel by train in a small town, and you’ll see little bits of our neighborhood history. Sorry to veer off topic, but I love studying the anthropology and evolution of our neighborhoods and suburbs, especially in the “carbon age”.

According to this map [1], the railroads look to have joined around the location of the current Trader Joe's, with the older route passing through the modern grounds of Lower Merion High School. This is a bit east of the timbers shown. I believe the curve of Bala Ave just northwest of Cynwyd Station also follows the old ROW.

The modern route through Bryn Mawr is also a later development, with the original route running along what is now Railroad Ave in Haverford.

[1]: http://lowermerionhistory.org/wp-conten ... ilroad.jpg