Frankford Branch

The Frankford Branch was a railway line located in the city of Philadelphia in the United States. Its opening in 1894 provided residents of the Frankford neighborhood with direct access to the Reading Terminal. It was part of the Reading system until its 1976 conveyance to Conrail. Conrail abandoned the branch in the 1990s.

Frankford Branch
Overview
StatusAbandoned
History
Opened29 June 1894 (1894-06-29)
Technical
Line length2.6 mi (4.2 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map
mi
Trenton Line
8.1
Frankford Junction
Trenton Line
8.8
 Cedar Grove
Oxford Road Branch
9.5
 Summerdale
10.0
 Arrott Street
10.7
 Frankford
[1][2]

History

The branch was constructed between 1892 and 1894 by the Philadelphia and Frankford Railroad, a subsidiary of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and forerunner of the Reading Company.[3]

The line branched off from Reading's Newtown Branch at Frankford Junction,[lower-alpha 1] east of Olney. The ceremonial opening of the line took place on June 29, 1894, with scheduled services beginning on July 2.[5]

The line's original terminus was Frankford Station, near Frankford Avenue and Unity Street. The Frankford extension of the Market–Frankford Line, which opened in 1922, led to the Reading closing this station in 1928.[6]

The Philadelphia and Frankford Railroad was one of twelve Reading properties merged at the end of 1923 to create the new Reading Company.[7]

The Frankford Branch was one of many Reading lines conveyed to Conrail in 1976 as a result of the Reading's bankruptcy.[8]

Conrail abandoned the line in the mid-1990s, prior to the CSX Transportation / Norfolk Southern Railway acquisition.[lower-alpha 2]

Notes
  1. Not to be confused with the more famous Frankford Junction on the Northeast Corridor.[4]
  2. Compare the 1995 and 1997 Conrail track charts.[9][10]

References
  1. Official Guide of the Railways. New York: National Railway Publication Co. January 1904. p. 325. OCLC 6340864.
  2. "Maintenance Program and Track Chart: Philadelphia Division" (PDF). Conrail. 1990. p. 13.
  3. "Reading's Frankford Branch". The Philadelphia Times. July 7, 1892. p. 5. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Duffy, Edward W. (August 13, 2019). "In Northeast Philadelphia, A Rich History Of Train Tracks And Acquisitions". Hidden City Philadelphia. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  5. "The Reading's new line". The Philadelphia Times. June 30, 1894. p. 3. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Frankford station". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 4, 1961. p. 42. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Reading Company Twenty-six Annual Report for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1923". Railway Age. 76 (37): 1795. June 21, 1924.
  8. United States Railway Association (1975). Final system plan for restructuring railroads in the Northeast and Midwest region pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (PDF). Vol. 1. Washington, DC. p. 310. OCLC 2889148.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. "Maintenance Program and Track Chart: Philadelphia Division" (PDF). Conrail. 1995. p. 4; 129.
  10. "Maintenance Program and Track Chart: Philadelphia Division" (PDF). Conrail. 1997. p. 5.
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