The Philadelphia Division
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Philadelphia Division was an essential part of the PRR system connecting deep-water ports and urban centers in Philadelphia, Camden, Baltimore, Wilmington and New York to the railroad's gateway west.
Freight and passenger trains ran via separate electrified lines to the Harrisburg terminal area. The main line from Philadelphia follows the original alignment of the state-owned Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad to Lancaster which the PRR took control of in 1857. Direct access to Harrisburg from Lancaster was secured via the Harrisburg Portsmouth, Mt Joy & Lancaster Railroad, which later became the preferred route of the PRR’s fleet of blue ribbon passenger trains. Freight and passenger trains ran via separate electrified lines to the Harrisburg terminal area. Freight traveled on a series of lines collectively known as the Low Grade a series of lines built at the turn of the century to reduce curvature and grades to improve.
At Creswell, the A&S joins the Columbia & Port Deposit from Baltimore via Perryville entering the historic city of Columbia. From here the line crosses the Susquehanna at Shocks Mills continuing along the former Northern Central accessing the Enola Yards on the west bank the Susquehanna in Harrisburg.
Harrisburg, the western terminus of the Philadelphia Division was home to a significant passenger terminal and freight yards as well as connections to the mainline west via Rockville, Hagerstown via the Cumberland Valley and Buffalo by way of the Williamsport Line. Freight classification took place at Enola Yard processing as many as 20,000 freight cars a day during the peak of World War II.
West Philadelphia Elevated Branch and 36th Street Connection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Interlocking, North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Passenger Station, North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Zoo Interlocking, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Overbrook Station, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pier 122, Greenwich Point, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Schuylkill River Bridge, Manayunk, Pennsylvania
Tulpehocken Station, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fly-over Bridge, 52nd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Delair Bridge, Pennsauken, New Jersey
Passenger Station, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Paoli, Pennsylvania
Low Grade Fly-over, Whitford, Pennsylvania
A&S Branch and Mainline, Atglen, Pennsylvania
Interior Detail, Passenger Station, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Susquehanna River, Marietta, Pennsylvania
Shocks Mills Bridge, near Marietta, Pennsylvania
State Interlocking, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Cumberland Valley Bridge, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Enola Yard, West Fairview, Pennsylvania
Rockville Bridge, Marysville, Pennsylvania
Abandoned “D” Track Tunnel, Marysville, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Division
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Philadelphia Division linked vital arteries serving major Northeast Cities with the mainline west to Pittsburgh. With connecting lines from Philadelphia, Camden, Baltimore, Wilmington and New York, freight and passenger trains were routed via separate electrified mainlines to the Harrisburg terminal area.
Freight trains travelled on a series of lines collectively known as the Low Grade from New York and Philadelphia to Thorndale on the mainline, where they converged, splitting again at Parkesburg onto the Atglen & Susquehanna Branch. At Creswell the A&S joins the Columbia & Port Deposit from Baltimore via Perryville entering the historic city of Columbia. From here the line crosses the Susquehanna at Shocks Mills continuing along the former Northern Central accessing the Enola Yards on the west bank the Susquehanna in Harrisburg.
The mainline from Philadelphia follows the original state owned Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad alignment to Lancaster which the PRR took control of in 1857. Direct access to Harrisburg from Lancaster was secured via the Harrisburg Portsmouth, Mt Joy & Lancaster Railroad, which later became the preferred route of the PRR’s fleet of blue ribbon passenger trains.
Harrisburg, the western terminus of the Philadelphia Division was home to a significant passenger terminal and freight yards as well as connections to the mainline west via Rockville, Hagerstown via the Cumberland Valley and Buffalo by way of the Williamsport Line. Major freight classification took place at Enola Yard processing as many as 20,000 freight cars a day during the peak of World War II.