Junction Railroad (Philadelphia)

Junction Railroad

The Junction Railroad is among the lines depicted
Locale	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dates of operation	1860–1908
Successor	Pennsylvania Railroad
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Junction Railroad was a railroad created in 1860 to connect lines west of downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and allow north-south traffic through the metropolitan area for the first time. The railroad consisted of 3.56 miles of double track and 5.3 miles of sidings. It owned no locomotives or rolling stock. The line connected the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road line at the west end of the Columbia Bridge over the Schuylkill River, crossed the Pennsylvania Railroad line, ran parallel to Market Street, and turned south to connect with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad at Gray's Ferry.

It came under Pennsylvania Railroad control in 1881, and was eliminated by merger in 1908.

In 1860, there were four lines into downtown Philadelphia from the west:

The Junction Railroad was incorporated on May 3, 1860, to connect the Reading, Pennsylvania, and PW&B lines through West Philadelphia, which sits across the Schuylkill from downtown. The three lines each bought a one-third share in the Junction Railroad on August 1, 1861, and the company was organized on October 3. Construction began from Belmont to West Philadelphia in 1862, including trackage rights along the PRR between 35th Street (now Zoo interlocking) and Market Street; this opened on November 23, 1863. From West Philadelphia south to Grays Ferry, the Junction Railroad mostly paralleled the WC&P, and had to cross it somewhere, leading to a dispute between the two companies and a delay in opening the southern half. One track opened south of the WC&P crossing at Spruce Street in December 1864, giving a temporary routing via the WC&P through West Philadelphia. The final portion, from Market Street to Spruce Street, including the Market Street Tunnel, opened on July 1, 1866.

The Connecting Railway, operated by the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, opened in 1867. It served as another connecting link, running from the Junction Railroad and PRR main line at Zoo interlocking east to the lines heading north from downtown.