Darby Creek Railroad Bridges

The Darby Creek Bridges are two bascule crossings of the Darby Creek near Chester, Pennsylvania.

---

---

The Darby Creek Bridges are two bascule crossings of the Darby Creek near Chester, Pennsylvania.

History

In 1873, the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (P&R) extended its reach southward by leasing 10.2 miles of track from the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad (PW&B), which became its Philadelphia & Chester Branch. ² It extended from the Gray’s Ferry Bridge across the Schuylkill River in West Philadelphia to Ridley Creek in Ridley Park in Delaware County. ³

The segment was part of the PW&B’s original 1838 line. In 1872, the company opened a new stretch of track further inland to serve more populated areas and reduce flooding incidents. On July 1, 1873, the PW&B agreed to lease the freight rights to the P&R for $350,000 at the time of the lease arrangement and $1 per year after that, stipulating that no passenger trains would use it. ⁴

In a bid to simplify the corporate structure, the P&R ceased operations in 1924, with the Reading Company taking over operations. ⁵

In 1916, the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad merged with several other lines to form the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad (PB&W), which was controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). ¹ The following year, the PB&W constructed its Chester & Philadelphia Branch to accommodate growing industrial traffic along the Delaware River, driven by economic expansion before and after World War I.

The P&R and PB&W crossed the Darby River on similar two-track bascule bridges with overhead counterweight designs. Both were likely designed by the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company of Chicago, founded by Joseph B. Strauss, who patented the bascule bridge. ¹ The Bethlehem Steel Company of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, constructed the bridges. Each bridge featured five 42.8-foot deck girder approach spans, resulting in a total length of 283.2 feet and a deck width of 26 feet. They provided a 50-foot-wide navigable channel and rested four feet above high water when closed.

The bridges were staffed by full-time operators until 1949. ¹

Later Developments

In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) merged with the New York Central Railroad to form the Penn Central Railroad (PC). Although the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad (PB&W) remained a separate legal entity, Penn Central effectively controlled and operated it.

Penn Central declared bankruptcy in 1970, followed by the Reading Company filing for bankruptcy in 1971. ⁶

In 1976, both companies sold their railroad assets to the Consolidated Railroad Corporation (Conrail) under the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act. Conrail utilized the PB&W right-of-way between Philadelphia and Washington, while most of the former P&R right-of-way, which generally paralleled the PB&W, was abandoned and its tracks removed.

Today, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway jointly operate the southernmost Darby Creek Railroad Bridge, while the northernmost crossing is abandoned.

---

Gallery

---

Details

---

---

Sources

1. Spivey, Justin M. “Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad, Darby River Bridge.” Historic American Engineering Record, Apr. 2000.
2. “The Railway World.” United States Railroad and Mining Register Company, Jan. 1880, pp. 266-267.
3. Basalik, Kenneth J., and Philip Ruth. “Philadelphia & Reading Railroad: Chester Branch.” Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2 Mar. 2015.
4. Morlok, Edward K. “First Permanent Railroad in the U.S. and Its Connection to the University of Pennsylvania.” Transportation Data, 2005.
5. Alecknavage II, Albert. “Reading Company History.” Philadelphia Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, 12 Jun. 2002.
6. Treese, Lorett. Railroads of Pennsylvania: fragments of the past in the Keystone landscape. Stackpole Books, 2003, p. 114.