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Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1

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Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1 was a steel swing-through truss bridge that crossed the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, linking the Kingsessing and Grays Ferry neighborhoods. It was built in 1901–02 by the American Bridge Company for the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad and carried one rail line. The bridge had a central swinging span about 226 feet long, with two shorter approach spans, and was powered by a steam mechanism to let river traffic pass. It opened in 1902 and allowed trains to cross at speeds up to 15 mph.

Over the years, ownership passed to successor lines and then to Conrail. Conrail abandoned the bridge in 1976. In 2017, Conrail transferred the structure to the City of Philadelphia as part of plans to extend the Schuylkill River Trail for bikes and pedestrians. In August 2018, the truss and superstructure were demolished, but the piers were kept to anchor a new bike-pedestrian bridge, now called Schuylkill Crossing. The new bridge is planned to be completed in the winter of 2025–26.

This site has a long history of crossings, dating back to a ferry by 1673 and a British pontoon bridge in 1777. The first permanent rail bridge here, the Newkirk Viaduct, opened in 1838 to connect Philadelphia with Wilmington and Baltimore.


This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:47 (CET).