Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad
Encyclopedia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
to Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
that became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
system. The majority of it is now part of Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
.
History
The P&T was chartered on February 23, 1832 by the Pennsylvania General AssemblyPennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
and organized on June 9, 1832. It opened in 1834 from Philadelphia to Trenton. In 1836, the Camden and Amboy Railroad began to operate the P&T, after obtaining a controlling stock interest.
The original terminus was at Kensington station. On March 23, 1839, the railroad was authorized to build a southern extension along Frankford Avenue, Laurel Street and Front Street, and then run west along the Northern Liberties and Penn Township Railroad on Willow Street to its station at the Third Street Hall, at the northwest corner of Third and Willow Streets. This was never built. The part of the planned extension on Front Street would later be used by the North Pennsylvania Railroad
North Pennsylvania Railroad
North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company formed in 1855, and served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County, Pennsylvania.-History:...
.
The Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
leased the P&T on June 30, 1871, and began operating it on December 1, 1871. A branch in Philadelphia, known as the Tioga Street Branch, was built in 1878, and later sold to the Kensington and Tacony Railroad (which was consolidated into The Connecting Railway in 1902).
Until the P&T-leased Connecting Railway
Connecting Railway
The Connecting Railway was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated to build a connection between the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad and the PRR in the city of Philadelphia.-Connecting railway:...
(which was consolidated into The Connecting Railway in 1902) opened in June 1867, taking trains to 30th Street Station
30th Street Station
30th Street Station is the main railroad station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the five stations in SEPTA's Center City fare zone. It is also a major stop on Amtrak's Northeast and Keystone Corridors...
in Philadelphia, most traffic to Philadelphia used the Camden and Amboy Railroad to Camden
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
due to the distance from Kensington to downtown.
Realignments
Several realignments have been made. In BristolBristol, Pennsylvania
Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Philadelphia opposite Burlington, N.J. on the Delaware River. Bristol was first incorporated in 1720. Although its charter was revised in 1905, the original charter remains in effect, making Bristol one of the older boroughs in...
, the original alignment lies southeast of the current alignment of the Northeast Corridor. Over the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
, the current alignment is southeast of the original one, which used the Trenton Free Bridge
Lower Trenton Bridge
The Lower Trenton Toll Supported Bridge, commonly called the Lower Free Bridge, Warren Street Bridge or Trenton Makes Bridge, is a two-lane through truss bridge over the Delaware River between Trenton, New Jersey and Morrisville, Pennsylvania, owned by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission...
.
Finally, the last bit in Trenton originally ran along West Canal Street, Merchant Street, Stockton Street and Hanover Street, ending at the original station at Broad Street and Hanover Street. It was joined to the Camden and Amboy Railroad's Trenton Branch by a bridge across the Delaware and Raritan Canal
Delaware and Raritan Canal
The Delaware and Raritan Canal is a canal in central New Jersey, United States, built in the 1830s that served to connect the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was intended as an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City,...
by 1836; it then used the station on the east side of the canal, just south of State Street, until the C&A Trenton Branch was realigned around 1865 and the current station
Trenton Rail Station (New Jersey)
Trenton Transit Center, formerly known as Trenton Rail Station, is the main passenger train station in Trenton, New Jersey. It is the southernmost stop in New Jersey on the Northeast Corridor...
was built.
The line today
North of Frankford Junction in Philadelphia, where the Connecting RailwayConnecting Railway
The Connecting Railway was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated to build a connection between the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad and the PRR in the city of Philadelphia.-Connecting railway:...
joined, the line is part of Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
. The northernmost part south of Frankford Junction is still in place for freight, but the rest has been removed.