THE
BROAD
WAY
| A Pennsylvania Railroad Home Page
PRR INTERLOCKING
DIAGRAMS
|
PHILADELPHIA TO
NEW
YORK
| |||
|
THE
BROAD
WAY
| A Pennsylvania Railroad Home Page
PRR INTERLOCKING
DIAGRAMS
|
PHILADELPHIA TO
NEW
YORK
| |||
Milepost numbers as per Eastern Region ETT #23, 1967-04-30.
This branch sees much commuter traffic, though there is a considerable amount of freight traffic at its lower end (Midvale Yard), and as of the date of this map, the Fort Washington branch is still in place. The branch winds north and slightly west, skirting Fairmount Park, and dead-ends in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia. The Reading had a similar branch to the east of the PRR's; the terminal stations are only a couple of blocks' walk from each other. I would like to scan a PRR-era map if anyone has one.
Pictures of the outside and inside [EJ Toal, 1985]
Here the main line comes across the Delaware River. To the east is the PRSL main line. To the south is another main track to Pavonia Yard and Camden. To the north is the Bordentown Branch toward Trenton and South Amboy.
Pictures of the West Yard and Hump Tower, inside [EJ Toal, 1985?]
Pictures of the outside and inside [EJ Toal, 1985?]
On the Bordentown Branch, 6.6 miles north (RR-east?) of JERSEY.
Ref 4, Sheet 31, 1968; ?x?, ?K, 200 dpi -- Map listed in index but missing from set.
The Robinsville Secondary Track is given off as the Bordentown Branch curves. The installation is controlled from FAIR tower in Trenton.
Per the 1923 system map, a branch to Lewistown veers northeastward. This branch itself splits in that town, one leg running northwest to rejoin the Bordentown Branch at Kinkora, the other running a more northerly course, joining the Bordentown Branch at Hightstown. The other branch from Birmingham proceeds due east to Whitings, Tom's River, and Sea Side Park on the Atlantic shore, then north to Bay Head. It appears that one could have connected there to the New York & Long Branch, and thus to the Freehold Branch [see below] at Sea Girt and ultimately back to the Camden & Amboy (Bordentown Branch; Amboy Branch; etc.) at South Amboy.
This shows the beginning of the Bel-Del branch.
North of here, MG controlled block-limit stations WB (M.P. 6.1), GW (M.P. 9.3), and MOORE (M.P. 12.2). Block-limit station RK (M.P. 21.0) was controlled by FRENCHTOWN.
A station and small interlocking. Note the rather difficult way one had to place cars at the freight depot. Also, at the right end of the diagram, note the distant switch indicator, an item seen in the rulebook, but seldom on these diagrams.
North of here, FRENCHTOWN controlled block-limit stations MD (M.P. 34.9) and HD (M.P. 38.9), after which KENT (M.P. 49.0), PG (M.P. 51.3), DY (M.P. 54.2), and CR (M.P. 58.2) were controlled by G.
A slightly cleaner, later 1969 version.
Ref 2, Sheet 35, 1969;
1880x1056, 26K, 200 dpi
Here the Bel-Del Branch connects with the Lehigh & Hudson River RR to Maybrook, N.Y., and ultimately to the New Haven RR to the New England states. This is a block station only according to the ETT. A lonely little outpost of the PRR!
Here is the junction of the Jamesburg Branch with the Bordentown Branch (by the time of this map renamed as the Hightstown Secondary Track. To the right of the map the line continues northeastward to South Amboy as the Amboy Secondary Track, in this era. The Freehold Secondary Track continues east to/toward the Atlantic. The 1968 ETT lists JG as being a remotely controlled Block Station. The remote control was split between MG and SA, even to the point that the (RR-)eastward block signal was controlled by SA and the westward block signal by MG. M.P. 13.6 is measured from SA tower along the Amboy Secondary.
This branch, and the Amboy Secondary, were probably the longest surviving Conrail non-passenger lines under catenary -- the catenary was still up in 1990, some 4-5 years after the majority of Conrail's ex-PRR catenary came down. (Anyone know for sure when it was taken down?)
Crossing of the Freehold Secondary Track and the CRRNJ's north-south line to Winslow Jct., Vineland, and Bridgeton. Map missing from set.
SA, obviously an abbreviation for "South Amboy". I've also seen "ESSAY", but this may be a later, non-PRR creation. Connection, from the east/southeast, with the New York & Long Branch RR from Long Branch and Bay Head.
This tower was built by CNJ but manned by PRR. It controlled the New York & Long Branch from its (RR-)western end on the north shore of the Raritan River to south of South Amboy. CNJ switchtenders in South Amboy(?) threw switches, but SA controlled electric locks on them. South Amboy also had (?still has) manually operated crossing gates. SA also controlled the Amboy Secondary from CQ to JG, the Freehold Secondary from JG to Farmingdale, and the Hightstown Secondary from JG to K.
The NY&LB crosses the Raritan River on a movable bridge and connects with the CNJ's Perth Amboy Branch.
The PRR tracks diverge, and the westbound track ducks underneath the CNJ tracks, which continue northward. This tower was built by PRR but manned by CNJ.
From here, the P&H Branch proceeds northward (RR-east) along Waverly yard, which itself parallels the east side of the main line. You may wish to view an unofficial map of the Waverly Yard area created with the great help of Philip Donnelly
This tower was the exception among the four WAs in that it was manned by a block operator and yardmaster on the 2nd floor, and switchtenders on the 1st floor. "0" Running Track between WA-6 and WA-5 was used whenever the P&H Branch was tied up. The Bayline track from here to WA-2 was used for Greenville trains utilizing "0" Running Track as a bypass, and for interchange with the Lehigh Valley.
The P&H Branch crosses the Passaic River, and passes through and feeds Meadows Yard, as seen on this map. [Richard Makse] The cabin symbol in the circle represents the bridge tender's shanty at Point-No-Point bridge; the bridge was in KARNY's interlocking, and KARNY controlled the signals to the bridge. [Phil Donnelly]
Now the branch crosses the Hackensack River on a movable bridge.
The P&H continues to the Jersey City waterfront, where the Harsimus Cove yard fed car floats and the PRR's massive Harborside Terminal. (NJ Transit's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system, currently under construction, will immortalize these famous PRR locations with stops at Exchange Place, Harborside and Harsimus Cove.) [Richard Makse] The former telegraph call letters for WALDO were SC, which stood for "Shanley's Cut", the cut through Bergen Hill. The name "Waldo" is for nearby Waldo Avenue [Bill Strassner].
PRR floats connected with the Long Island RR, New Haven RR, and other locations. For details, see the Freight Train Schedules page on this site. Scan down to the "by destination" listing to find Greenville and Harsimus Cove.
The Greenville Branch passes through WA-2, which is another tower manned by block operators who threw hand switches. It was closed 3rd trick (1960s, ?also before). The branch continues in its eastward direction, crossing and interchanging with the Central RR of New Jersey at CY, a CNJ tower. [Is this the N/S line that goes S to Elizabethport; is it the present-day Chemical Coast Branch?] [Philip Donnelly]
The Greenville Branch crosses over Newark Bay into Bayonne, ultimately to the car floats at Greenville Yard that formed the gateway to New England. [Richard Makse] Greenville Yard is just off the right edge of the map. BAY is now named UPPER BAY; does anyone know when this name change occurred?
Mark D. Bej
