| Columbia Railroad Bridge | |
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Columbia Railroad Bridge |
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| Other name(s) | Columbia Bridge |
| Carries | CSX Trenton Subdivision |
| Crosses | Kelly Drive, Schuylkill River, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive |
| Locale | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Material | Concrete |
| Total length | 755 feet |
| Width | 56 feet |
| Number of spans | 8 |
| Opened | 1920 |
Columbia Railroad Bridge is a 1920 concrete arch bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that carries CSX Trenton Subdivision rail lines over the Schuylkill River. It is located in Fairmount Park, upstream from the Pennsylvania Railroad Connecting Bridge. It is also known as Columbia Bridge.[1]
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The first bridge was erected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1834. It had seven spans, and was constructed of white pine as a covered bridge for the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad.[2] A inclined plane on the bridge's west side drew the railway cars up Belmont Hill by cable. The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad bought this bridge from the state in 1851. [1]
The second bridge was erected in 1886 by the Reading Railroad to carry the increasingly heavy freight traffic. It was a two track wrought iron Pratt truss bridge, in service until 1920. [1]
The current bridge was completed in 1920 with two tracks, and two more were added in 1921, but now there are only two tracks on this bridge. [1]
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