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| A Philly Phable; The Never Built roxborough-Darby subway | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 6 2006, 07:58 PM (3,202 Views) | |
| Mark | Sep 6 2006, 07:58 PM Post #1 |
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Advanced Transit Fan
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I tried to post this on Subchat.com, but someting's wrong with their server at the present time. I posted this here as an emergency measure. After reading <a href=http://www.subchat.com/read.asp?Id=305672>this thread</a> that mentioned the Henry Ave Bridge Subway Tunnels, it jogged my memory of once seeing plans to build a subway running from Roxborough to Darby. This was one of the grandiose plans of the City Of Philadelphia to build a large subway system. The original plan was unveiled in 1915, and much of it was based on the BMT lines in Brooklyn. The only part of the plan that got built, was the Broad St Subway and the Ridge/Locust Spur. The remainder of the plan died because of a lack of money [the Depression hit a year after the BSS was completed to City Hall] and the usual BS political shenanigans in Philly. The line would start somewhere in Roxborough [it was never mentioned where], run under Henry Ave. When the bridge over the Wissahickon was built, subway tunnels was included for a future build. now the proposed subway would run under henry Ave, 29th St, Ridge Ave, 8th St, Locust St, under the Schuylkill River, then find its way to Woodland Ave where it would emerge at or around the present 40th St portal, and run as an El over Woodland Ave and Main St to the 9th and Main Darby Terminal. Probable stations were: Roxborough Terminal [whereever it was to be located], Walnut Lane, Midvale Ave, Women's Medical College [either Abbotsford or Roberts Ave], 29th and Allegheney, 29th and Lehigh, 29th and Dauphin, Ridge and Columbia, Ridge and Girard, the present Ridge/Broad/Fairmount Station, Spring Garden, Vine St, 8th and Market, 9th-10th Locust, 12th-13th Locust, 15th-16th Locust, maybe a station at 18th st, or a station at 20th, 22nd-23rd and Locust, then under the river to 34th and Woodland, then the station at 40th and Woodland [either an El station, or a subwy station before emerging as an El], 49th and Woodland, 58th and Woodland, 65th and Woodland, Island Rd, and finally, Darby Terminal. Why this subway was never built? Well the BSS ate up so much money in the initial segment, that the City only had enough money to finish the one line. Also many of the city's rich and powerful citizens lived in the Rittenhouse Sq area, and they put their foot down on no more subway construction through their neighborhood [that why the Locust St subway ends abruptly at 18th St.]. The money the City spent on the subway's City-Hall/Olney segment was responsible for the fact that the Locust St line, and the South Broad St Subway was built, but remained empty [no tracks, signals, etc.] for years. The City managed to scrounge enough money for the South Broad Subway to Snyder Ave in the 1930's, and the Ridge Ave Subway to 8th St. The DRBJC [predecessor to the DRPA] built the short Bridge Line to connect to the Ridge Ave Subway in 1936. In the 1953 with the help of the DRBJC, the City finally equipped the Locust St Subway with tracks and signals and opened the line to Bridge Line Trains [only on a limited 6am to 7pm weekday only schedule which lasted until the PATCO opening in 1969. Nights and weekends the Bridge Line ran to 8th and Market then to Girard Ave in a round-robin operation. In 1969, PATCO began the current 24/7 operation of Locust St Subway.] The failure of the Roxborough-Darby Line was indicative of the City's failure to expand the subway system beyond the present structure. Minor changes [Market St tunnel extension/Woodland Ave Trolley Subway, Fern Rock Extension, Pattison extension, relocation of the El to the I-95 median between Girard and 2nd St] were made over the years, but when a major extension of the Subway system was proposed, the plans languished due to political inaction, NIMBYism, and the general inability to follow up on the plans. |
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| NeoArtic7101 | Sep 20 2006, 09:19 AM Post #2 |
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rest in peace to all AN440's that ran the Philadelphia area streets
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you know, i actually seen line drawings of this "subway system" Philly was supposed to have built, I seen that line, the Ridge/Darby line, the Chestnut HIll line, up Roosevelt... I wish I can find that line drawing on the web somewhere, does anyone know where to find it? |
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| tanoaj | Apr 12 2009, 06:20 PM Post #3 |
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Transit Historian
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I wonder if it's still possible to have this line built. The Henry Avenue bridge over Wissahickon Creek has a subway tunnel built inside I heard, the Broad Street Line entrance at Allegheny also looks like it could be the original Roxborough Darby line entrance. But could it still run in the original tunnel that is now Patco's or would it have to run a block away? |
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| TRANSIT_FREAK | Jun 12 2009, 07:20 PM Post #4 |
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to Life, Love & LOOT
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I would like to see the BSS extended up on the rossevelt blvd. I heard the subway read on Railrod.net the subway tunnel runs all the way up cottman avenue. |
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| Reeko_8197 | Jun 12 2009, 09:22 PM Post #5 |
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Northeast Philadelphia Reporter
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If that happens the MFL ridership might go down. |
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| CACrafter88bk2504 | Jun 12 2009, 10:26 PM Post #6 |
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Transit Historian
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If a subway line was to be built somewhere in the Roxborough area, Roxborough(Manayunk & Andorra residents) could kiss the 9 & the 27 goodbye & good riddance. |
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| tanoaj | Jun 12 2009, 10:42 PM Post #7 |
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Transit Historian
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I dont think the 9 or the 27 would be gone just because of a subway built under henry avenue. Look at broad street, there's the C and the BSL running underneath. |
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| TheOneCalledA1 | Jun 12 2009, 11:14 PM Post #8 |
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Too smart for you idiots
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It doesn't run anywhere, TF.. |
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| Septa_kid | Jun 13 2009, 03:31 AM Post #9 |
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What if...
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Then it turns and goes to Cottman and Jackson? No more transfers for me
Edited by Septa_kid, Jun 13 2009, 03:34 AM.
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| NeoArtic7101 | Jun 13 2009, 06:07 AM Post #10 |
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rest in peace to all AN440's that ran the Philadelphia area streets
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does anyone know where i can find that map of the old planned subway system or can someone post it on here? |
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