Delair Bridge
| Delair Bridge | |
|---|---|
The Delair Bridge viewed from the Pennsylvania side
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| Coordinates | 39°58′57″N 75°04′09″W / 39.98250°N 75.06917°WCoordinates: 39°58′57″N 75°04′09″W / 39.98250°N 75.06917°W |
| Carries | Trains of New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line and Conrail |
| Crosses | Delaware River |
| Locale | Philadelphia, PA, and Pennsauken Township, NJ |
| Official name | Delair Memorial Railroad Drawbridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Steel Lift Bridge |
| Total length | 4,396 feet (1,340 m) |
| Longest span | 542 feet (165 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1896 |
The Delair Bridge, officially named the Delair Memorial Railroad Drawbridge, is a railroad bridge with vertical-lift section, carrying the New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line and a former Conrail line, now a shared asset between Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation. It crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy Ross Bridge.
The Delair Bridge, built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1895–1896, was the first bridge of any sort between Philadelphia and New Jersey. The steel span connected PRR tracks in North Philadelphia to southern New Jersey. It consisted of three fixed Pennsylvania truss spans and a through-truss swing-span drawbridge totaling 1,943 feet (592 m). Approach trestles of 2,129 feet (649 m) on the Pennsylvania side and 324 feet (99 m) on the New Jersey side bring its total length to 4,396 feet (1,340 m).
Starting in 1958, the PRR converted the bridge into a vertical-lift span to increase clearance for river traffic. The 542 feet (165 m) movable link was floated into place in one piece to facilitate installation and minimize delay. Work was completed in 1960. The Delair Bridge was the longest and heaviest double-track lift bridge in the world at the time.
The bridge was also electrified in the late 1930s, allowing freight trains hauled by electric locomotives to access the Pavonia Yard in Camden, New Jersey from the Northeast Corridor. Electrification was removed by January, 1967 but was restored in May 1973. However, Conrail ceased electric freight operations in 1981 and removed the wires several years later.
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