Ninth Street Branch

Ninth Street Branch
The Reading Terminal in 1906
Overview
Status	Conveyed to Conrail and SEPTA
Locale	Philadelphia
Termini	Reading Terminal Tabor Junction
Operation
Opened	6 June 1832 (1832-06-06)
Closed	12 November 1984 (1984-11-12)
Owner	Reading Company
Character	Fully elevated and grade-separated
Events
January 1, 1911	Branch fully elevated
July 26, 1931	Electrification
Technical
Line length	7.0 mi (11.3 km)
Number of tracks	4
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	12 kV 25 Hz overhead line
Route map 7.0 mi 11.3 km Tabor Junction Bethlehem Branch 6.7 mi 10.8 km Tabor 6.2 mi 10 km Newtown Junction Newtown Branch 5.9 mi 9.5 km Logan   Chestnut Hill Branch 5.1 mi 8.2 km Wayne Junction 4.3 mi 6.9 km Nicetown 4.0 mi 6.4 km Tioga 3.5 mi 5.6 km North 16th Street Junction Norristown Branch 2.9 mi 4.7 km North Broad Street 1.8 mi 2.9 km Columbia Avenue Girard Avenue 0.8 mi 1.3 km Spring Garden Street 0.4 mi 0.6 km Callowhill Street Junction City Branch 0.0 mi 0 km Reading Terminal This diagram:

The Ninth Street Branch was an elevated railway line in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was operated by the Reading Company; ownership was split between the Reading and its subsidiary the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad. It was a four-tracked main line beginning at the Reading Terminal, the Reading's terminus in Philadelphia, and extending north into the city to a junction with the Bethlehem Branch. After the final bankruptcy of the Reading the line passed to Conrail and later SEPTA. The portion south of the Temple University station was abandoned in 1984 with the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection and is now known as the Reading Viaduct; the portion north is now part of the SEPTA Main Line.

The line originated at the Reading Terminal, an elevated railway station which opened in 1893. The City Branch, a freight-only route, diverged almost immediately. Four tracks continued north to the North 16th Street Junction with the Norristown Branch. At Wayne Junction the Chestnut Hill Branch diverged and the Ninth Street Branch narrowed to two tracks. At Newtown Junction, between Logan and Tabor, the New York Short Line (originally the Newtown Branch) diverged. At Tabor Junction, just beyond Tabor, the branch joined the Bethlehem Branch. Up until the final conveyance to Conrail in 1976 the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown owned the portion between North Broad Street and Tabor Junction, while the Reading Company owned the line south from North Broad Street to the Reading Terminal.