Frankford Junction, Pennsylvania

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Frankford Junction is a railroad junction located in Philadelphia, PA. The junction sits near the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Butler Street.

[edit] Overview

The junction has seen a mass of freight and passenger service throughout it's existence. In 1932 the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad was formed and started service with a small yard. The line extended southwest out of the junction and on to destinations north. In 1871 the railroad was leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad. During this time a new branch was formed, namely the Tioga Street Branch. It consisted of trackage down the middle of Tioga Street. The branch was later sold to the Kensington and Tacony Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad operated the Connecting Railway (part of today's Northeast Corridor) that carried trains to the south.

Through time the junction passed from the Pennsylvania Railroad to the Penn Central and finally to Amtrak. During the era of the PRR they operated the Congressional which passed through the junction.

The junction started to dwindle in its older years, with the last service coming from SEPTA in the 1990s. The junction still sees many trains, both freight and passenger, none of which service the platforms that still exist. Today the original P&T line still exists for a few city blocks and stops abruptly at Ann Street. It is still used for local freight service. The Connecting Railway still exists as the junctions main freight line that splits from the Northeast Corridor at this location and continues to New Jersey. NJ Transit maintains a line through the junction the services 30th Street Station to Atlantic City. Amtrak and SEPTA pass through on the Northeast Corridor. There is an abandoned track that used to be for local freight on the north side of the junction. The switching yard is still maintained with continuously decreasing service.