PHILADELPHIA-NEW JERSEY PATCO HEAVY RAIL
Locust St. Subway

PATCO in Philadelphia becomes a city line with four closely-spaced stops under Center City.  The routes ends at a somewhat out-of-the-way downtown location, the 15-16th St. terminal under Locust St.  These old city underground stations seem overbuilt, in a massive public works sort of way.

This portion of the route has a fairly complex history.  The Locust St. Subway  was constructed in the 1930s, and was originally designed to be part of the city system.  It didn't open to traffic until the early 1950s, and was indeed initially operated as an extension to today's Broad-Ridge Spur. 

 In connection with the Lindenwold extension opened in 1969, this stretch was absorbed into that new line.  A track connection to the Broad St. spur line existed at first, but it was long ago removed.

PATCO crosses the Delaware on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, one of only three road/railroad suspension bridges in the country that carry urban heavy rail.  The rider gets some nice views of Philadelphia and development along the river. 

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