Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad

Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad
Map of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad
Broad Street Station, Philadelphia housed the headquarters offices of the PB&W until 1930.
Locale	Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Dates of operation	1902–1976
Predecessor	Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad; Baltimore and Potomac Railroad; Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
Successor	Amtrak; Conrail
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	12 kV 25 Hz
Length	717 miles / 1,154 km (pre-PCC&StL merger)
Headquarters	Philadelphia

The Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (PB&W) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia in the 20th century, and was a key component of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system. Its 131-mile (211 km) main line ran from Philadelphia to Washington.^[1]:228 The PB&W main line is now part of the Northeast Corridor, owned by Amtrak.

History

This 1906 bridge over the Susquehanna River, now called the Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge, replaced the Civil War-era 1866 PW&B Railroad Bridge between Havre de Grace and Perryville, Maryland.

The railroad was formed in 1902 when the Pennsylvania Railroad merged two of its southern subsidiaries, the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad and the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad.^[1]:226.

In 1907, the PB&W became a co-owner of the new Washington Terminal Company, which operated newly built marble "Transportation Temple of America", Washington Union Station.^[2]

In 1916, the PB&W operated 717 miles (1,154 km) of road, including 9 miles (14 km) of trackage rights.^[1]:226-227

Acquisitions

The PB&W acquired six railroad companies:

• 1906: South Chester Railroad
• 1913: Baltimore and Sparrow's Point Railroad, which provided freight service to Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Sparrows Point steel mill
• 1916: Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
• 1916: Columbia and Port Deposit Railway
• 1916: Elkton and Middletown Railroad
• 1956: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Pan Handle Route)

Improvements

In 1928, the PRR began to electrify the main line between New York and Washington using overhead lines. Electrification of the PB&W portion was completed in 1935.^[3] Amtrak still uses the 25Hz traction power system.

Dissolution

Union Junction Tower in Baltimore, built in 1910. It operated into the Amtrak era and was closed in 1987.

In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad and its longtime rival New York Central Railroad merged to form the Penn Central Railroad. The PB&W remained a separate legal entity, although controlled and operated by the new company. The Penn Central declared bankruptcy in 1970 but continued to operate trains until 1976, when the company's railroad assets were sold under the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act. Under the new law, Congress authorized the sale of the PB&W right-of-way between Philadelphia and Washington, and related assets (such as the Washington Terminal Company), to Amtrak. Other PB&W assets, including almost all of the PCC&StL (Pan Handle), were sold to the new Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail).^{[4]:122 [5]}

See also

• List of defunct Pennsylvania railroads
• List of Delaware railroads
• List of defunct Maryland railroads
• List of Washington, D.C. railroads

References

External links

• First Annual Report By Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad Company (1903)
• Annual Report By Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad Company (1904)