PRR - Schuylkill River Bridge (Royersford)
Photos
Royersford/Spring City RR Bridge -- September 1, 2008
Looking from Spring City towards Royersford
Photo taken by Raymond Klein
BH Photo #157613
Facts
- Overview
- Abandoned pony plate girder bridge over Schuylkill River on abandoned (former PRR Schuylkill Division)rail line
- Location
- Royersford, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
- Status
- Abandoned
- History
- Connected Pennsylvania Railroad's Schuylkill Dvision (now abandoned - soon to be a trail) with former Reading Railroad's (now Norfolk Southern) in service main line from Philadelphia to Reading, PA
- Railroad
- - Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)
- Design
- Pony plate girder
- Also called
- Abandoned Bridge Royersford, PA
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +40.18503, -75.54682 (decimal degrees)
40°11'06" N, 75°32'49" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 18/453449/4448437 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Phoenixville
- Inventory number
- BH 44360 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- July 4, 2017: New photos from Kevan Lutz
- January 10, 2011: Updated by Daniel Hopkins: Renamed the bridge
- July 25, 2010: Updated by D. Thomsen: Typos in history.
- March 14, 2010: New photos from Raymond Klein
- March 9, 2010: Updated by Raymond Klein: Added photos. Added Royersford, PA to name. USGS Phoenixville, PA. Added narative to histroy section, Former Schuylkill Division added to overview
- March 7, 2010: Added by Joshua Collins
Sources
- Joshua Collins - Bigjc1979 [at] aol [dot] com
- Raymond Klein - Bookshelfthe [at] msn [dot] com
- D. Thomsen - dcthomsen [at] comcast [dot] net
- Daniel Hopkins - chimera [at] clovermail [dot] net
- Luke
Comments
George, this bridge is definitely worth checking out. another bridge a few miles from this one is the Cromby bridge which used to go to the cromby powerplant. it is abandoned but the track is still in good shape and its a great walk.
Xavier,i am actually not familiar with this bridge but i have fished the Schuylkill River below this bridge.From the pictures and what you said i agree this bridge is beyond saving.Also being that i lived and went to school while living in Lansdale i am familiar with the area very well.If and when i do get to see this bridge if it's still standing i will be careful,especially on it if possible.I know there are possibly other bridges in the area that are abandoned which i will someday take the time and look for.
George,
The current state of this bridge is rather rough. the bridge is in an extreme state of disrepair. much of it is overgrown, rotted away, or missing. the bridge deck is missing in many places and walking across can be daunting. this bridge is used by many locals as access to an island in the river. very dangerous to cross, but interesting. the tracks are gone too and the only way on the bridge is an old railroad tie. worth checking out, but proceed with caution
If I am not mistaken this bridge is part of the schuykill branch which was a rail line that ran from Philadelphia to Pottsville.
does anyone know the current status of this abandoned r.r. bridge?please let me know.thanks.
This bridge was built in 1898 by the Pennsylvania Railroad to service the Buckwalter Stove Company , Royerford Foundry & Machine Co.,Royersford Spring Company and Diamond Glass Co.
This spur did have a connection to the Philadelphia & Reading on the west end of this branch.
The PRR track on this bridge didn't connect directly to the Reading Mainline. Rather it accessed the stove founderies and glass works with street side trackage along First Avenue in Royersford. There may have been a connector westward in the vicinity of the Reading freight station which stood just west of the existing passenger station now the "Pretzel Depot". Norfolk Soutern proposed selling it to Royersford Borough along with some riverfront land but it was rejected due to potential liability issues.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/pa/chester/abandoned-railroad/
Xavier,when in the area i will check this bridge out.As for the other bridge,is that the one that crosses the Schuylkill River above the power plant?