Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, Philadelphia

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, Philadelphia
From the Chestnut Street Bridge, circa-1910.
Location	24th Street and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.
Line(s)	B&O Railroad
History
Opened	1888[1]
Closed	1958[1]
Services
Former services   Preceding station   Baltimore and Ohio   Following station Darby toward Baltimore Camden Station Philadelphia Branch Terminus

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, Philadelphia – also known as B&O Station, Chestnut Street Station,^[2][3] and 24th St. Station – was the main passenger station for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by architect Frank Furness, it stood at 24th Street and the Chestnut Street Bridge from 1888 to 1963.^[4]

History

The B&O Railroad completed the Philadelphia Subdivision in 1886, its own line between Baltimore and Philadelphia that did not rely on Pennsylvania Railroad routes. Relying on Reading Railroad routes between Philadelphia and Jersey City, New Jersey (opposite New York City), the B&O could provide direct service to the New York City area.

The Philadelphia station was essentially built on stilts, with the main entrance from the Chestnut Street Bridge, 30 feet above ground level. The B&O tracks ran along the east bank of the Schuylkill River and under the bridge. Furness mixed Flemish Revival detailing with an industrial aesthetic of brick, iron and glass. Through the station's innovative plan, he separated the flow of passengers waiting to board the trains from those arriving.

It also had a connection to the 24th Street trolley stop until that was closed in 1956. The station saw its last regularly scheduled passenger train on April 28, 1958, when the Baltimore & Ohio railroad ended all passenger service north of Baltimore.

The station was destroyed by fire in 1963.

Philadelphia Model Railroad Club

The B&O Station building was also home to the Philadelphia Model Railroad Club, which split into two separate clubs when the building was torn down. The first reopened as the Cherry Valley Model Railroad Club in Merchantville, New Jersey in 1962,^[5] and the second as the East Penn Traction Club several years later.^[6] Some of the models and buildings from the PMRC were salvaged, and live on today on the CVMRR layout.^[7]

Gallery

• 

  Illustration from 1891.

• 

  North elevation.

• 

  Chestnut Street porch under demolition, circa-1940.

• 

  From the Chestnut Street Bridge, 1959.

• 

  East facade from 24th Street, 1959.

• 

  West façade and train platform, 1959.

• 

  Main Waiting Room.

• 

  Fireplace, Main Waiting Room.

• 

  Women's Waiting Room.

• 

  Stairs from the Lower Waiting Room.

See also

• 30th Street Station
• Reading Terminal

References

1. "Philadelphia Depot of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway". Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
2. Timetable transcription with the name "Chestnut Street Station", http://www.american-rails.com/royal-blue.html
3. Station Architect's Website, http://frankfurness.org/profile/biography/career/professional-practice/furness-evans-company/
4. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, Philadelphia at the Historic American Building Survey
5. Sam Steinruck, "Model Train Layout A Little Bit of Christmas", The Retrospective, December 5, 2008
6. The East Penn Traction Club: The Origin of Modular Trolley Layout
7. "Model Railroad Invites Inspection", The Haddon Gazette, November 2, 1967

External links

• More Photos (Existing Railroad Stations in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania)
• Measured drawings and 1959 photos from HABS
• image gallery of the station
• Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Station From Walnut Street Wharf Schuylkill River, June 29, 1889 by D.J. Kennedy, Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 39°57′07″N 75°10′49″W / 39.95194°N 75.18028°W