Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad

The Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (PB&W) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia from 1902 until 1976. A key component of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system, its 131-mile (211 km) main line ran between Philadelphia and Washington.^[1]: 228 The PB&W main line is now part of the Northeast Corridor, owned by Amtrak.

Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad

Map of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad up to 1945
Broad Street Station in Philadelphia, which housed the company's headquarters until 1930
Overview
Headquarters	Philadelphia (Broad Street Station)
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 (passengers) Conrail system (freight)
Technical
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)

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.

Gold Bond of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Company, issued 1 February 1924

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 the new Washington Union Station, the marble structure dubbed the "Transportation Temple of America".^[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 City and Washington, D.C., using catenary. Electrification of the PB&W portion was completed in 1935.^[3] Amtrak still uses the 25 Hz traction power system.

Dissolution

Union Junction Tower in Baltimore, built in 1910, operated into the Amtrak era, when it closed in 1987.

In 1968, 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]}

In popular culture

• Flip Wilson's "Ugly Baby" (1965) routine is set on the Pennsylvania Railroad, outbound from Baltimore.^[6][7]

See also

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

• Railways portal