The website
www.nycsubway.org posted the book Rapid Transit in New York City and in the Other Great Cities (1906) on its website. What's interesting is the portion talking about Philadelphia. It turns out that these lines were not only planned in the books, but ready to be constructed. Below is an excerpt form the book
Rapid Transit in New York City and in the Other Great Cities (1906), copied from
http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/ra...mmerce_20.html
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is now engaged in the construction of a comprehensive system of rapid transit. The conditions there are more favorable than those in any of the other cities we have mentioned. The city was originally laid out regularly. The streets running north and south are parallel, and those running east and west are at right angles to the others. Two of the streets, Market and Broad, divide the city east and west and north and south, and are of unusual width. These features permit of rapid transit lines that are straight, and provide convenient points for diverging lines.
Act of Assembly. The legal foundation of all the corporations created for the purpose of constructing and operating elevated systems of municipal railways in Pennsylvania is the Act of Assembly of June 7, 1900. Section 1 provides that any number of persons, not less than five, three of whom are citizens of the commonwealth, may form a company for the purpose of constructing and operating passenger railways, either elevated or underground, or partly elevated and underground, and for the collection and distribution of mails of the United States; permission to erect or construct to be obtained from the local authorities of the city in which the road is to be operated.
Section 2 provides that the charter shall be subscribed to by at least three of the corporators, who shall certify, in writing, to the Governor, the name of the company, number of years it is to be continued, and other details in regard to the road, amount of capital stock, etc. This section prescribes also the powers and privileges of the corporation. These are the usual privileges of such a body; but, in addition, power is granted to sell or lease any road or franchise, or any parts thereof, to other companies, or to acquire other roads and franchises.
Section 8 gives such corporations rights of eminent domain.
Section 12 provides that construction shall be begun, in good faith, within two years, and be completed within five years thereafter.
Elevated or Underground. A supplement to this act enlarges the power of such corporations, so that they are authorized to build either an elevated or underground, or both an elevated and underground railway, over the route described in their charter, after having obtained the consent of the local authorities.
Corporations, incorporated under the original act, were given power to construct branches and extensions. The amendment of March 25, 1903, gave them power, with the consent of the local authorities, to abandon any portion of the road, or to merge with other companies, and when two or more roads shall be so merged, the commencement of the work, in good faith, upon any part of the route, on any of such merged roads, shall be a commencement upon all tie merged roads, within the meaning of the act; provided that the work shall be completed within five years upon all the merged roads, unless the time for such completion shall be extended by the proper local authorities. This was an important addition, for the charters of a number of the following mentioned elevated and subway lines would have been forfeited if it had not been for this provision, as work, even vet, has not been begun on them.
Market Street Company. The Market Street Elevated Passenger Railway Company was authorized to build and operate an underground road from Delaware avenue on Market street, around the Public Buildings under any and all streets bounding the same, and continuing on Market street to the county line, with the right to come out upon the surface of Market street west of Twenty-second street, or through private property acquired by the company, and to connect with the tracks of any other passenger railway company. The road must be operated electrically, or by any other power excepting steam. The company is to construct tubes or conduits for carrying city telegraph, telephone and fire alarm wires. Subsequently the company was further authorized to construct a loop, branch, or road beginning at the intersection of Broad and Market streets, on the south side of the City Hall, there connecting with its tracks, and thence extending south on Broad street to Walnut street to Fifth, thence to Arch, to Broad, to Filbert, and there connecting with its main tracks at Fifteenth and Market. This provided for two tracks on Market street east of Broad, and four tracks west of Broad in addition to the tracks already authorized. The alternate privilege was also granted of using Chestnut street instead of Walnut. The company is also privileged to bridge the Schuylkill so as to connect the subway tracks with the elevated tracks to be built to the west.
Routes of Different Companies. Similar ordinances were passed for the Ridge Avenue Elevated Passenger Railway Company to build a double-track elevated railway from Passyunk avenue along Ninth street to Vine, to Ridge avenue, to Main street, Manayunk.
The Frankford Elevated Passenger Railway Company is privileged to build a double-track road from South street along Delaware avenue to Vine, to Front, to Callowhill, to New Market, to Laurel, to Frankford avenue.
The Passyunk Avenue Elevated Passenger Railway is to extend from Delaware avenue along South street to Front, to Bainbridge, to Passyunk avenue, to Juniper, to Snyder avenue, to Schuylkill River.
The Germantown Avenue Elevated Passenger Railway is to extend from Front street along Germantown avenue to Germantown & Perkiomen turnpike, to the county line.
The Broad Street Subway Passenger Railway Company is authorized to construct an underground road from Government avenue under Broad street, around the Public Buildings, and continuing under Broad street to the county line.
Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company. On none of these lines was the requirement as to the beginning and completion of the work complied with; and the rights and privileges granted by the several ordinances would, therefore, have been forfeited, had it not been for the act above referred to providing for the extension of time of completion. All of the franchises have been acquired by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, which operates all the surface lines in Philadelphia.
Description of Work. The plan proposed for the Market street line, now building, was an adaptation of the Boston method, and provided for both elevated and surface cars. The franchise for the line gave the right to build both an elevated road and a subway. There is a double-track elevated structure on Market street from the county line to the Schuylkill River, the surface tracks being underneath. A four-track bridge over the river carries both elevated and surface lines to the entrance of the subway at Twenty-third street. From this point to the Public Buildings is a four-track tunnel, the outside tracks for the surface cars, and the inside tracks for the elevated trains. The elevated tracks will continue around the City Hall and thence down Market street to the river front, where they will join an elevated structure on Delaware avenue from Arch to South streets. The surface car track will leave the other at the City Hall and pass south on Broad street in a single-track subway to Walnut street, to Fifth, to Arch, to Broad, to the City Hall, where it will unite with the westbound elevated track to the county line.
The tunnel is built with a concrete floor, steel-concrete side walls, and roof of I-beams with arches between, and rows of columns between the tracks. A considerable portion of this line has been finished. The bridge over the Schuylkill is practically complete. Work is now progressing on the elevated portion of the road west of the Schuylkill. An ordinance, passed in 1903, provided that each system of the railway must be finished before the streets are torn up for another system. The several sections must be completed in the following order: From Sixty-third and Market streets to Delaware avenue and South street, the system just mentioned, in three years from the passage of the ordinance.
Subway loop on Broad street and Walnut or Chestnut street, Fifth and Arch streets, one year additional.
Subway on Broad street, from Cayuga to Walnut or Chestnut, in two years additional.
Branches in West Philadelphia in two years additional, and the remainder within two years additional.
Quote:
Originally Posted by volguus zildrohar
I posted this in P8 and will place it here for folks who haven't seen it there.
Three maps showing originally envisioned versions of the Philadelphia subway system.
This map depicts the originally proposed 1912 system. You can see certain ideas that were altered or never came to fruition including the full route of the South Broad Street subway to League Island (Navy Yard), an elevated route along Woodland Avenue as well as subway/elevated lines to Germantown & Chelten Avenue and the first phase of the Roosevelt Blvd. subway. Also shown are the routes for the Parkway/29th Street line (the Walnut Lane Bridge was built with provisions for the never built subway) and the originally envisioned route for the Frankford El to a terminal at Rhawn Street. You'll also note the Center City delivery loop and a Chestnut Street subway.
This map depicts the 1923 finalized system - after completion of the Market Street subway and Frankford El. The Broad Street subway was under construction at the time. You'll note the Walnut Street subway that would have fed into the Woodland Avenue El as well as the Eighth St/Ridge Avenue subway. Also, the Chestnut Street trolley subway is depicted along with the Parkway line feeding directly into the Broad Street Subway at City Hall as was originally intended (hence the odd turn the line makes north of City Hall - it was not to avoid the building foundations - it was to allow for an easier connection to the Parkway line.) The Chestnut Street line would have began at Franklin Square.
This is a more detailed look at one version of the Center City loop with a track map. This version was new to me when I saw it. Instead of the Parkway line feeding into the Broad Street Subway this version has it feeding into the delivery loop via 16th, Walnut and 8th Streets before taking Ridge Avenue to meet with the North Broad Street trunk.
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