East Penn Railroad SW900 No. 52 leads the last train of cars on the Venice Branch north of Philadelphia on April 4 over the Schuylkill River. The branch will now sit idle from lack of business.
Gary Pancavage
The East Penn Railroad locomotive crew pose for a final run photograph with No. 52 on April 4.
Gary Pancavage
PHILADELPHIA — Another chapter in railroad history came to a close on April 4 when the final train to operate over the Venice Island Branch in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia pulled the last three empty cars out of PaperWorks Industries. Built by the Reading Co. in the 1890s to serve line-side industries out of nearby West Falls Yard, the branch became part of Conrail and later Norfolk Southern before the East Penn Railroad took over as designated operator.
A long standing tradition of placing a commemorative sign on the locomotive denoting the final run was upheld as Engineer Mark Wilson and Conductor Robert Bishop took train VEN-04 down the branch for the last time.
The crew posed for pictures on the locomotive after arriving back at the plant.
Paul, the branch line is only about a mile and half to two miles long. The factory is located at the end of the branch, at north end of Venice Island, which is bordered by the river to the west and the Manayunk Canal to the east. While the branch line crosses the river to connect to the freight-only NS line to Reading, just across the canal is SEPTA’s Norristown Line (ex-PRR). The Ivy Ridge station is about 300 feet from the factory as the crow flies. Hopefully the city will make the future developer chip in for a foot bridge. A city bus route already serves the apartments further south on the island.
Louis Harris – thank you for the information! I remember when they made Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks in a plant by the canal!! Oh well, times change………………
Yep, plant closing. I’ve missed my chance to see the line in action. Super-rickety conditions ala PCin the 70s.
Can branch line be used for a commuter rail purpose?
I live about 1/2 mile from this plant, and yes it is closing. It’s LONG overdue as it’s the last of many factories located in an area that used to be a major textile and manufacturing hub, but now is a vibrant bedroom community. As sad as it is that people are losing jobs, it was inevitable due to the outdated infrastructure to support this factory, not to mention that the company hasn’t upgraded the plant in many years and were basically just running her into the ground. The bridge in the picture is an absolutely beautiful work of art and I’m sure an Engineering headache or at least very expensive to maintain. It will now be another pedestrian bridge for the entire community to enjoy. As far as the factory, it made sense to do this and wring every dollar out of the plant. Things change and the real estate in my neighborhood is BOOMING and there are condos and houses going up on every block. I’m not super happy about the influx of people, but this is a major city and you cant stop this from happening. Plus my house is going up and up in value should I want to sell and move, but my wife and I love it here. We get to ride our bikes over the Manayunk bridge now (old PRR Cynwyd line) and the views and community benefits are off the charts. We’ll see how the traffic is in a couple years and make a decision then, but we ride bikes and take buses and regional rail all the time. Short walk/ride from our house to many options. The biggest benefit to the motorists (which I am included on many occasions) is that the parade of 53′ tractor trailers that have a difficult time navigating our old and supper narrow streets and creating huge traffic jams every morning and afternoon, are DONE and that headache is over. I had a friends wife that worked at this factory when it was owned by Crown Cork and Seal and she said the place was on borrowed time and management was just running it into the ground because they knew the property is a gold mine and now, Paperworks whoever they are, will sell this property and should make a pretty penny. That is, unless this place becomes a superfund site because making paperboard is not the most environmentally friendly process and they probably have been grandfathered in to just keep polluting the Schuylkill River on a daily basis. I have to say I’m happy the place is going into the history books. I did enjoy riding my bike on the canal path and pacing the trains every so often. Good times for sure.
“Hope the Trains team can find out more.”
I’m not holding my breath, Geoff. Maybe in a subsequent print issue.
An addition to my last post – PaperWorks industries wed page still shows the location as manufacturing
paperboard. Maybe they just don’t need us any more. Hope the Trains team can find out more.
According to Bloomberg News (last May!!) the plant was closing putting 147 people out of work.
Is that an ex Patapsco & Back Rivers (Bethlehem Steel) diesel? Plus “why” is needed.
The “why” is missing from this partial story.
So what happened exactly? Is Paperworks Industries closing?