The Delair Bridge, built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1895–1896, was the first bridge of any sort between Philadelphia and New Jersey. The steel span connected PRR tracks in North Philadelphia to southern New Jersey. It consisted of three fixed Pennsylvania truss spans and a through-truss swing-spandrawbridge totaling 1,943 feet (592 m). Approach trestles of 2,129 feet (649 m) on the Pennsylvania side and 324 feet (99 m) on the New Jersey side bring its total length to 4,396 feet (1,340 m).[3]
Starting in 1958, the PRR converted the bridge into a vertical-lift span to increase clearance for river traffic. The 542 feet (165 m) movable link was floated into place in one piece to facilitate installation and minimize delay.[4] Work was completed in 1960. The Delair Bridge was the longest and heaviest double-track lift bridge in the world at the time. Note that the single-track Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge is 2 feet (0.61 m) longer.[5]
The bridge was also electrified in the late 1930s,[6] allowing freight trains hauled by electric locomotives to access the Pavonia Yard in Camden, New Jersey, from the Northeast Corridor. Electrification was removed by January 1967[7] but was restored in May 1973.[8] However, Conrail ceased electric freight operations in 1981 and removed the wires several years later.
The bridge's southern track was formerly reserved for freight traffic, and the northern track only used for the Atlantic City Line. As part of the Pennsauken Transit Center project, a station complex where the River LINE passes under the Delair Bridge's eastern approach, platforms were built on both tracks. Both tracks are now used by both passenger and freight trains.
21st century rehabilitation
An NJT Atlantic City Line train on the bridge in 2015
^"PRR Bridge Will Set a Record". Railway Age. Vol. 145, no. 3. July 21, 1958. pp. 18–33.
^Steinman, David B. (December 9, 1948). "The World's Most Notable Bridges". Engineering News-Record. Vol. 141, no. 24. pp. 92–94.
^The line to Pavnoia Yard or Atlantic City is not listed in Drawing ET-1, June 10, 1935. Electrification was likely after this, although the Richmond Substation was installed by 1932.