Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Mule Bridge

Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Mule Bridge
A color photograph of a bridge
The Mule Bridge in 2023
Coordinates40°01′19″N 75°13′10″W / 40.02194°N 75.21944°W / 40.02194; -75.21944 (Rail bridge)
CarriesPhiladelphia & Reading Railroad, Venice Branch
CrossesSchuylkill River
LocalePhiladelphia/Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Characteristics
MaterialWrought iron
Total length623 feet (190 m)
History
Opened1889, altered 1943
Location

The Mule Bridge spans the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania, connecting Venice Island in Manayunk, Philadelphia, with Bala Cynwyd. It was built by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad in 1889.

The bridge is significant because it is one of Philadelphia's oldest metal railroad bridges, and a rare surviving example of a wrought-iron lattice truss.[1]

The last freight train crossed the bridge in April 4 2017.[2]

In the early 2020s, the possibility of converting the Mule Bridge to carry pedestrian and bicycle traffic, to connect the existing trails adjacent to it on both banks, was discussed. [3]

  • The Mule Bridge
    The Mule Bridge
  • A view in August 2025, looking toward the west bank.
    A view in August 2025, looking toward the west bank.

See also

References

  1. ^ Spivey, Justin M. (April 2000). "Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, Mule Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  2. ^ Cotey, Angela (April 10, 2017). "East Penn makes final run on Philadelphia's Venice Island branch". Trains.com. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  3. ^ Bennett, Max (October 23, 2023). "Schuylkill River, Pencoyd Trails Could Be Connected By New Trail". Patch. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Mule Bridge.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.