National Register of Historic Places

Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge

Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey
Listed
June 5, 1979
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79001502

About this property

The Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge is a rail bridge across the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The bridge carries the Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains and SEPTA Trenton Line as well as non-revenue trains for NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor Line that have terminated at the Trenton Transit Center bound for the Morrisville Yard. A series of Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) predecessors operated trains across the nearby Lower Trenton Bridge from 1834 until 1903, when PRR completed a grade separation project through Trenton, including this stone arch bridge on a new alignment. In 1953, the Morrisville approach to the bridge was blocked when eight cars of an eighty-three-car freight train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad derailed at 11 p.m. on January 13. No one was injured in the incident; however, four of the derailed cars were described in news reports as "smashed across the four tracks," along with a steel pole that "was knocked across the tracks, tearing down the lines feeding current to express and local trains." As a result, the railroad's main line to New York was inoperable for five hours, forcing the cancellation or delay of more than twenty passenger trains. List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places listings in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Messer, David W. & Roberts, Charles S. (2002). Triumph V. Barnard, Roberts & Co., Inc. ISBN 0-934118-27-2. Media related to Trenton-Morrisville Railroad Bridge at Wikimedia Commons Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-512, "Pennsylvania Railroad, Delaware River Bridge, Spanning Delaware River, South of U.S. Route 1, Morrisville, Bucks County, PA", 11 photos, 5 data pages, 1 photo caption page "An Icy Delaware River" (photo of the Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge). Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania: Press Enterprise, January 31, 2014, p. A3 (subscription required).

Location

Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey
40.20884, -74.76577

Categories

ENGINEERINGTRANSPORTATION
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Trenton Ferry Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi
Trent, William, House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Old Eagle Tavern
Early Republic
0.5 mi
Sacred Heart Church
Civil War
0.6 mi
Mercer Street Friends Center
Industrial
0.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Assunpink Creek (Second Trenton)
1777Revolutionary War
0.5 mi
Second Battle of Trenton
1777Revolutionary War
0.5 mi
Battle of Assunpink Creek / Second Trenton Jan 2 1777
1777Revolutionary War
0.6 mi
First Battle of Trenton
1776Revolutionary War
0.7 mi
Battle of Trenton Dec 26 1776
1776Revolutionary War
0.8 mi

Questions about this property

When was Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge listed on the National Register?

Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge?

Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge?

The period of significance for Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge is recorded as the industrial era.

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