The Junction Railroad was a railroad created in 1860 to connect lines west of downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and allow north-south traffic through the metropolitan area for the first time. The railroad consisted of 3.56 miles of double track and 5.3 miles of sidings. It owned no locomotives or rolling stock. The line connected the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road line at the west end of the Columbia Bridge over the Schuylkill River, crossed the Pennsylvania Railroad line, ran parallel to Market Street, and turned south to connect with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad at Gray's Ferry. It came under Pennsylvania Railroad control in 1881, and was eliminated by merger in 1908. History In 1860, there were four lines into downtown Philadelphia from the west: The Reading came southeasterly along the west bank of the Schuylkill to Belmont, where it crossed the river and entered downtown from the northwest. The Pennsylvania came from the west-northwest and hit the west bank of the Schuylkill near 32nd Street, turning southeast and crossing the river along Market Street into downtown. The West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad met the west bank near the PW&B's Newkirk Viaduct at Grays Ferry, turned northeast onto 31st Street and ended at Market Street. The PW&B came from the southwest along the current Airport Line and crossed the Viaduct and entered downtown from the south. The former roadbed is currently known as Washington Avenue. The Junction Railroad was incorporated on May 3, 1860, to connect the Reading, Pennsylvania, and PW&B lines through West Philadelphia, which sits across the Schuylkill from downtown. The three lines each bought a one-third share in the Junction Railroad on August 1, 1861, and the company was organized on October 3. Construction began from Belmont to West Philadelphia in 1862, including trackage rights along the PRR between 35th Street (now Zoo interlocking) and Market Street; this opened on November 23, 1863. From West Philadelphia south to Grays Ferry, the Junction Railroad mostly paralleled the WC&P, and had to cross it somewhere, leading to a dispute between the two companies and a delay in opening the southern half. One track opened south of the WC&P crossing at Spruce Street in December 1864, giving a temporary routing via the WC&P through West Philadelphia. The final portion, from Market Street to Spruce Street, including the Market Street Tunnel, opened on July 1, 1866. The Connecting Railway, operated by