Shades of The Reading Railroad: Tunnel Cut to Rail Park
Details
We will be tracing the remains of Reading Railroad along Pennsylvania Avenue and Callowhill Street to where it comes above-ground at the Rail Park (east of Broad Street).
For more information about this historic structure and the attempts to re-purpose it, check out:
https://www.therailpark.org/
(It involves a bit of scrolling to get all the info, but I would like to point out that there are some focus groups scheduled, both virtual and in person on Thursday, March 26th; there is another in-person focus group and a clean-up scheduled for the week following our walk on April 5th. https://www.therailpark.org/news-and-events?filter=In+the+Community&filter=On+the+Park&filter=Tours&filter=Volunteer+Opportunities&filter=Other+Events)
For a quicker overview, the Google search is good:
https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-tmus-us-rvc3&hs=INF&sca_esv=d84086d7290c4745&sxsrf=ANbL-n4fR5p-mlAww2tAAeUI6Pzd5mFQFA%3A1774361509345&kgmid=%2Fg%2F11byt8hqhv&q=The%20Rail%20Park&shndl=30&source=sh%2Fx%2Floc%2Fact%2Fm4%2F2#ebo=0
If you are driving, it is recommended that you look for a parking spot along Sedgely Drive and walk down the hill (crossing Kelly Drive at the controlled intersection) to join us at Cosmic Cafe, Lloyd Hall, Boathouse Row. Parking along the Schuylkill River Trail (Lloyd Hall/Oval/Azalea Garden/Waterworks/etc.) is limited to 2 hours.
We will be meeting at Cosmic Cafe, Lloyd Hall, Boathouse Row. We will depart Cosmic Cafe shortly after 11am and walk the woods path along the railroad cut. If you are running late you can meet us between 11:15 & 11:30 by the Indego bike-share station (27th Street, just across Pennsylvania Avenue from the far western corner of the 2601 Parkway Condominiums). We will walk along Pennsylvania Avenue and Callowhill Street, tracing the path of the Reading Tunnel, looking in occasionally, until we come to the above-ground portion of the old rail line, which has been turned into the Rail Park (Philadelphia's answer to The High Line Park in New York City), the completed portion of which runs from 13th & Noble Streets to Callowhill Street between 12th & 11th.
It is a short walk to Love City Brewing at 1023 Hamilton Street (a former rail-parts factory), which I recommend for our after-walk activity. There is a food truck inside the building; although technically a separate business from the brewery, the brewery asks that you not bring in outside food as a courtesy to their relationship.