I can’t remember specifically when my interest with abandoned infrastructure took root, but I do know that it has led me all over - from Asbury Park, NJ, to Chester, PA, and now to the other end of my own hometown. I find it fascinating not only to see how these communities used to look and work, but how they might be able to recover and reinvent these lost boardwalks, ghettoes, streets and train tracks into new glory days for the town. As you might’ve guessed, I take pictures of these urban blights to share with others, and I really dig it when other people open my eyes to such places I didn’t know about before.

Here, Dragonballeye, a Philly blogger, takes a trip across the Reading Viaduct between Fairmount Ave. and Vine St. (via SEPTA Watch) The photos are amazing, and so are the stories behind the tracks. It’s a much more striking image than our R3 lines, specifically because they are elevated and situated against the backdrop of a very modern city, and because (I assume) they’ve been out of commission longer than the R3.

What might happen with this land? Well, there was the Reading Viaduct Project, which seems to be defunct itself, which was dedicated to either restoring it to use as an El-line, or as an elevated park (perhaps like the High Line in NYC?) Either way, it would be very exciting to see people using and enjoying the structure again.

Defunct or not, looks like we’ve got some kindred spirits among us here in the Delaware Valley. Hopefully we can find a modicum of success where the Reading Viaduct appears to have stalled out.

[ Dragonballeye via SEPTA Watch ]