PHILLY GUIDE HOMEPAGE SEPTA HOMEPAGE RAILFAN GUIDES HOME RAILROAD SIGNALS HOME
Philadelphia is at the junction of a couple of interstates, namely I-95 which
runs north-south along the western/Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, and
I-76 which runs east-west, and is AKA the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and is a toll
road.
As a side note, the tolls on the PA Turnpike have increased substantially over
the past few years, due to Harrisburg wanting the tolls to help pay for transit
in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. As of 2018/2019, truckers have been
objecting to the higher tolls, and are trying to get them reduced.
An I-95 tip: If you are coming to Philadelphia via Wilmington DE, you have two
choices for coming thru Wilmington. You can either go straight thru
Wilmington on 95, which is a little quicker, OR, you can skirt the downtown area
by using I-495, which hugs the river and parallels the North East Corridor.
Another reason for taking I-95 thru Wilmington, is access to the King-of-Prussia
area if you are headed there. The quickest way to get there is to take US
202 at exit 8. You can't get to US 202 from I-495. Taking US 202 may
not seem shorter, but after many years of traveling to KOP for work (from
Baltimore), it IS the fastest way to get there.
I-76, of course, brings you in from the west, like Ohio, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg.
I-76 in Philadelphia is called the Schuylkill Expressway.
US 422 brings you in from the Reading area.
If you're coming in from Binghamton NY or Scranton PA, I-476 is the quickest way
into Philadelphia.
If you're coming into town from Baltimore, while it may not seem like it, during
the rush hours it is quite possible to get here quicker coming up US Route 1,
Belair Rd from the Baltimore Beltway. Every time I go to Philadelphia
during the rush hour, it takes much longer via I-95....
Coming down US 130 in Jersey? Take US 30 when you approach Camden, and
come across the Ben Franklin bridge. If you coming down the Jersey
Turnpike, take I-676 into Philly via the Walt Whitman. I-676 joins up with
I-76 just north of the 30th Street Station - from that junction, you can get
onto SB I-76, and then get off at 30th Street, but getting over for the exit
during busy times will be tough.
From the 30th Street station area, there is no good way to get on I-95 south,
you will take a mixture of I-76, traffic-lit roads, and smaller highways, like
291.
Disclaimers:
I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an expert. My
webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page. This is something I
have fun with while trying to help others.
Please Note: Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad
signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to
locate them. For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my
indexa page has a
list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with
at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.
If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the
information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct.
Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)
My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for
railfanning. Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get
lost or disoriented. Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get
somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost! I belong to AAA,
which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches.
ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their
state maps do not have the railroads on them. If you can find em, I like
the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise
graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type
attractions are, although they too lack the railroads. Other notes about
specific areas will show up on that page if known.
Aerial shots were taken from either Google or Bing Maps as noted. Screen
captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith
product... a great tool if you have never used it!
By the way, floobydust is a term I
picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means
miscellaneous and/or other stuff.
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels
inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add
or correct.... credit is always given! Please be NICE!!! Contact
info is here
Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated
as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.
