Main Line (Reading Company)

The Main Line of the Reading Company was a railway line in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The 88-mile-long (142 km) main line ran from Philadelphia to Pottsville, Pennsylvania, following the Schuylkill River.

Main Line
Overview
Status	Split into the Harrisburg Line and Pottsville Line
Owner	Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (1838–1896) Philadelphia and Reading Railway (1896–1924) Reading Company (1924–1976)
History
Opened	1 May 1838 (1838-05-01)
Conveyed to Conrail	1 April 1976 (1976-04-01)
Technical
Line length	88 mi (142 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map mi 93.6 Pottsville Schuylkill Branch Schuylkill Branch 90.0 Cressona Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Branch Schuylkill River 89.1 Schuylkill Haven Schuylkill River 86.4 Landingville Schuylkill River Schuylkill River 83.5 Auburn Schuylkill River Schuylkill Branch Schuylkill River Schuylkill Branch 79.9 Stone 78.3 Little Schuylkill Branch Schuylkill Branch Schuylkill Branch 75.3 Hamburg 70.2 Shoemakersville 68.6 Mohrsville 67.4 Dauberville 66.3 Leesport Schuylkill River Schuylkill Branch East Pennsylvania Branch Lebanon Valley Branch 58.7 Reading 58.1 Franklin Street 55.0 Klapperthal Junction Reading Belt Branch 52.3 Lorane Schuylkill Branch 49.5 Birdsboro Wilmington and Northern Branch Schuylkill Branch 47.1 Monocacy 42.2 Stowe 40.8 Colebrookdale Branch 40.5 Pottstown 34.4 Linfield 32.0 Royersford Schuylkill Branch Schuylkill Branch 30.6 Cromby Schuylkill River Black Rock Tunnel Schuylkill Branch Pickering Valley Branch 27.7 Phoenixville Perkiomen Branch 24.9 Perkiomen 23.7 Valley Forge 21.5 Port Kennedy Port Kennedy Branch 20.6 North Abrams 19.1 Abrams 18.0 Norris Stony Creek Branch Philadelphia and Western Railroad Norristown Chester Valley Branch Swedes Ford Bridge Norristown Branch 17.0 Bridgeport Trenton Branch 15.8 Swedeland Upper Merion and Plymouth Railroad 13.6 West Conshohocken 12.0 Woodlane 9.8 Gladwyne 8.7 Flat Rock Tunnel 7.9 West Manayunk 6.7 Pencoyd Schuylkill Branch Schuylkill Branch West Falls Bridge Richmond Branch Falls Bridge 5.4 Falls City Branch

Following the Reading Company's bankruptcy in the 1970s, the line was conveyed to Conrail. The physical line continues to exist but is no longer administered as a single unit. Conrail split the line, combining the section from Philadelphia to Reading with the Lebanon Valley Branch to form the Harrisburg Line. The section north of Reading was designated the Pottsville Line; Conrail later sold most of the branch to the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad.

Route

The northern end of the line was in Pottsville. From there, it ran south, following the Schuylkill River, to Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Railroad's Schuylkill Branch ran parallel most of the way and crossed the main line at several points. In Reading, Pennsylvania, it interchanged with the Lebanon Valley Branch with service west to Harrisburg and the East Pennsylvania Branch with service east to the Lehigh Valley.

Another major interchange point was at Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, which featured a junction with the Pennsylvania's Schuylkill Branch and the Reading Belt Branch and Wilmington and Northern Branch. Most passenger services diverged from the main line at Norristown, Pennsylvania, using the Norristown Branch to reach the Reading Terminal. The southern end of the line was at East Falls, Philadelphia, at a wye meeting the City Branch and Richmond Branch.

History

19th century

The oldest section of the eventual main line was the 1.25 miles (2.01 km) between Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania and Pottsville. The Mount Carbon Railroad completed this line in 1831. Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (P&R) leased the line in 1863 and consolidated the company in 1872.

The P&R opened the section between Reading and Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on May 1, 1838. On July 16, the company extended the line further south to Bridgeport, across the Schuylkill River from Norristown and the northern terminus of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad. The P&R completed the southern portion of its main line on December 5, 1839, when it connected with the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad at the Columbia Railroad Bridge. The line was extended north to Mount Carbon, on January 1, 1842, establishing the connection with the Mount Carbon Railroad.

The P&R completed the Richmond Branch in 1842, extending from the main line at Schuylkill Falls to the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, where the Reading had built a major port for handling coal.

In 1851, the Reading acquired the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad's line into Philadelphia, including the Columbia Railroad Bridge. The section from the junction with the Richmond Branch, continuing across the Schuylkill, would later be called the City Branch.

20th century

The line remained within the Reading system through multiple reorganizations until 1976, when it was one of many Reading lines conveyed to Conrail. Conrail split the line, combining the section from Philadelphia to Reading with the Lebanon Valley Branch to form the Harrisburg Line. The section north of Reading was designated the Pottsville Line; Conrail later sold most of the branch to the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad.

Passenger service

Aside from Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad excursion service, the former Reading main line hosts no scheduled passenger service. The last vestige of the Reading's passenger service on the line was SEPTA's commuter service between Reading Terminal and Pottsville. SEPTA discontinued the service, with its other non-electrified routes, on July 1, 1981.

References

• Churella, Albert J. (2013). The Pennsylvania Railroad: Volume I, Building an Empire, 1846–1917. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4348-2. OCLC 759594295.
• Gerstner, Franz Anton Ritter von (1997). Gamst, Frederick Charles (ed.). Early American railroads : Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner's 'Die innern communicationen' (1842-1843). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2423-4.
• Holton, James L. (1989). The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire : The Nineteenth Century. Vol. 1. Laury's Station, PA: Garrigues House. ISBN 0-9620844-1-7.
• Interstate Commerce Commission (1931). "Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports". U.S. Government Printing Office.
• United States Railway Association (1975). Final system plan for restructuring railroads in the Northeast and Midwest region pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (PDF). Vol. 1. Washington, DC. OCLC 2889148.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, New Jersey: Railpace Company. ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1.