Main Line (Reading Company)

{{Short description|Railway line in Pennsylvania}} {{Infobox rail line | box_width = | name = Main Line | type = | system = | status = Split into the [[Harrisburg Line]] and [[Pottsville Line]] | locale = | start = | end = | stations = | routes = | daily_ridership = | ridership2 = | planopen =  | open = {{Start date|1838|5|1|df=y}} | yearcommenced =  | yearcompleted =  | close =  | event1label = Conveyed to Conrail | event1 = {{Start date|1976|4|1|df=y}} | event2label = | event2 = | event3label = | event3 = | owner = {{Plainlist| * [[Philadelphia and Reading Railroad]] (1838–1896) * [[Philadelphia and Reading Railway]] (1896–1924) * [[Reading Company]] (1924–1976) }}{{sfnp|ICC|1931|p=390}} | operator = | character = | depot = | stock = | linelength_mi = 88 | gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}} | website = | map = {{Main Line (Reading Company)}} | map_name = | map_state = collapsed | embedded = }}

The '''Main Line''' of the [[Reading Company]] was a railway line in the U.S. state of [[Pennsylvania]]. The {{convert|88|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} [[main line (railway)|main line]] ran from [[Philadelphia]] to [[Pottsville, Pennsylvania]], following the [[Schuylkill River]].

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, Pennsylvania|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, Pennsylvania|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, Pennsylvania|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 (rail)|wye]] meeting the City Branch and Richmond Branch.<ref name="ett" />

== History == ===19th century=== The oldest section of the eventual main line was the {{convert|1.25|mi}} between [[Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania]] and Pottsville. The [[Mount Carbon Railroad]] completed this line in 1831.{{sfnp|Gerstner|1997|p=621}} [[Philadelphia and Reading Railroad]] (P&R) leased the line in 1863 and consolidated the company in 1872.{{sfnp|ICC|1931|p=658}}

The P&R opened the section between Reading and [[Pottstown, Pennsylvania]], on May 1, 1838.{{sfnp|Holton|1989|pp=22–23}} On July 16, the company extended the line further south to [[Bridgeport, Pennsylvania|Bridgeport]], across the Schuylkill River from Norristown and the northern terminus of the [[Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad]].{{sfnp|Holton|1989|p=24}} 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]].{{sfnp|Holton|1989|p=25}}{{sfnp|Churella|2013|p=44}} The line was extended north to Mount Carbon, on January 1, 1842, establishing the connection with the Mount Carbon Railroad.{{sfnp|Holton|1989|p=31}}

The P&R completed the Richmond Branch in 1842, extending from the main line at Schuylkill Falls to the [[Port Richmond, Philadelphia|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.{{sfnp|Churella|2013|p=185}} The section from the junction with the Richmond Branch, continuing across the Schuylkill, would later be called the City Branch.<ref name="ett" />

===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]].{{sfnp|USRA|1975|p=281}} 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 Regional Rail|SEPTA]]'s commuter service between Reading Terminal and {{stn|Pottsville}}. SEPTA discontinued the service, with its other non-electrified routes, on July 1, 1981.{{sfnp|Williams|1998|p=47}}

== Notes == {{reflist}}

== References == * {{Churella-PRR-1}} * {{cite book | last=Gerstner | first=Franz Anton Ritter von | authorlink=Franz Anton von Gerstner | editor-last=Gamst | editor-first=Frederick Charles | title=Early American railroads : Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner's 'Die innern communicationen' (1842-1843) | date=1997 | publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] | location=Stanford, California | isbn=978-0-8047-2423-4}} * {{Holton-Reading-1}} * {{Cite web |author=[[Interstate Commerce Commission]] |date=1931 |title=Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsMFAAAAIAAJ |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en | ref={{harvid|ICC|1931}}}} * {{cite book | title=Final system plan for restructuring railroads in the Northeast and Midwest region pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 | year=1975 | author=United States Railway Association | author-link=United States Railway Association | location=Washington, DC | url=http://multimodalways.org/docs/govts/federal/executive/Agencies/DOT/USRA/FSP/FSP%20VI.pdf | oclc=2889148 | volume=1 | ref={{Harvid|USRA|1975}} }} * {{Williams-Philadelphia}}

[[Category:Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Railway lines opened in 1838]] [[Category:Reading Company lines]]