# Main Line (Reading Company)

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Main_Line_(Reading_Company)
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Main_Line_(Reading_Company).md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Line_(Reading_Company)
> Source revision: 1251190298
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Railway line in Pennsylvania

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) [1] 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 Legend 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 Cutoff 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 [2] This diagram: view talk edit

The **Main Line** of the [Reading Company](/source/Reading_Company) was a railway line in the U.S. state of [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania). The 88-mile-long (142 km) [main line](/source/Main_line_(railway)) ran from [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) to [Pottsville, Pennsylvania](/source/Pottsville%2C_Pennsylvania), following the [Schuylkill River](/source/Schuylkill_River).

Following the Reading Company's bankruptcy in the 1970s, the line was conveyed to [Conrail](/source/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](/source/Reading%2C_Pennsylvania) with the [Lebanon Valley Branch](/source/Lebanon_Valley_Branch) to form the [Harrisburg Line](/source/Harrisburg_Line). The section north of Reading was designated the [Pottsville Line](/source/Pottsville_Line); Conrail later sold most of the branch to the [Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad](/source/Reading_Blue_Mountain_and_Northern_Railroad).

## Route

The northern end of the line was in [Pottsville](/source/Pottsville%2C_Pennsylvania). From there, it ran south, following the [Schuylkill River](/source/Schuylkill_River), to [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia). The [Pennsylvania Railroad](/source/Pennsylvania_Railroad)'s [Schuylkill Branch](/source/Schuylkill_Branch) ran parallel most of the way and crossed the main line at several points. In [Reading, Pennsylvania](/source/Reading%2C_Pennsylvania), it interchanged with the [Lebanon Valley Branch](/source/Lebanon_Valley_Branch) with service west to [Harrisburg](/source/Harrisburg%2C_Pennsylvania) and the [East Pennsylvania Branch](/source/East_Pennsylvania_Branch) with service east to the [Lehigh Valley](/source/Lehigh_Valley).

Another major interchange point was at [Birdsboro, Pennsylvania](/source/Birdsboro%2C_Pennsylvania), which featured a junction with the Pennsylvania's Schuylkill Branch and the [Reading Belt Branch](/source/Reading_Belt_Branch) and [Wilmington and Northern Branch](/source/Wilmington_and_Northern_Branch). Most passenger services diverged from the main line at [Norristown, Pennsylvania](/source/Norristown%2C_Pennsylvania), using the [Norristown Branch](/source/Norristown_Branch) to reach the [Reading Terminal](/source/Reading_Terminal). The southern end of the line was at [East Falls, Philadelphia](/source/East_Falls%2C_Philadelphia), at a [wye](/source/Wye_(rail)) meeting the City Branch and Richmond Branch.[2]

## History

### 19th century

The oldest section of the eventual main line was the 1.25 miles (2.01 km) between [Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania](/source/Mount_Carbon%2C_Pennsylvania) and Pottsville. The [Mount Carbon Railroad](/source/Mount_Carbon_Railroad) completed this line in 1831.[3] [Philadelphia and Reading Railroad](/source/Philadelphia_and_Reading_Railroad) (P&R) leased the line in 1863 and consolidated the company in 1872.[4]

The P&R opened the section between Reading and [Pottstown, Pennsylvania](/source/Pottstown%2C_Pennsylvania), on May 1, 1838.[5] On July 16, the company extended the line further south to [Bridgeport](/source/Bridgeport%2C_Pennsylvania), across the Schuylkill River from Norristown and the northern terminus of the [Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad](/source/Philadelphia%2C_Germantown_and_Norristown_Railroad).[6] The P&R completed the southern portion of its main line on December 5, 1839, when it connected with the [Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad](/source/Philadelphia_and_Columbia_Railroad) at the [Columbia Railroad Bridge](/source/Columbia_Railroad_Bridge).[7][8] The line was extended north to Mount Carbon, on January 1, 1842, establishing the connection with the Mount Carbon Railroad.[9]

The P&R completed the Richmond Branch in 1842, extending from the main line at Schuylkill Falls to the [Port Richmond](/source/Port_Richmond%2C_Philadelphia) 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.[10] The section from the junction with the Richmond Branch, continuing across the Schuylkill, would later be called the City Branch.[2]

### 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](/source/Conrail).[11] Conrail split the line, combining the section from Philadelphia to Reading with the [Lebanon Valley Branch](/source/Lebanon_Valley_Branch) to form the [Harrisburg Line](/source/Harrisburg_Line). The section north of Reading was designated the [Pottsville Line](/source/Pottsville_Line); Conrail later sold most of the branch to the [Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad](/source/Reading_Blue_Mountain_and_Northern_Railroad).

## Passenger service

Aside from [Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad](/source/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](/source/SEPTA_Regional_Rail)'s commuter service between Reading Terminal and [Pottsville](/source/Pottsville_station). SEPTA discontinued the service, with its other non-electrified routes, on July 1, 1981.[12]

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEICC1931390_1-0)** [ICC (1931)](#CITEREFICC1931), p. 390.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ett_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ett_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ett_2-2) ["Reading Company Timetable"](http://www.readingmodeler.info/images/files/timetables/rdgeett73.pdf) (PDF). Reading Company. January 1, 1973.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGerstner1997621_3-0)** [Gerstner (1997)](#CITEREFGerstner1997), p. 621.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEICC1931658_4-0)** [ICC (1931)](#CITEREFICC1931), p. 658.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolton198922–23_5-0)** [Holton (1989)](#CITEREFHolton1989), pp. 22–23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolton198924_6-0)** [Holton (1989)](#CITEREFHolton1989), p. 24.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolton198925_7-0)** [Holton (1989)](#CITEREFHolton1989), p. 25.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChurella201344_8-0)** [Churella (2013)](#CITEREFChurella2013), p. 44.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolton198931_9-0)** [Holton (1989)](#CITEREFHolton1989), p. 31.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChurella2013185_10-0)** [Churella (2013)](#CITEREFChurella2013), p. 185.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEUSRA1975281_11-0)** [USRA (1975)](#CITEREFUSRA1975), p. 281.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams199847_12-0)** [Williams (1998)](#CITEREFWilliams1998), p. 47.

## References

- Churella, Albert J. (2013). *The Pennsylvania Railroad: Volume I, Building an Empire, 1846–1917*. Philadelphia: [University of Pennsylvania Press](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8122-4348-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8122-4348-2). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [759594295](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/759594295).

- [Gerstner, Franz Anton Ritter von](/source/Franz_Anton_von_Gerstner) (1997). Gamst, Frederick Charles (ed.). *Early American railroads : Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner's 'Die innern communicationen' (1842-1843)*. Stanford, California: [Stanford University Press](/source/Stanford_University_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8047-2423-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8047-2423-4).

- Holton, James L. (1989). [*The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire : The Nineteenth Century*](http://www.garrigueshouse.com/the-reading-railroad-history-of-a-coal-age-empire-volume-i-the-nineteenth-century/). Vol. 1. Laury's Station, PA: Garrigues House. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9620844-1-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9620844-1-7).

- [Interstate Commerce Commission](/source/Interstate_Commerce_Commission) (1931). ["Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports"](https://books.google.com/books?id=gsMFAAAAIAAJ). U.S. Government Printing Office.

- [United States Railway Association](/source/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*](http://multimodalways.org/docs/govts/federal/executive/Agencies/DOT/USRA/FSP/FSP%20VI.pdf) (PDF). Vol. 1. Washington, DC. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [2889148](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/2889148).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher))

- Williams, Gerry (1998). *Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit*. Piscataway, New Jersey: Railpace Company. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-9621541-7-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-9621541-7-1).

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Main Line (Reading Company)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Line_(Reading_Company)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Line_(Reading_Company)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.