Main Line (Reading Company)

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 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 [2] This diagram: view talk edit

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.

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.