East Pennsylvania Railroad

East Pennsylvania Railroad

Overview
Locale	Pennsylvania
Dates of operation	1856 (1856)–1976 (1976)
Successor	Conrail
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The East Pennsylvania Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Pennsylvania. It opened a line between Reading, Pennsylvania, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1859. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, predecessor of the Reading Company, leased the line in 1869. As the East Pennsylvania Branch, the line was part of the Reading's through route between Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Allentown. The line was transferred to Conrail on the Reading's bankruptcy in 1976. It is now part of the Norfolk Southern Railway's Reading Line.

History

Share of the East Pennsylvania Railroad Company, issued 20. January 1916

The East Pennsylvania Railroad was chartered on March 9, 1856, as the Reading and Lehigh Railroad, but was renamed in April 1857.[1] It completed a line between Reading and Allentown on May 11, 1859. The opening of this line created a through route between Harrisburg and New York City.[2] Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, predecessor of the Reading Company, leased the line in 1869.[1] The East Pennsylvania continued to exist as a company, and would be merged along with the Reading into Conrail in 1976, as a result of the Reading's final bankruptcy.[3]

References

1. Vernon, Edward (1874). American Railroad Manual for the United States and the Dominion. New York: American Railroad Manual Company. pp. 269–270.
2. Poor, Henry Varnum (1860). History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America. Vol. 1. New York: John H. Schultz & Co. p. 439.
3. 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. p. 227. OCLC 2889148.