The Colebrookdale branch, also known as the Colebrookdale spur, Colebrookdale industrial track or Colebrookdale line, is a railway line in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. It runs from a junction with the

Harrisburg Line The Harrisburg Line is a railroad, rail line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in the United States, U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Philadelphia (HP 5.2) west to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg (HP 112 ...

in Pottstown to

Boyertown Boyertown (Pennsylvania Dutch: ) is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,264 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Boyertown has been in operation since 1828. The community was named for its ...

. At its fullest extent, the line continued another to Barto. The line was built between 1868 and 1869 by the Colebrookdale Railroad (not to be confused with the heritage railway of the same name) and part of the

Reading Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...

system until 1976. Berks County has owned the line since 2009. The Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad operates freight service; heritage passenger services are run under the Colebrookdale Railroad name.

History

The first Colebrookdale Railroad was incorporated on March 23, 1865. The company completed a line between Pottstown and

, branching off from the main line of the

Philadelphia and Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...

, on September 6, 1869. The extension from Boyertown to Barto opened on November 16. The Philadelphia and Reading leased the company on the completion of the line. The Colebrookdale Railroad was one of twelve railroads merged into the

effective December 31, 1945. Passenger service over the branch ended in 1950. The Reading filed to abandon the last of the branch, between Bechtelsville and Barto, in 1965. On the Reading Company's final bankruptcy in 1976, ownership of the line remained with the reorganized Reading estate. The final system plan of the

United States Railway Association The United States Railway Association (USRA) was a government-owned corporation created by United States federal law that oversaw the creation of Conrail, a railroad corporation that would acquire and operate bankrupt and other failing freight ra ...

classed the line as "light density" and it was not conveyed to

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

. Conrail operated the line under subsidy. Pennsylvania purchased the line in 1982 and designed the newly organized Anthracite Railway as the operator in 1983. The

Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad , sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. With a headquarters in Port Clinton, the RBMN provides freight service on over of track. Its ...

replaced the Anthracite Railway as the operator in 1989. The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad did not bid for renewal of the lease in 1995 and was succeeded by

East Penn Railways The East Penn Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Reading Company lines ...

, with an option to buy the line outright. Penn Eastern Rail Lines acquired East Penn Railways in 1997. Berks County purchased the line from the state in 2001. The

East Penn Railroad The East Penn Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching railroad, switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Re ...

acquired Penn Eastern Rail Lines in 2007 and purchased the line from Berks County. Less than a year later, the East Penn Railroad successfully filed to abandon the line, on the grounds that providing service was not economically viable. In response, Berks County acquired the line again in 2009. The Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad, a subsidiary of US Rail Partners, assumed operation in 2010. Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust assumed control of the Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad in 2013, and began running passenger excursions under the Colebrookdale Railroad name in 2014.

Notes

References

* * * {{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%20VII.pdf , oclc=2889148 , volume=2 , ref={{Harvid, USRA, 1975 Railway lines opened in 1869 Reading Company lines Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania