Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad was established in 1833 to transport anthracite coal from the many mines around the Reading area and north. The original main line of the Reading, which is currently a freight-only line, is on the right bank of the Schuylkill River between the Fairmount section of Philadelphia and Phoenixville. The current R6 Norristown service uses tracks originally built by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N), on the left bank of the Schuylkill River. The PG&N started construction on this line in 1833, and completed the line to Norristown in 1835. The Philadelphia & Reading merged with the PG&N in 1870. By 1905, a bridge across the Schuylkill River in Norristown connected the PG&N tracks with the original Reading main line tracks.

Electrification of the Reading Norristown line was completed in 1933.

Steps and platforms to the Reading line at the Ivy Ridge station was built in 1986 on the Reading Norristown line, the same year that SEPTA cut back the R6 Ivy Ridge service to Cynwyd.

Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was a formidable competitor to the Reading, and in 1884 established train service to Manayunk, Norristown, and Reading on their Schuylkill Valley branch. Their tracks branched from the PRR western main line at 52nd Street in Philadelphia, swung north through Bala Cynwyd, and crossed the Schuylkill River on a truss bridge built in 1883. This bridge was replaced in 1919 with a massive concrete arch viaduct, which by 1986 had deteriorated to the point where chunks of concrete were falling from the bridge.

View of top of Manayunk bridge.

The Pennsylvania Railroad's Schuylkill branch closely paralleled the Reading tracks from Manayunk to Norristown, and continued on to Reading. It was electrified to Norristown in 1930, two and a half years before the Reading electrified their tracks. However, there was never enough traffic to support two competing railroads on this route, and it was never very profitable for the PRR. By the 1970's the Schuylkill line was cut back to Manayunk, and then extended one station stop to a new high-level single-track terminal at Ivy Ridge. In 1986, SEPTA cut the line back to Cynwyd, citing safety concerns and lack of track maintenance.

In 1992, an engineering report on the viaduct showed it to be structurally sound, and in the late 1990's, the viaduct was renovated so that chunks of concrete won't fall from it, and now only needs new track and overhead catenary to restore service.

Today, most of this right-of-way alignment has been turned into the Schuylkill River Trail, which runs from Manayunk to Valley Forge. This trail is open to non-motorized uses and one passes under the old catenary power structures and over the railroad bridges which once carried trains.

Rail Diesel Cars
In 1962, the Reading Railroad purchased new Budd RDCs (Rail Diesel Cars) for service to Reading and Pottsville, replacing locomotives and coaches from the 1950's. A Rail Diesel Car is a passenger railroad car powered by a diesel motor and capable of running in both directions and in combination with other units for multiple-unit (MU) operation. RDCs were also for service to Quakertown and Newtown, because the outer portions of these lines were not electrified. RDCs are also known as Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs).

However, by 1964, there were only seven round trips per weekday between Reading and Philadelphia.

In 1981, diesel passenger service ended, which meant the end of passenger rail service from Norristown outwards to Pottstown and Reading, as well as service to Quakertown and Newtown on other lines.

For more recent history, go to the Timeline.

Sources:

Rails Through Manayunk by Harry Garforth, Jr. Silver Brook Junction Publishing Company, Telford, PA. 1999.

Electric Traction on the Pennsylvania Railroad 1895-1968 by Michael Bezilla. Penn State University. 1988.

Pennways.com: Center City Commuter Connection

Reading Railroad Passenger Schedules (1964)

SVMetro.com
Copyright © 2006 Lucius Kwok