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  • Reading Perkiomen Branch

  • Discussion Related to the Reading Company 1833-1976 and it's predecessors Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway.
Discussion Related to the Reading Company 1833-1976 and it's predecessors Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway.

Moderator: Franklin Gowen

 #1479350  by jrevans
 
nydepot wrote:Is the branch still used south of Emmaus and through Dillinger Tunnel?
Yes. The East Penn Railway still services the Perkiomen branch down to Pennsburg, via Emmaus and through the Dillinger Tunnel.

They keep two locomotives at the end of the line in Pennsburg, right next to Route 663.
 #1580226  by jrevans
 
As a sign of time passing, the READING paint on the bridge over Route 29 in Palm is all gone now. I drive past here frequently and can no longer make out the lettering that used to be on the bridge. (And the trees are encroaching from the sides too.)

But at least the East Penn Railroad still uses the line to run freight! Maybe they will eventually repaint the bridge?

In other bridge related news, the Route 29 bridge over the former Perkiomen Branch in Pennsburg (between 10th and 11th street) has been a topic of discussion recently. They have been talking about replacing the bridge for years now, and they were supposed to remove the bridge, lower the surrounding ground to the original height (it was raised for additional railroad clearance) and fill in where the tracks used to be. Now, the Montgomery County Planning Commission wants to include a tunnel for future trail use, but Pennsburg opposes it, since it's a poor location for a trail and it could instead follow a different path where there are existing trails. But it seems that the state got the design approved with the tunnel included, and Montgomery County Planning Commission wants the tunnel there.

Details are seen in this news article: https://upvnews.com/news/article.ashx?article=24296