Dale W. Woodland/photography by the author
The former Reading Company East Penn Branch, connecting Reading with Allentown, Pennsylvania, has been a favorite location for my photography. The trackage was built by the East Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859 and became part of the Philadelphia & Reading in 1865. The line became part of Conrail on April 1, 1976, and with the breakup of Conrail in 1999 the railroad became part of Norfolk Southern. Today it remains an important link for NS, funneling traffic from the south and west to New Jersey. What has always fascinated me about this thirty-five mile stretch of track is its rural nature. Most of the region had been settled by Pennsylvania Dutch farmers because of its fertile land, which remains largely true today. It has a Midwest flavor for most of its mid-section, although industrial development, primarily warehousing, is eating away on the eastern end, notably in Macungie and Alburtis.
ABOVE: The NS Lehigh Valley heritage unit rolls west through the signals at CP West Laurel on October 23, 2018. This location is one of only two locations between Allentown and Reading that has sun on the nose for westbound trains in the morning, the other being the Harrison Street crossing near Emmaus Junction on the east side of Emmaus, which we will cover in a subsequent installment.
My photography of the line began in the early 1970s with the operations of the Reading Company, my favorite railroad. I have continued photographing the line through its changes of operators to the present day. The photographs in this article begin to the west at Wyomissing Junction and progress east through Reading and Temple to Blandon. Subsequent installments will take us east through the farmland and towns of Fleetwood, Lyons, Alburtis, Macungie and Emmaus to Allentown.
ABOVE: A late afternoon view from the parking lot at the Granite Point Medical Center shows former Reading GP40-2 3674, now NS 3001, leading a local west crossing over State Hill Road in Wyomissing, June 16, 2014. The 3001 was the last survivor of the three former Reading GP40-2s on the NS diesel roster.
Rather than presenting “turn-by-turn” driving directions in this story, we will let the photo captions fill in necessary details. Keep in mind that some locations pictured during the Reading days have become badly overgrown, while a few locations have actually evolved over recent years. Let’s get trackside!
Wyomissing Junction
Wyomissing is a western suburb of Reading, Pennsylvania and hosts the junction where the Lebanon Valley Branch (NS’ Harrisburg Line) meets the Belt Line Branch. There is good parking along Penn Avenue, including a parking lot duti-fully noted on Google Maps as the “Wyomissing Junction Train Observation Site”. Westbound trains are coming up the one percent grade from the Schuylkill River Valley. A cantilever signal mast makes for a good photo prop; the best lighting here is mid-day.
ABOVE: The original Norfolk Southern Railway heritage unit 8114 leads a tank train for delivery to Reading & Northern for storage on June 30, 2015. The train is approaching Belt Line Junction (West Belt) as seen from PA Route 61.
Park Road Overpass
Just east of Wyomissing Junction is the Park Road overpass, offering the best photo angle for eastbound traffic. The original Reading Line, now designated the High Line, is the double-track line to the south, while the single track to the north is the connection to the Reading Belt Line, which subsequently connects with the former “Blandon Low-Grade” line to Allentown up the hill to Blandon. There is a switch just east of the Park Avenue overpass which provides a connection to the Belt Line to Philadelphia.
Most trains will diverge at Wyomissing Junction to take the single-track connector to head east to Allentown or southeast to Philadelphia. Trains that have work in Reading Yard, located on the west side of downtown Reading, will continue on the double-track High Line into the city through the wye at Center interlocking. This includes the weekday East Penn Railroad (ESPN) local from Reinholds via its connection to NS at Sinking Spring. Chasing in this area is mostly out of the question due to traffic congestion. It is recommended that you choose a location and set-up for a photo…
