by Dale W. Woodland/photos by the author
We continue our coverage of the former Reading Company East Penn Branch connecting Reading with Allentown, Pennsylvania, today’s busy Norfolk Southern Reading Line 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. 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 toward New Jersey. 
ABOVE: Norfolk Southern GEVO 9224 is westbound at the Richmond Street crossing in Fleetwood on April 12, 2014. The former Fleetwood automobile plant provides an excellent prop for westbound trains at the grade crossing. Southeastern Pennsylvania had several fledging automobile manufacturers at the beginning of the 20th century.
What has always fascinated me about this 35- mile line is its rural nature; most of the region was settled by Pennsylvania Dutch farmers attracted to its fertile land, a fact that remains largely true today, despite creeping suburbanization and the sprawl of warehouse distribution centers, particularly around Alburtis.
ABOVE: NS 4116 leads a former BNSF GEVO and Illinois Terminal heritage unit 1072, shown crossing Deka Road with train 29G, April 26, 2024. This mid-section of the East Penn Branch has retained its rural nature. Aerial View
My photography of the line began in the early 1970s in time to catch the final years of the Reading Company, which has always been my favorite railroad. I have continued photographing the line through its changes of operators to the present. The photographs in this installment pick up where we left off last month in Blandon, and continue east through the most scenic and easily accessible segment of the line to Alburtis.
The local road which follows the Reading Line between Blandon and Alburtis is mercifully free of the heavy traffic and trucks which are on highway U.S. 222 a few miles to the north. However “chasing” is usually out of the question due to the 50-60 MPH track speed offered by Norfolk Southern, and lower roadway speed limits, especially through Fleetwood and Topton. Setting-up for photo locations is the order of the day, with an ear tuned to your scanner or the Scanner Radio app on your phone. NS removed the line-side automatic block signals in recent years, although dispatcher controlled interlocking signals at CP-Blandon (MP 7.8), CP-Lyons (MP 14.9), and CP-Alburtis (MP CP-24) can provide notice of an impending movement. Audible dragging equipment/hotbox detectors are located a mile west of Blandon (readout is “Milepost – Point 8” (0.8); at Topton (readout MP 18.8), and farther to the east at Emmaus, at MP 29.9. Train traffic (and sunlight) favors eastbounds during the early morning to mid-morning hours, with sunlight and traffic favoring westbounds from mid-morning onward. There can be the traditional mid-day lull nearing the end of First Trick (11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.).
On weekdays Catasauqua & Fogelsville Branch (C&F) local H11 out of Allentown runs around its train at Alburtis then diverges from the Reading Line onto the C&F Branch at CP-Alburtis. Local H90 operates on the C&F Branch itself. Also on weekdays there is the Reading-Alburtis H47 or H49 local which generally operates as far east as Alburtis and serves the Deka battery plant in Lyons eastward, and westbound the Atlas chemical plant at Mertztown or the Allentown & Auburn connection on the west side of Topton, as-needed.
ABOVE: The NS Monongahela heritage unit is eastbound between Richmond and Franklin Streets in Fleetwood September 30, 2014. This photo, taken with a moderate telephoto lens, shows the silos of F. M. Browns & Sons feed mill. Out of sight, blocked by the train, is the former Reading Company passenger station on Richmond Street.
Blandon
Blandon was well covered in the April 2026 edition of Railpace, it is a good place to start for morning eastbounds, with an eastbound dispatcher-controlled interlocking signal at the Chestnut Street crossing; westbound signals are located on the signal gantry visible from the Wisner Road grade crossing. The Chestnut Street crossing also offers a slightly elevated view of both east-bound and westbound trains. This location is where the railroad becomes double track to the east and where in the Conrail era the former Reading Hill Track through Temple once diverged. The next location, PA Route 73, Main Street, crossing offers the best mid-day view of a cantilever signal bridge for westbound trains. Two more crossings, East Wesner Road and Gulden Road again are potential photo locations.
Walnuttown Road, West of Fleetwood
Park Road follows the Reading Line eastward from Blandon, with several unremarkable grade crossings. There is an open view from the south (sunny) side of the track at Walnuttown Road There are east and west approach signals right at the highway crossing.
Next up is the Ridge Street private crossing adjacent to the Boyers Food Market. Park in the Boyers lot and walk the short distance up to the tracks where you will find a variety of excellent photo angles with good light most of the day.
ABOVE: A view of Bennett Levin’s PRR E8s and private train returning from display at Steamtown Railfest in Scranton, Pennsylvania on December 3, 2018. The train is being “escorted” back to Philadelphia by a pair of NS SD60E locomotives.
Fleetwood
Like Blandon, downtown Fleetwood offers several nice photo locations. The PA Route 663 (Richmond Street) crossing is perhaps the signature photo, as the factory building that once manufactured Fleetwood automobiles still stands to the east of the crossing and bears the prominent Fleetwood name, providing an identifiable location.
South Franklin Street, the next crossing east, offers a good view of east-bound trains in the morning with both the former Reading station and the large silos of the F. M. Browns grainery in view. South Willow Street and South Beech Street on the east end of Fleetwood offer good views in both directions. There is also a possible morning eastbound view from the old Dreibelbis Cemetery off Dryville Road, and a late afternoon view from the Giorgi Mushroom Farm parking lot on the northwest side of the tracks.
East of Fleetwood, Weaver Road diverges south off Fleetwood-Lyons Road and ducks under the tracks through a narrow underpass. Park just to the south of the underpass and hike west up the hill for some elevated views east and west…
