Reading Belt Branch

Reading Belt Branch
Map showing the new part of the Reading Belt Branch from north Reading to Cumru Junction
Overview
Owner	Norfolk Southern Railway
History
Opened	October 27, 1902 (1902-10-27)
Technical
Line length	18.8 mi (30.3 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map Legend mi Reading Line 0.0 Blandon East Pennsylvania Railroad Schuylkill and Lehigh Branch 3.4 Laurel Pottsville Branch 5.6 Belt Pottsville Branch Schuylkill Branch Schuylkill River Tulpehocken Creek 8.7 Lebanon Valley Junction Lebanon Valley Branch Schuylkill River 11.7 Cumru Junction 13.0 Klapperthal Junction 14.8 Gibraltar Schuylkill Branch 18.8 Bird Wilmington and Northern Branch Schuylkill Branch Harrisburg Line This diagram: view talk edit

The Reading Belt Branch is a railway line in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It runs 18.8 miles (30.3 km) from the north end of Reading, Pennsylvania, to Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway in 1902 to allow long, heavy coal trains to bypass downtown Reading. Today, it is part of the Harrisburg Line of the Norfolk Southern Railway.