Atglen and Susquehanna Branch

The Atglen and Susquehanna Branch is an abandoned branch line of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

History

The Atglen and Susquehanna branch was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the early 1900s. The branch was built to relieve congestion on the Main Line and the railroad's Columbia Branch. It was combined with the Pennsylvania Railroad's Trenton, Philadelphia and Thorndale Branches. With these lines, combined it permitted the Pennsylvania Railroad to operate a low-grade bypass of the main line, allowing freight trains to bypass the Main Line and not having to proceed into Philadelphia at all. It met Amtrak's Northeast Corridor at Morrisville, Pennsylvania near the Delaware River. For a long time the line flourished with freight traffic. The low-grade line even survived the Pennsylvania Railroad's short-lived successor Penn Central. The line lasted up until the era of Conrail. Under Conrail control, the railroad downgraded the line. First by removing the overhead catenary above the tracks. Then Conrail rerouted traffic over the former Reading Company's line from Harrisburg to northern New Jersey. The line was abandoned by the 1999 breakup of Conrail by the Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation.

Modern day

Currently, the right-of-way still stands in many areas located under heavy brush. The only way you can tell where the former Pennsylvania Railroad line is by noticing the still standing Pennsylvania Railroad catenary supports still carrying electricity to this day. There are hopes of turning the line into a rail trail. But so far, not much has materialized.