East Penn Railroad

The East Penn Railroad (reporting mark ESPN) is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Reading Company lines, abandoned or sold by Conrail or its predecessors.

ESPN was formed in 2007 through the merger of East Penn Railways (reporting mark EPRY) and Penn Eastern Rail Lines (reporting mark PRL), each of which began operating in the 1990s. The railroad is owned by Regional Rail, LLC, which also owns the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad and Tyburn Railroad.^[1]

Lines operated

The East Penn Railroad operates the following railroad lines:^[2]

• Bristol – industrial park trackage in the Bristol, Pennsylvania area, interchanging with Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO).
• Kutztown – owns and operates from Kutztown, Pennsylvania southeast to interchange with Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in Topton, Pennsylvania.
• Lancaster Northern – owns and operates from Ephrata, Pennsylvania northeast to interchange with NS in Reading, Pennsylvania, using trackage rights on NS between Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania and Reading.
• Manheim – owns trackage in Manheim, Pennsylvania area, interchanging with NS.
• North East Philadelphia – trackage in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, interchanging with CSAO in Bustleton.
• Octoraro – owns and operates trackage (the former Octoraro Branch) from end-of-track in Sylmar, Pennsylvania east to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania where they connect to the Wilmington & Northern line. SEPTA still owns the passenger rights on the Octoraro Line.
• Perkiomen – owns and operates from Pennsburg, Pennsylvania north to interchange with NS in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
• Quakertown – operates on SEPTA-owned trackage from Quakertown, Pennsylvania south to interchange with Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad in Telford, Pennsylvania.
• Wilmington & Northern – owns and operates from interchange with CSX Transportation in Elsmere Junction, Delaware north to interchange with NS in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Also the Octoraro Line connects with the Wilmington & Northern line in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
• York Industrial Track - operates trackage from interchange with NS in York, Pennsylvania to Stony Brook, Pennsylvania.

Track ownership:

• owned- 85 miles
• leased- 30 miles

Former

• Colebrookdale – operated from end-of-track in Boyertown, Pennsylvania south to interchange with NS in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.^[3] The line was abandoned by the East Penn Railroad in 2008.^[4][5] The Berks County Redevelopment Authority reactivated the line,^[6] with the Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad appointed to operate the line beginning in October 2010.^[7]
• Chester Valley – owned and operated from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania north to interchange with NS in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania.^[3] The line was abandoned by the East Penn Railroad in 2010; tracks were dismantled in May 2011. The line will be converted into a rail trail by Montgomery County.

References

External links

• East Penn Railroad (includes a map)
• Norfolk Southern List of Short Lines: East Penn Railroad (includes a map)
• East Penn Railroad discussion group