Birdsboro is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located along the Schuylkill River, it is 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Reading. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 5,163. In the past, Birdsboro was noted for its large foundries and machine shops, none of which remain in operation today.
Upper Providence Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 21,219.
The Schuylkill River is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania, which was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal. Several of its tributaries drain major parts of the center-southern and easternmost Coal Regions in the state. It flows for 135 miles (217 km) from Pottsville to Philadelphia, where it joins the Delaware River as one of its largest tributaries.
The Reading Company was a railroad in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Norristown Transportation Center is a two-level multimodal public transportation regional hub located in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA, operated by SEPTA. It opened in 1989 to replace the older Norristown High Speed Line terminus one block away at Main and Swede Streets, and integrated the former Reading Company DeKalb Street Norristown railroad station into its structure. A plaque embedded in the sidewalk commemorates the location of one of the columns of the dismantled segment of the Philadelphia and Western Railroad (P&W) trestle.
The Schuylkill Valley Metro (SVM) is a proposed 62-mile inter-city train service that would link Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the city of Reading, Pennsylvania in central Berks County, using the Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Line, currently used for freight, with the first proposals using the SEPTA Manayunk/Norristown Line and Cynwyd Line. The original proposal was rejected by the Federal Transit Administration, however, in March 2021, Amtrak included service from Reading to Philadelphia in its Amtrak Connects US plan. Amtrak's proposal is for three daily roundtrips with stops in Bridgeport, King of Prussia, Phoenixville and Pottstown. Trains would access 30th Street Station directly via the Harrisburg Line and the Zoo Junction, bypassing all SEPTA territory. Amtrak has yet to receive funding for the proposal.
U.S. Route 422 (US 422) is a 271-mile (436 km) long spur route of US 22 split into two segments in the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. The western segment of US 422 runs from downtown Cleveland, Ohio east to Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. The eastern segment, located entirely within Pennsylvania, runs from Hershey east to King of Prussia, near Philadelphia. US 422 Business serves as a business route into each of four towns along the way.
Pennsylvania Route 724 is a 30-mile (48 km) road in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania that runs from U.S. Route 422 in Sinking Spring southeast to PA 23 near Phoenixville. PA 724 travels through Berks and Chester counties. The route runs through the southern suburbs of Reading, passing through Shillington and Kenhorst. Past the Reading area, PA 724 continues southeast parallel to the Schuylkill River, passing through or near Birdsboro, Pottstown, and Spring City. The route intersects many roads including US 222 near Shillington, PA 10 and Interstate 176 (I-176) southeast of Reading, PA 345 in Birdsboro, and PA 100 and US 422 near Pottstown.
The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. The RBMN provides freight service on 300 miles (480 km) of track. Its mainline consists of the Reading Division between Reading and Packerton and the Lehigh Division between Lehighton and Dupont. Its main freight cargo is anthracite coal.
The Schuylkill River Trail is a multi-use trail along the banks of the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania. Partially complete as of 2018, the trail is ultimately planned to run about 140 miles (230 km) from the river's headwaters in Schuylkill County to Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia.
The Schuylkill Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the former Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line ran from the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line at 52nd Street in Philadelphia north via Norristown, Reading, and Pottsville to Delano Junction. From Delano Junction, the PRR had trackage rights over the Lehigh Valley Railroad's Hazleton Branch and Tomhicken Branch to Tomhicken, where the PRR's Catawissa Branch began. In conjunction with the Catawissa Branch, Nescopeck Branch, and Wilkes-Barre Branch, the Schuylkill Branch gave the PRR a direct line from Philadelphia to Wilkes-Barre.
The Manayunk/Norristown Line is a commuter rail line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and one of the 13 lines in SEPTA's Regional Rail network, having the 4th highest ridership, and the highest operating ratio (58%).
Royersford station is a former train station in Royersford, Pennsylvania. It is located on Main Street. It was originally built by the Reading Railroad, and later served the SEPTA diesel service line extending from the Norristown section of the Manayunk/Norristown Line to Pottsville. It was taken out of service in 1981, when SEPTA cancelled the diesel service.
The Schuylkill Haven station is a former railroad station in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania. It is located at 12 West Main Street is currently occupied by the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad as an office building.
The Reading Company used two passenger railway stations in or near Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad built a station on its Main Line in Exeter Township, on the opposite side of the Schuylkill River from Birdsboro. The Wilmington and Northern Railroad established a freight line to Birdsboro in 1870, but it was not until after its merger with the Reading Company that its passenger station was built in the borough.
Birdsboro station could refer to three former railway stations in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania:
The main line of the Reading Company was a railway line in the state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. 88 miles (142 km) long, it ran from Philadelphia to Pottsville, Pennsylvania, following the Schuylkill River. Following the Reading's bankruptcy in the 1970s the line was conveyed to Conrail. The physical line continues to exist but is no longer administered as a single unit. Conrail split the line, combining the section from Philadelphia to Reading with the Lebanon Valley Branch to form the Harrisburg Line. The section north of Reading was designated the Pottsville Branch; Conrail later sold most of the branch to the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad.
Birdsboro station was a Pennsylvania Railroad station in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. The station was located on the Pennsylvania's Schuylkill Branch. It was located at the northwest corner of Furnace Street and 1st Avenue, across the street from the Reading Company's station on the Wilmington and Northern Branch. The passenger and freight building still stand; the former is a restaurant.
