Allentown Railroad - Construction of Route

Construction of Route

The D&S and CNJ jointly procured a charter, issued April 19, 1853, for the Allentown Railroad, which would construct the first segment of the route. It would run from Allentown to the Reading main line between Auburn and Port Clinton, with a branch into Kutztown. The Dauphin and Susquehanna Coal Company had charter rights to connect with any rail line in Schuylkill County, and it began building an extension of its line, starting from the Reading at Auburn and driving westward. By November 4, 1853, the new line of the D&S was open from Auburn to Pine Grove, following Bear Creek to its headwaters and then dropping down Lower Little Swatara Creek. Work continued on the more difficult middle segment, which required heavier grading to climb along the slopes of Second Mountain and enter Stony Valley at Fishing Creek Gap.

On March 13, 1854, a second railroad, the Auburn and Port Clinton Railroad, was chartered for the project. This would connect the D&S at Auburn with the Allentown RR at Port Clinton, running parallel to the Reading main line along the Schuylkill River. The combined railroads were sometimes unofficially referred to as the Auburn and Allentown Railroad. On April 13, 1854, the charters of both the Allentown and the A&PC railroads were amended to allow them to merge with the Lehigh Valley Railroad, then building down through Allentown towards Easton (across the river from Phillipsburg). The line from Pine Grove to Rausch Gap was completed in June, and the D&S ran its first through train.

In 1855, work began in earnest on the Allentown Railroad itself. The route chosen left Allentown in a southwesterly direction, passing through Dorneyville, Wescosville, Trexlertown, and Breinigsville. Ducking through Topton, it ran directly through Kutztown and followed Sacony Creek through the hills to Virginville. From thence it followed small streams west and north to Windsor Castle, site of the line's one tunnel. It was to be 1,100 feet (340 m) long, with rubble masonry portals. Leaving the tunnel, it would skirt the edges of Hamburg and push through the gorge of the Schuylkill to reach Port Clinton. By July 1856, the CNJ was prepared to abandon the project in favor of a rival route, via Reading. However, the other investors pressed on. The Auburn & Port Clinton was merged into the Allentown Railroad on January 1, 1857. The Panic of 1857, however, brought work to a halt. The D&S was foreclosed and reorganized on April 1, 1859 as the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad, under control of the Reading. On May 11, 1859, the East Pennsylvania Railroad opened, connecting Allentown and Reading. From Reading, traffic could either pass north to Auburn and thence over the Schuylkill and Susquehanna, or west over the Lebanon Valley Railroad to Harrisburg. The distance cut off by the direct route from Port Clinton to Allentown was minimal, so when the Reading gained control of the Allentown RR on July 12, 1860, it saw no reason to complete it.