Editing Reading Railroad (section)

== Coal and Origins ==

The Reading Railroad was created to solve a transportation problem: how to move anthracite coal from Pennsylvania's Schuylkill County mines to markets in Philadelphia and beyond. Anthracite—hard coal that burns hotter and cleaner than bituminous coal—was essential to the growing industrial economy, but the mountainous terrain between the coal regions and the coast made transportation difficult. Earlier canal systems proved slow and seasonally limited. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, chartered in 1833, offered a year-round route that could move coal quickly and cheaply, and it quickly became the dominant carrier from the anthracite fields.<ref name="schlegel">{{cite book |last=Schlegel |first=Marvin W. |title=Ruler of the Reading: The Life of Franklin B. Gowen, 1836-1889 |year=1947 |publisher=Archives Publishing |location=Harrisburg}}</ref>

The railroad's original main line ran 94 miles from Philadelphia to Reading, then extended into the coal regions. The route followed the Schuylkill River valley, taking advantage of the water-level grade through the mountains. The railroad's chief engineer, Moncure Robinson, designed a route that minimized curves and grades, creating an efficient coal highway that could handle heavy traffic. The railroad opened in sections during the late 1830s, with through service from Philadelphia to Pottsville beginning in 1842. From the beginning, coal dominated the Reading's traffic and profits, with the railroad hauling millions of tons annually from the mines to tidewater at Philadelphia.<ref name="holton"/>