The house in which I grew up in Collegeville, Pa. in the 50s and 60s had an excellent view of the Reading's Perkiomen Branch just down the hill in back. The daily local would have a diverse mix of EMD GP7s or ALCO RS3s for power, and the line was occasionally used as a detour for trains off the RDG main line through Reading.

I recall several memorable occasions while observing the line: one southbound detour in the early 1960s with a pair of F7As up front; my first encounter with a new GP30 in the equally new green and yellow color scheme; and a particular day in 1969 when a derailment on the main line sent five trains detouring onto the branch, including a Bethlehem-bound loaded ore train with three units up front and two helpers on the rear.

Oh, did I forget to mention the Iron Horse Rambles? During the six years that they ran, sveral of the steam excursions traveled the Perkiomen Branch. In all, I got to see four of the five T-1 4-8-4s retained for the service -- #2100, #2101, #2102 and #2124.

The tracks north of Collegeville to Pennsburg came out in 1973, and from Collegeville south to Oaks around 1978, but it's still possible to travel the right-of-way; from Green Lane south to Oaks, it's the popular Perkiomen Trail. The branch is still in place from Pennsburg north to Emmaus, and sees regular freight service provided by East Penn Railways.

The southernmost segment from Perkiomen Junction to Oaks is part of the NS, ex-Conrail branch to Devault. At Oaks, the ex-RDG segment was tied in to a segment of the ex-PRR Schuykill Valley Branch.