The line was built between 1868 and 1869 by the Colebrookdale Railroad (not to be confused with the heritage railway of the same name) and part of the Reading Company system until 1976.

The final system plan of the United States Railway Association classed the line as "light density" and it was not conveyed to Conrail.

[6] Pennsylvania purchased the line in 1982 and designed the newly organized Anthracite Railway as the operator in 1983.

[8] The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad did not bid for renewal of the lease in 1995 and was succeeded by East Penn Railways, with an option to buy the line outright.

[12] Less than a year later, the East Penn Railroad successfully filed to abandon the line, on the grounds that providing service was not economically viable.