The 88-mile-long (142 km) main line ran from Philadelphia to Pottsville, Pennsylvania, following the Schuylkill River.

The physical line continues to exist but is no longer administered as a single unit.

The Pennsylvania Railroad's Schuylkill Branch ran parallel most of the way and crossed the main line at several points.

In Reading, Pennsylvania, it interchanged with the Lebanon Valley Branch with service west to Harrisburg and the East Pennsylvania Branch with service east to the Lehigh Valley.

[2] The oldest section of the eventual main line was the 1.25 miles (2.01 km) between Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania and Pottsville.

[9] The P&R completed the Richmond Branch in 1842, extending from the main line at Schuylkill Falls to the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, where the Reading had built a major port for handling coal.