From Coatesville, the line continued south to Wilmington, Delaware, where it interchanged with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

The shortline Octoraro Railway began operating the southern portion in 1977, again under subsidy from Pennsylvania and Delaware.

[8] The state of Pennsylvania, with financial support from the federal government, acquired the line from Coatesville to the Delaware border in 1981, leaving the Octoraro Railway in place as the operator.

The Delaware Valley Railway, a RailAmerica subsidiary, continued to operate the former Wilmington and Northern Branch between Modena and Elsmere Junction, albeit without a subsidy from Pennsylvania.

[13] In 2005 East Penn Railways acquired both the Delaware section of line from the Reading estate and the 17 miles (27 km) from the Delaware border to Modena from ISG, leaving the Brandywine Valley Railroad in control of the industrial trackage in Coatesville.

All that remains is an industrial spur leaving the Harrisburg Line of the Norfolk Southern Railway at Birdsboro to serve a quarry.