This line was built in 1868 and was known as the Wilmington Division of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The line extended north from Wilmington, DE, to Birdsboro, but major washouts due to a hurricane in 1972 forced the abandonment of half the line north of Coatesville. The other half is still operated today.
The abandoned section of the line between Coatesville and Birdsboro intersected two other former P&R lines, each of which were abandoned before this section: the New Holland Branch at Suplee, and The Warwick Branch at Elverson.