The D&S and CNJ jointly procured a charter, issued April 19, 1853, for the Allentown Railroad, which would construct the first segment of the route. It would run from Allentown to the Reading main line between Auburn and Port Clinton, with a branch into Kutztown. The Dauphin and Susquehanna Coal Company had charter rights to connect with any rail line in Schuylkill County, and it began building an extension of its line, starting from the Reading at Auburn and driving westward. By November 4, 1853, the new line of the D&S was open from Auburn to Pine Grove, following Bear Creek to its headwaters and then dropping down Lower Little Swatara Creek. Work continued on the more difficult middle segment, which required heavier grading to climb along the slopes of Second Mountain and enter Stony Valley at Fishing Creek Gap.