9 Museum in Lansford, after the train stops in Jim Thorpe. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (P&R) was one of the first railroads in the United States. 209 talking about this. The P&R became profitable almost immediately. Reading Blue Mountain & Northern No. Zurn said an agreement that runs through 2038 between the commission, railroad and county gives C&S; the power to name a tour operator. ARMLS #6525703. "We are investing in our future and the future of the communities we serve," Reading & Northern founder and owner. This included its important role on the Alphabet Route, from Boston and New York City to Chicago with traffic from the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Central Railroad of New Jersey entering the Reading System in Allentown, traveling over the East Penn Branch to Reading, where trains then traveled west over the Lebanon Valley Branch to Harrisburg and then onward over the Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh branch, or PH&P to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Its not a money-making thing for us, OGurek said, adding that its aim is serving area industries. On May 29 the Reading leased the Central Railroad of New Jersey. 8 hour shift. A view of the Hometown High Bridge in Schuylkill County, which is owned by Carbon County. The season-average farm corn price is forecast down US$1.10 to $5.60 per bushel. Its Philadelphia terminus was at the state-owned Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad (P&C) on the west side of the Schuylkill River from which it ran east on the P&C over the Columbia Bridge and onto the city-owned City Railroad to a depot at the southeast corner of Broad and Cherry Streets. The shops were completed four years later; with their imposing brick architecture, they were the largest railroad shops in America and, unlike most railroads, allowed the Reading to make its own engines. The company also owned 38.6% of Pilot Corp. Engines with the name "lessor" in its title meant some steam power was owned by a second party and leased to the P&R. The Santa Claus Special train operates out of Jim Thorpe between the day after Thanksgiving and the weekend before Christmas, with a visit from Santa Claus aboard the train. The Latest. Our philosophy is really pretty simple. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. to Oneida and the line to Delano from Schuylkill County. In 1871, the Reading established a subsidiary called the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, which set about buying anthracite coal mines in the Coal Region. The railroad commission consists of the board of commissioners, as well as Rick Forgay II of Lansford, the son of railroad commission charter member Richard E. Forgay. Like most railroads, the Reading had contracts with the U.S. Post Office to haul and sort mail en route. [citation needed], In the late 1980s, a Los Angeles-based lawyer named James Cotter gained control of the corporation through his holding company, the Craig Corporation, and used its assets to finance his movie theater chains in Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand. Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad President Andrew M. Muller Jr. said Monday that he bought out former C&S; Railroad partner Betsy Ahner in November. After World War II, the Reading looked at dropping the mail and in 1961 notified the governmentothat it intended to stop mail service on its passenger trains. Reading and Northern Railroad) is a regional railroad operating in eastern Pennsylvania. No. Among the cars bought at auction are several notables, including the former Southern Railway steam program open-air coach Lookout Mountain and the former Illinois Central After the Panic of 1893, and the failure of Archibald A. McLeod's efforts to turn the Reading into a major trunk line, the Reading was forced to reorganize under suspicions of monopoly. The name was changed to Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railroad on December 4, 1883. Muller also told the Carbon County Railroad Commission that he plans to take over the passenger tours now run by George Hart after his agreement runs out at the end of the year. MNHS Call Number: Digital Finding Aid. Comprised of over one hundred miles of mostly ex-Lehigh Valley Railroad trackage, the Lehigh rail line stretches from the southern foot of the Pocono Mountains at Lehighton through Wilkes-Barre and Scranton and onward to Wyoming County. The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (reporting mark RBMN) (a.k.a. Reading & Northern got its start as the Blue Mountain & Reading in 1983 with a 13-mile former Pennsylvania Railroad branch between Temple and Hamburg. $12,000. Find out what works well at Reading and Northern Railroad from the people who know best. Monday to Friday. The corporate records include two volumes of the General Manager's records of agents, station men, and trainmen, 1882-1883. The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (RBMN), with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, is a privately held railroad company serving major businesses in nine Eastern Pennsylvania counties, (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Wyoming). The company began operations in September of 1983, starting as a 13-mile short line, operating a state-owned branch line between Hamburg and Temple PA. Named The Blue Mountain & Reading (BM&R), we were successful in rehabilitating the line, and providing service to freight customers. With the aid of public funding from the city of Philadelphia, the line was electrified as far as Fox Chase (the last station within city limits) in September 1966.[28]. RBMN interchanges with these railroads: The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway (LGSR) is a tourist railroad that operates passenger excursions along RBMN trackage from the former Central Railroad of New Jersey station in Jim Thorpe to Old Penn Haven, following the Lehigh River through Lehigh Gorge State Park. The Reading took it over and began construction in 1854, opening the line in 1856. The Reading leased it in 1870. Grand Forks, ND 58201. [2][3] The original Reading mainline was double track from its very beginning in 1843. [20], Reading also offered through passenger car service with the Lehigh Valley Railroad via their connection at Bethlehem. The Hometown High Bridge train is a 30-mile (48km), 2-hour round-trip excursion that runs on the first full weekend in October from Jim Thorpe through Nesquehoning to the 1,168-foot (356m) long Hometown High Bridge that passes 168 feet (51m) over the Little Schuylkill River, offering views of fall foliage. By the early 1990s, the Reading and Northern Railroad expanded its lines into Schuylkill, Luzerne, Carbon, and Columbia counties after building a stellar reputation with their growing clientele. Warren Buffett has made bets on railroads before, but now he's all in. Berkshire Hathaway already owns about 22% of Burlington Northern,. Burlington Northern's profits were down 13% in the last quarter to $1.5 billion due to higher fuel costs and lower volumes in 2022. Atlas Model Railroad 20005861 HO New York Central 50' SD Postwar Box Car #4516 . The following suburban lines were electrified during the onset of the Great Depression: The notable exception was the Fox Chase/Newtown branch. Lionel O gauge # 18639 Reading 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive USED in original box. [10] The segment included 4.9 miles of double track and 16.7 miles of single track, including sidings and turnouts.[11]. [18] Excursions run on weekends, holidays, and some weekdays between May and December. Andy Muller, owner of Reading and Northern, offered to purchase the line, which he currently manages for the county, in 2016. Through the mid to late 1990s, the Reading and Northern Railroad acquired more lines to service new customers and reestablish rail service relationships in Lackawanna and Wyoming counties. that were operating roads in 1925 but whose totals were included in Reading's after 1929. However, on July 12, 1878, the P&AC Railway slipped into bankruptcy; on September 20, 1883, it was jointly acquired by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and the Philadelphia and Reading Railway for $1 million. Primarily handling carloads of anthracite coal, the Reading and Northern Railroad also services customers in the transportation of freight that ranges in merchandise from metals and construction materials, to lumber, paper, and plastics, mineral and chemical products, and even canned food and wines. Electrification was to be completed through to Newtown in the 1970s, but government subsidies were not readily available, leaving the Fox Chase-Newtown section as the lone non-electrified suburban commuter route on the Reading system. Commission Chairman William OGurek questioned who has the power to hire tour operators. "We're going to fix them up for our passenger train," R&N owner and chairman Andrew M. Muller Jr. tells Trains News Wire. Northern Plains Railroad 3.7. Andy Muller , Andy Muller , owner of Reading and Northern, offered to purchase the line, which he currently manages for the county, in 2016. 11.7K members Join group About Discussion More About Discussion About this group A group dedicate to sharing their photos of the Reading and Northern Railroad in Pennsylvania If I approved your membership, But i want to te See more Private Through terms of an agreement negotiated decades ago as part of the purchase of the line, Lansford will receive 25% of the sale. It expanded in 1990 to a cluster of coal lines in the heart of Anthracite (and also Reading Company) country. THE MISSISSIPPI SCHEME. [8], In 2017, the railroad completed its connections to the Hazleton Shaft and Hazleton Hiller Drying Plant. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was also looking for access to the New York City market, and in 1903 it gained control over the Reading and ensured track rights over the Reading and Central New Jersey to Jersey City. Whether you love good food, great shopping, hiking or beautiful scenery, we have just the ticket for you when you ride with us! It used refurbished Rail Diesel Cars built by the Budd Company in the 1950s and operated along the Pottsville Line between Pottsville and Philadelphia via Reading until SEPTA discontinued diesel service in 1981. The commissioners also approved the motion unanimously. The Reading and Northern Railroad owns and operates three self-propelled Rail Diesel Cars #9166, #9167, and #9168. Reading & Northern operates both freight services and . On July 1, 1873, the PW&B agreed to lease the freight rights to the P&R for "$350,000 payable at the time the lease was made and $1 a year The partnership between the RBMN and Reading Company Technical and Historical Society had more or less ended by this point, but the group still leased track space in Leesport until 2008 when they moved to the Hamburg yard and opened the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum.[4]. (RR PICTURE ARCHIVES) AMTK 2456 Willow Grove - (R. BOWEN) BMRG 100 . The first few years saw massive amounts of work to repair the badly neglected trackage, and to develop a steady pattern of service for the many industries that relied on rail service. The railroad started life in 1983 after Conrail began the abandonment process of about 13 miles of Ex-Pennsylvania Railroad trackage from Hamburg, PA to Temple, PA. Who owns the most railroad stock? In 1995, No. This included triple and quadruple tracking many of its major routes, improving signaling and track quality, as well as expanding system capacity and station facilities. On a $14 million bridge built by Reading & Northern, Train NRFF (North Reading Fast Freight) crosses the Lehigh River and former Lehigh Valley main line before merging onto the former Central of New Jersey on May 15. Along with regular pay increases and profit-sharing checks, the Company decided to offer its employees the best health care plan in the region, and with no deductibles! In 2009, Berkshire Hathaway bought full control of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, giving it ownership of North America's largest railroad. No. [5] In December 2016, the RBMN announced that it spent $2 million to build a train station at Pennsylvania Route 61 and Bellevue Avenue in Muhlenberg Township outside Reading, called Reading Outer Station, with plans to operate passenger excursions from there to Jim Thorpe. Reading and Northern takes over service within Humboldt Industrial Park and its 11 new customers on Jan 1, 2016. At that time, he offered $1.3 million for both the rail line and the former Packerton Yards property. Uncover why Reading and Northern Railroad is the best company for you. With the acquisition of the Lehigh Line and the new connections between Jim Thorpe and the Lehigh River Gorge, RBMN was now positioned to offer the region a quality tourist attraction. Its main freight cargo is anthracite coal.[2]. [23] Reading ordered 150 electric multiple units from Bethlehem Steel which were supplemented by twenty unpowered coach trailers converted from existing coaches[24] and electrified services began on July 26, 1931. [15] Also in 1893, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad built its most famous structure, Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. Amid the turmoil of the Panic of 1893, Joseph Smith Harris was elected president. ATLAS HO 20005857, 50' SD POSTWAR BOX CAR, READING [XMZ . By 1871, the Reading was the largest company in the world, with $170,000,000 in market capitalization (equal to $3,845,305,556 today),[4] and may have been the first conglomerate in the world. C&S; Railroad gets new partner ** Reading & Northern is now guaranteed use of Carbon County line. [3] The railroad also entered into a partnership with the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society, which leased track space in Leesport and in return leased two diesel locomotives and assorted passenger cars for use on the line. Evidence of our customer focus became clear to all when, in 2002, the rail industry publication Railway Age chose the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad as Regional Railroad of the Year. The line from Elsmere Junction to Modena is being operated by East Penn Railways, Modena to Coatesville by the Brandywine Valley Railway, and a few miles at the north end by Haines & Kibblehouse. RBMN was now entirely an EMD powered railroad. They still stand today in non-RR use.[2]. 2102. With this agreement in place, we were able to guarantee good long-term rail service to the many customers located there. The RBMN system expanded again with the addition of the seven-mile Towanda line near the New York state border. Larger steam locomotives were introduced to haul the increasing traffic, including the massive N1 class 2-8-8-2 (Chesapeake) Mallet, and Reading made one M1 class 2-8-2 freight hauler; Baldwin Locomotive Works built the rest. Opened in February, the new bridge connects R&N's Reading and Lehigh divisions, expediting . At the New York end it used the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Jersey City Terminal from which passengers could board ferries to Liberty Street Ferry Terminal, Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal, and West 23rd Street in lower Manhattan.[14]. [6] The first round-trip excursion from Reading Outer Station to Jim Thorpe ran on May 29, 2017. [2], The Ninth Street Branchthe main thoroughfare into Reading Terminalwas also improved. Reading financed the construction of the Rutherford Yard to compete with the PRR's nearby Enola Yard. Ephraim Railway, Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990", "Philadelphia & Reading Railroad: Chester Branch", "Report of the Operations of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co. and the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co", "First Permanent Railroad in the U.S. and Its Connection to the University of Pennsylvania. Munger also gave some more solemn words regarding his future. Posted 30+ days ago. To further complicate matters, the Reading was forced to continue paying its debts to the Penn Central Railroad, however, Penn Central (also in bankruptcy at the time) was not required to pay its debts to the Reading Company. During the short segment between Egg Harbor and Brigantine Junction, the train was reported to have reached 115mph. The Great Northern Railway serves a vast, diversified and productive region -- the great Northwest. There are several special excursions that are operated by the LGSR. A 3-foot-6-inch narrow gauge was selected because it would lower track laying and operating costs. In August of 2001, RBMN completed negotiations with NS and Procter & Gamble to take over exclusive service to P&Gs largest manufacturing facility, at Mehoopany, PA. We followed that up in 2004 when we were awarded a Marketing Award from the NS Agriculture Products Group for our outstanding business development. CONTENTS. [19] LGSR trains are usually diesel-powered and consist of an open-air car, standard coaches, a gondola car that allows passengers to transport the bicycles aboard the train and ride their bicycles back to Jim Thorpe, and a caboose. The M1s were the first Reading locomotives to include a trailing truck, and the first engine with the cab behind the Wootten firebox. No. 425 is hauling the Ashland Special. Along with the Little Schuylkill, a horse-drawn railroad in the Schuylkill River Valley, it formed the earliest components of what became the Reading Company. 425 is crossing a Stone Bridge. Last modified on Fri 24 Feb 2023 17.25 EST. To simplify corporate structure, the P&R ceased operation in 1924 and the Reading Company took over operating the railroad. In June of 2002, we entered into a trackage rights agreement with NS, and in August 2002 we renewed a prior agreement with CP. The Reading and Northern was recognized again when we were named the Regional Railroad of the Year by Railway Age Magazine. Employees of the Reading and Northern Railroad work in a family oriented team environment. In July, we entered into a long-term lease of two abandoned railroad bridges over the Lehigh River from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Time, temperature clock returns to Palmerton, Donerds to offer treats, coffee at second location in Bethlehem, Cosmetology students keeping busy at CCTI, State trooper, Seuss book hits at library, Lansford man charged with hiding explosive in luggage at LVIA, FBI catches wanted person in Lansford raid, Three people killed in 5-vehicle Monroe County crash, Palmerton considers plans to curb vandalism. [8] The Port Kennedy Railroad, a short branch to quarries at Port Kennedy, was leased in 1870. The railroad operates special trains over much of its 350-mile system throughout the year, using freight locomotives and its large collection of passenger cars. The return trip leaves Jim Thorpe in the late afternoon and returns to Port Clinton and Reading in the evening. Job Status*: Full Time *Schedule*: Varies. The Haslam family owns 20%. In 2005, regularly scheduled passenger excursions resumed with the introduction of the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway in Jim Thorpe. Free shipping for many products! In order to have better control over the supply of empty hopper-cars for coal shipments, in 1995 RBMN began to purchase a fleet of cars, starting with 265 cars dedicated to Quebec Iron & Titanium Service. thereafter"[10] for a term of 999 years with the stipulation that no passenger trains would use it. Full year 2022 represented the most successful year in RBMNs history as we smashed all traffic and excursion ridership records. For twenty years the Reading Company, the holding company created for the P&R and the P&R Coal and Iron Company, only controlled the P&R after the sale of the P&R Coal and Iron Company. On Thursday, Carbon Countys railroad commission and board of commissioners approved the sale of its rail line to Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad for $4.7 million. Close to Highway 180 & 64 this land is perfect for . This would allow the bulk of all remaining rail shipments of Anthracite coal to be funneled through Reading. Here at the Reading & Northern, we are not much into buzzwords or the latest trends like "re-engineering" or "TQM" or fancy mission statements. The early Philadelphia and Reading Railroad named all of its locomotives with names such as Winona or Jefferson, as did most American railroads following in the British precedent, but in December 1871 the P&R replaced all the names with numbers. During a special meeting of the commission, which took place directly before the commissioners meeting, the board, in a unanimous vote, approved recommending the sale of the approximately 19.5-mile Panther Valley rail line to the board of commissioners. Reading & Northern Railroad, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, is a privately held railroad company serving more than 70 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties. [12] The Reading dubbed the line, along with some connecting track, its Philadelphia and Chester Branch;[13] southbound trains reached it via the Junction Railroad, jointly controlled by PW&B, Reading, and PRR, and continued on to the connecting Chester and Delaware River Railroad. The BM&R took on this challenge, and expanded the company, changing the name to Reading Blue Mountain and Northern. . On a system 8,316 miles in length, its trains carry freight, passengers, mail and express in the area between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean. In 1990, the Blue Mountain and Reading took ownership of 150 miles of track located in the Coal Region north of Reading. RBMN officials shortly thereafter, negotiated a new agreement with the Jim Thorpe Borough government, and excursions resumed in February 2020. BUSINESS CAR; BUDD RDCs; AMTK 2456 Willow Grove - (ex-2685, nee-SP 9005) Budd 10 Rmt - 6 DBR. Our focus will be on jobs and economic development, Muller said. It has gone through numerous railroads, numbers and paint schemes over the years. Blue Mountain and Reading Railroad: BMS: Berlin Mills Railway (St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad) BMSX: Bemis: BMT: Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit: BMZ: Boston and Maine Railroad (Pan Am Railways) BN: Burlington Northern Railroad (BNSF Railway) BNAU: Burlington Northern Railroad (BNSF Railway) BNAZ: Burlington Northern Railroad (BNSF Railway) BNFE The Reading eventually bought a majority of the CNJ's stock in 1901. [3] In 1901, the Reading gained a controlling interest in the Central Railroad of New Jersey, allowing the Reading to offer seamless, one-seat rides from Reading Terminal in Philadelphia to the Central New Jersey's Jersey City Communipaw Terminal by way of Bound Brook onto the Central New Jersey mainline. As the U.S. honors Black History Month, Florida Gov . Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. To connect its two divisions, RBMN negotiated trackage rights over the Carbon-County owned 18-mile railroad between Hometown and Jim Thorpe. In late 1995 these offices were combined into a new corporate headquarters at Port Clinton. The subsidiary that owned mining interests in the area, the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, not the government, called up militia and Coal and Iron Police to put down riots and protests that had broken out in the city. 425 engine 3/4 view. It opened in 1864, using the Lebanon Valley Railroad from Sinking Spring east to Reading. "We are delighted that Jim has chosen to return to Reading & Northern," President Wayne Michel said. At that time, he offered $1.3 million for both the rail line and the former Packerton Yards property. The RBMN had been operating from several former Conrail offices around the system. The grant was used by Carbon County. Among the improvements were repairs to a trestle that leads from Carbon County to White Haven. [21], Camden-Atlantic City speed: On July 20, 1904, regularly-scheduled train no. The warehouse is intended to be a catalyst top generate additional rail business.