The Reading and Columbia Railroad was chartered in 1857 to build from Reading southwest to Columbia on the Susquehanna River. The RBMN had been operating from several former Conrail offices around the system. McLeod went about trying to control neighboring railroads in 1891. Passenger excursions also run on RBMN tracks. 425 double-headed with Canadian Pacific #2317. The US has one of the highest rates of obesity in the advanced world, a rate that has increased from 15% in 1980 to 30.5% in 2000 to 41.9% in 2020. 9 Museum in Lansford, after the train stops in Jim Thorpe. Nothstein said, Its been a long time coming.. Amid the turmoil of the Panic of 1893, Joseph Smith Harris was elected president. 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. 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 county will retain the parking lot and train station. This led to financial trouble in the 1870s. Zurn said an agreement that runs through 2038 between the commission, railroad and county gives C&S; the power to name a tour operator. 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. Former Commissioner William OGurek was not in favor of a sale, while Commissioner Wayne Nothstein had previously said he was in favor of selling it. 425 was present at the grand opening of Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton. It expanded in 1990 to a cluster of coal lines in the heart of Anthracite (and also Reading Company) country. These men, names like James Hill, Jay and George Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Edward Harriman, and Collis P. Huntington are largely responsible for building much of the country's network. MNHS Call Number: Digital Finding Aid. Mary Weston, left, and her son Guy Weston visit a historic Timbuctoo graveyard in Westampton Township, Burlington County, in early February. On July 22, 1877, after the crushing of strikes and unions by the Philadelphia and Reading Company, and following in the path of the Great Railroad Strikes of 1877, vandalism of the Reading's financial interests in Reading, Pennsylvania began. Last year, Muller said, he spent $1 million $400,000 in state grants and $600,000 in Reading Blue Mountain and Northern money to improve C&S; tracks and bridges. The project would culminate in the opening of the bridge in November of 2003. [18], The RBMN also operates passenger excursions out of the Reading Outer Station located outside of Reading in Muhlenberg Township, with Rail Diesel Car trains running from Reading Outer Station to Jim Thorpe with an intermediate stop in Port Clinton. Reading & Northern got its start as the Blue Mountain & Reading in 1983 with a 13-mile former Pennsylvania Railroad branch between Temple and Hamburg. This was a move to offset the fact that EMD FT diesel locomotives (first choice of Reading management) were very hard to obtain, and in order to have faster, up-to-date modern power. It currently resides at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton. In the late 1920s, most of the suburban system was electrified (the first lines electrified were the Ninth Street Branch, New Hope Branch as far as Hatboro station (extended to Warminster station in 1974), the Bethlehem Branch as far as Lansdale, the Doylestown Branch, and the New York Branch to West Trenton). In addition, RBMN operates the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, a heritage railway based in Jim Thorpe. Shortly thereafter, the company renamed itself the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad and moved its headquarters from Hamburg to Port Clinton. 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. Railfan & Railroad Extra Board. Includes personnel records (1873-1879) and payroll records (1869, 1871, 1876-1878). The P&R was constructed initially to haul anthracite coal from mines in northeastern Pennsylvania's Coal Region to Philadelphia. In the spring of 2006, we proudly opened our new Penobscot Yard office building. Bought the 19-mile rail line from Carbon County for 4.7 million dollars. Zurn and Muller said they have offered Hart, 80, a lifetime pass on their tours and other perks to soften the blow. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In 1990, the Blue Mountain and Reading took ownership of 150 miles of track located in the Coal Region north of Reading. The Lebanon Valley Railroad was chartered in 1836 to build from Reading west to Harrisburg. Who owns the most railroad stock? 425 passing 2 Diesels. TIMES NEWS FILE PHOTO. Its not a money-making thing for us, OGurek said, adding that its aim is serving area industries. The first major task was to convert all track to standard gauge, which was completed on October 5, 1884. BUSINESS CAR; BUDD RDCs; AMTK 2456 Willow Grove - (ex-2685, nee-SP 9005) Budd 10 Rmt - 6 DBR. In 1996, Cotter reorganized the company as Reading Entertainment. Morlok, Edward K., University of Pennsylvania (2005). 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. The Reading and Northern Railroads commitment to protecting the environment has also led us to seek servicing opportunities such as the transportation of coal waste in Schuylkill and Luzerne counties to Co-Gen facilities in Carbon County. In December 1990, Conrail was looking to sell off over 150 miles of branch lines in the Anthracite Coal Regions. A.C.Muller Enterprises Visit: Reading & Northern Railroad.com The Reading and Northern Railroad, with corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, is a privately held railroad company servicing customers in eight counties in Eastern Pennsylvania. Joe Biden received a briefing on Friday on the multi-agency response to the derailment in Ohio of a freight train carrying toxic chemicals, as his . That was a huge concern of the public, Nothstein said. But now that he owns a share of the shortline, it guarantees that his cars, which carry commodities including coal, bird feed and plastic, can cross. Posted 30+ days ago. Compare pay for popular roles and read about the team's work-life balance. [9], In 2019, an audit by the borough of Jim Thorpe revealed the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway owed the borough $90,000 in amusement tax. 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 Great Northern Railway serves a vast, diversified and productive region -- the great Northwest. [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. 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. It had formerly been operated by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad. 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. 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. Despite the discontinuation of the Hamburg to Temple excursions, steam operations continued. (RR PICTURE ARCHIVES) AMTK 2456 Willow Grove - (R. BOWEN) BMRG 100 . [clarification needed] In 1890, Reading president Archibald A. McLeod saw that more riches could be earned by expanding its rail network and becoming a trunk railroad. Commonly called the Reading Railroad, and logotyped as Reading Lines, the Reading Company was a railroad holding company for the majority of its existence and was a single railroad during its later years. After a fierce fight over the future of Conrail, CSX ultimately agreed to split Conrail with its main rival, Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). [3] Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the RBMN acquired more lines in northeastern Pennsylvania, primarily of Reading Railroad, Central Railroad of New Jersey, and Lehigh Valley Railroad heritage. 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. The Railway fought the tax bill in court, where the judge sided with the borough; the railway appealed the decision, arguing that the tourist railroad was "not an amusement". During 1875, four members of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad board of directors resigned to build a second railroad from Camden, New Jersey, to Atlantic City by way of Clementon. 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. 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. The billionaire investor's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Tuesday agreed to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe . In the summer of 2002, RBMN began a critical step to enable the direct physical connection of our two Divisions without the need to run over any foreign track. John Law; his birth and youthful careerDuel between Law and WilsonLaw's escape from the King's BenchThe "Land-bank"Law's gambling propensities on the continent, and acquaintance with the Duke of OrleansState of France after the reign of Louis XIV.Paper money instituted in that country by LawEnthusiasm of the French people at the . This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 14:26. Northern Plains Railroad 3.7. Carbon County purchased the former Nesquehoning Valley Branch Line 1009 through the newly formed Carbon County Railroad Commission on Sept. 30, 1981, at a cost of $991,500, with the help of federal grants. 750 Mummasburg Road Gettysburg, PA 17325 Customer Service Contact: Phone: 1 (855) 955-RAIL (7245) Fax: (904) 423-5388 Email: customer.service@patriotrail.com Business Development Contact: Jodi Heath Vice President Business Development Mobile: (260) 437-6202 Jodi.heath@patriotrail.com Patriot Rail Credit Application After its railroad operations were merged into Conrail in 1976, the remainder of the corporation was renamed Reading International. Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad. Muller now is co-owner of. Soon the P&R bought or leased many of the railroads in the Schuylkill River Valley and extended westward and north along the Susquehanna into the southern end of what became known as the Coal Region. On December 31, 2001, both Reading Entertainment and Craig Corporation merged into and with Citadel Holding Corporation, another Cotter company. 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]. Corporate records, 1862-1962. 425 is leaving a Water Tower in "All About Trains" Which the footage also used in The Blue Mountain & Reading . In August of 1996, RBMN acquired a portion of Conrails Lehigh Division. Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad 27 Reviews #1 of 2 Transportation in Reading Transportation, Railways 3501 Pottsville Pike, corner of Bellevue Avenue and Route 61, Reading, PA 19605-1717 Save TFopinion Pennsylvania 588 271 Almost Perfect Review of Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad Reviewed May 22, 2022