The Crusader, Reading's Premier Passenger Train

The Reading Railroad is not well remembered for its passenger services. The Reading, like many other Northeastern railroads, is best known for the vast tons of anthracite coal it moved from eastern/central Pennsylvania to the ports around Philadelphia and New York City. However, the Reading did have at least one notable passenger train, outside of it’s the daily commuter services it provided to Philadelphia, the Crusader. For at least a few decades this train proved to be successful serving the 90-mile corridor between Philadelphia (at the railroad’s Reading Terminal) and Jersey City (via the Central Railroad of New Jersey’s Jersey City Terminal), even though it had stiff competition from other railroads like the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The Reading Railroad (pronounced “Redding”), officially known as the Reading Company, was another of the many anthracite carriers of the Northeast and perhaps the most famous (it was even featured in Monopoly!). Unfortunately, while the Reading was the most famous anthracite carrier it was also relied the heaviest on the commodity and when demand began to disappear following WWII so did the Reading’s profits. While the railroad was one of several that collapsed in the wake of the Penn Central disaster to be absorbed into Conrail it was certainly one of the most interesting and colorful anthracite carriers of all.

While the Reading has a history dating back to the 1820s, its true beginnings date to the creations of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad in April 1833 by the State of Pennsylvania to haul anthracite coal more efficiently to eastern ports than by either horse or canal. Six years later it had completed its main line between Reading and Philadelphia in 1839 and by the latter half of the 19th century was reaching towns such as Harrisburg, Pottstown, Norristown, and Bethlehem (by purchasing smaller lines such as the Lebanon Valley Railroad, Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad, Williamsport & Erie Railroad, North Pennsylvania railroad, and Delaware & Bound Brook Railroad).

One other interesting aspect of the Reading Railroad, especially for its main role in hauling coal, was the railroad’s extensive, and electrified, commuter operations around the Philadelphia regions. By the 1930s the railroad had electrified its lines, extending from its now-abandoned Reading Terminal in Philadelphia, to Norristown, Chestnut Hill, Doylestown, Hatboro, and West Trenton. Amazingly, even as late as the 1960s, the Reading was continuing to expand its commuter/electrified operations!

The Reading debuted the Crusader in December of 1937 featuring a five car train in all-stainless steel built by the Budd Company. The train included a tavern-diner, coaches, and two observations pulled by a 4-6-2 Pacific Type steam locomotive likewise streamlined in stainless steel to match the rest of the consist. The Pacifics did not last long as they were replaced in 1950 by EMD FP7 diesels, which were adorned in the Reading’s catchy livery of black and green with yellow trim. While the modest the train was very classy and well received by commuters as a secondary option to the somewhat mum services provided by the PRR.

The Crusader did well for the Reading through the 1950s but by the 1960s in an already stiff Northeastern commuter market, coupled with increased competition from automobiles and airplanes, the railroad (on a tight budget anyway due to the increasing lack of demand for anthracite coal) cut back services on the train in a big way. In 1964 the entire streamlined train was sold off to the Canadian National and was reequipped with heavyweight cars and, in some cases, even the ubiquitous Rail Diesel Car (essentially, the classic Crusader disappeared forever after it was sold to the CN).

For more reading on streamliners like the Crusader you might want to also consider the book Streamliners: History of a Railroad Icon from renowned author Mike Schafer who covers in detail most of the well-known and remembered “classic” passenger trains to operate in the country. If you have any interest in such you should very much enjoy Mr. Schafer’s book.

Also, for a superb general history of passenger trains consider the book American Passenger Train from Mike Schafer. Using plenty of colored photographs complemented with lots of good information, if you are interested in passenger trains or would like to learn more about them this book will get you started.