The Reading and Northern Railroad, "The Road of Anthracite"
The Reading and Northern Railroad, officially known as the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad (or RBM&N), is an eastern Pennsylvania Class II regional railroad which operates over 300 miles of predominantly ex-Reading Railroad trackage. Due to the R&N operating lines steeped in the history of anthracite railroads of years past it has adopted a paint scheme and logo very similar to the railroad which makes up most of its system, the Reading.
Since the R&N's creation in 1983 as just a little thirteen-mile shortline connecting Temple and Hamburg, Pennsylvania it has grown nearly 300% and today operates an efficient and profitable railroad being named the Regional Railroad Of The Year in 2002 by Railway Age, the fabled industry publication. To give a brief history of Reading and Northern Railroad's heritage 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.
Prior to World War II the Reading Railroad did fairly well, moving millions of tons of anthracite from western mines to eastern ports, a staple which was quite profitable, at least while demand held. And, despite a system that only connected the larger cities of Philadelphia and New York, the Reading did have one posh passenger train, the Crusader, a streamlined operation between New York/Jersey City (in conjunction with the CNJ at its Jersey City Terminal) and Philly. In its initial streamlining the train used a simple 4-6-2 Pacific (streamlined at the Reading Shops) and matched it to its lightweight consist of five cars (built by the Budd Company), bedecked in stainless steel.
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!
Today, traffic continues to grow on the R&N line and current customers appear to be very happy with the service the railroad provides. As public and customer relations grew, in 2005 the railroad branched out with the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, which runs every weekend between May and December from Jim Thorpe. The star of the tourist railroad is the railroad's recently rehabbed 4-6-2 Pacific Type steam locomotive, #425, painted in a beautiful blue and gold livery. For a further history of the Reading and Northern Railroad please click here.
For more reading on Regionals like the Reading and Northern Railroad consider the book Regional Railroads of the Midwest by Steve Glischinksi. While the book obviously does not feature every Regional in the country it does cover the "Chicago Central Pacific; Dakota, Minnesota Eastern; Escanaba Lake Superior; Iowa Interstate Railroad; Iowa, Chicago Eastern; Indiana Rail Road; Kyle Railroad; Red River Valley Western; Twin Cities Western; Toledo, Peoria Western; Wisconsin Central; and Wisconsin Southern" with plenty of photographs and information about each. If you have an interest in smaller carriers like Regionals, and/or are interested in learning more about their operations, you will almost surely enjoy the book. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.
