Reading Terminal Station, Philadelphia

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).

As the 1960s unfolded the anthracite market had almost entirely dried up and the Reading Railroad depended heavily on bridge traffic to remain competitive and replace earnings lost from coal traffic (which was all but impossible). The straw that brought everything down for the railroad was the merger by the Pennsylvania and New York Central to form the disastrous Penn Central in 1968. Almost immediately the PC began to crumble and along with it most of the other Northeastern carriers as they relied on the massive carrier to funnel traffic back and forth to them.

On June 21, 1970 the PC declared bankruptcy and not long after so too did most of the other surrounding carriers, including the Reading on November 23, 1971. What resulted was the eventual creation of Conrail in 1976 to stabilize the situation in the Northeast.

The Reading Terminal was the railroad’s grand entrance into its home city of Philadelphia. While the Pennsylvania Railroad ruled supreme here having already built its Broad Street Station and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad had its own station in place as well, the 24th Street Station, the Reading’s new complex was perhaps the most impressive, to date, of the three.

Construction began on the terminal in the early 1890s by the Wilson Brothers Architecture & Engineering Company and was completed in 1893. Built in the Italian Renaissance style the terminal featured three sections; the head house (an eight-story structure), train shed, and Reading Terminal Market (a complex that the Reading promised to build into the terminal since it had purchased the ground from an open air market that was located there).

Through World War II the Reading Terminal saw several thousand travelers daily, both commuter and long distance passengers. However, after the war, as with passenger rail travel in general across the country, the terminal saw a decreasing decline in use until the bankruptcy of the Reading Railroad in 1971 resulted in an uncertain fate for the building’s future. After the creation of Conrail in 1976 the terminal continued to be used by SEPTA (the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) until 1984 when a new station, Suburban Station (built where Broad Street Station was once located), replaced it.

After this changing of the guard the elevated approach tracks that connected the terminal have been abandoned and partially demolished. However, the station itself would suffer a better fate. In 1976, it, along with its train shed were forever protected when they were named a National Historic Landmark and today are part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center’s main headquarters.

Today, Reading Terminal is multiuse building that includes, hotel space, shopping, restaurants, meeting rooms, and of course the Reading Market. So, if you are ever vacationing in Philadelphia, along with visiting 30th Street Station, this is another historic railroad landmark that you do not want to miss seeing!To learn more about Reading Terminal as it is used today please click here to visit the Pennsylvania Convention Center’s website.

For more reading about railroad stations you might want to consider a copy of Railroad Stations from author Brian Solomon. While the book is just a very general overview of some of the great stations that once stood in this country it is quite good with lots of historical photographs, including that of Grand Central Terminal and the late Pennsylvania Station (it also gives a history of the thousands of small depots that existed in most communities). All in all if you’re interested in stations and depots you’re sure to enjoy Mr. Solomon’s book on the subject.