Reading & Northern Announces 2026 Excursions
Published: February 20, 2026
Port Clinton, PA – Immediately upon the conclusion of another record-breaking year of ridership in 2025, the Reading & Northern Passenger Department has already begun its 2026 schedule of all-day rail excursions to historic Jim Thorpe from Reading Outer Station and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Regional Railroad Station at Pittston. For the first time, excursion trains operated in January and will continue to do so throughout February and March.
The winter 2026 schedule was announced this past December. For the first six weekends of the year, guests had the opportunity to ride the train from Pittston or Reading to Jim Thorpe at a reduced fare. This also marked the first time that all-day passenger service would be offered year-round. Yet again, Reading & Northern is proud to report that its regular fares ($39.00 from Pittston or Reading) have not increased, and the trips will follow largely the same schedule and format as in past years. As always, tickets may be purchased online at www.RBMNRR.com or by calling 610-562-2102, 8:30am – 5:00pm daily.
Reading & Northern's handsome F units, acquired from Norfolk Southern, along with SD50-2 #5019 have an excursion at Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania on October 9, 2021. Doug Kroll photo.Trains from Pittston and Reading will operate Saturdays and Sundays, plus President’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, through September 20. After a successful experiment in 2025, trains from Reading will also operate on Fridays in September. Following its traditional slate of Fall Foliage excursions (to be announced later), the last of the 2026 regular season will take place on weekends in November and December. The latter part of the schedule will include Black Friday “Shopper’s Specials” to Jim Thorpe originating from Reading and Pittston on November 27.
Reading Outer Station is celebrating its tenth year of passenger excursions in 2026. It is located at the very southern end of Reading & Northern’s operating territory. This route is mainly serviced by the railroad’s 1950s-era self-propelled rail diesel cars, or RDCs. During the ride, guests may visit the refreshment counter in RDC #9166, which offers reasonably priced snacks, beverages, and souvenirs. Trains depart Outer Station at 9:00am sharp, with station stops at Port Clinton and Tamaqua enroute to Jim Thorpe. Plans are in the works for additional intermediate station stops along this popular route. Once again, the railroad is partnering with The Village at Housers Crossing to offer a “flag stop” exclusively for Village guests. The Village at Housers Crossing, just south of Tamaqua, is a unique lodging retreat opened in 2021 by Carolee Smith on a historically significant parcel of anthracite country land. Village guests have the option to purchase round trip train tickets to Jim Thorpe as part of their getaway.
Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Regional Railroad Station at Pittston is entering its fourth year and services the northern segment of the railroad’s system. Its trains depart Pittston at 8:45am sharp and make station stops at Mountain Top (also known as Penobscot) and White Haven. The special feature of the Pittston trains is First-Class Lounge Observation car #7, King Coal. This car can only be boarded at Pittston and presents unique views of the scenery thanks to its larger windows, boat-tail profile, and position at the end of the train. Crown Class Coaches, along with a dining car offering snacks, beverages, and souvenirs, join the King Coal in completing the train. Reading & Northern is actively seeking to extend this passenger route into Wilkes-Barre proper.
Reading & Northern Railroad, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, is a privately held railroad company serving over 80 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Wyoming). It has expanded its operations over the last 40 years; and projects 40,000 carloads of freight in 2026 (which removes over 220,000 trucks from the highway), while its Passenger Department welcomed over 410,000 happy customers in 2025. Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns almost 2,000 freight cars, and employs over 400 dedicated people. Reading & Northern has been repeatedly honored as one of the premier railroads in the nation, including being named Regional Railroad of the Year in 2020 by Railway Age magazine.
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