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Colebrookdale Railroad

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Colebrookdale Railroad
Garden Cafe Car
Overview
HeadquartersBoyertown, Pennsylvania
LocaleBoyertown-Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Dates of operation2014 (2014)–present (present)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length8.6 miles
Other
Websitecolebrookdalerailroad.com

Template:Colebrookdale Railroad The Colebrookdale Railroad, also known as the Secret Valley Line, is a tourist railroad located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The railroad operates between Boyertown in Berks County and Pottstown in Montgomery County.

Operations

The Colebrookdale Railroad operates a variety of excursions originating out of Boyertown with plans to eventually have trains originating from Pottstown as well. The trains operated include a fall foliage train, Haunted History train, Santa Claus train, Valentine's Day train, Easter Bunny Express, Wine Tasting and Cheese Train, and Mother's Day and Father's Day trains.[1] The railroad also allows groups to charter the entire train, or select cars, and to rent the caboose for birthday parties.[2]

They currently operate a consist of 5 train cars; A deluxe coach, dining car, cafe car, lounge car, and parlor car. They also have an open air gondola and a PRR caboose. The fifth passenger car entered service in mid-November of 2020 and is a cross between a parlor car and a coach car. The deluxe coach, and parlor car are fully restored with their final interiors but the dining and cafe cars have yet to receive their final interiors.[citation needed]

Other cars that they own, but are not yet restored include a private car named Voiture Lynnewood [fr], a baggage car that will eventually serve as a child entertainment center for the train, and an immigrant sleeper currently stored at their restoration shops named The Beaver. They are not currently planning on starting restoration on any of these cars for at least a few years. [3]

History

The original Colebrookdale Railroad started building the railroad line between Boyertown and Pottstown in 1865 to serve the iron ore industry along the Manatawny Creek and trains started running on September 6, 1869.[4] The line, which featured both freight and passenger service, originally continued further north to Bechtelsville and Barto before service was later cut back to Boyertown. The Colebrookdale Railroad was leased by the Reading Railroad who operated the line until 1976, when it became a part of Conrail. Conrail planned to abandon the line, but the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation acquired the line and hired operators. The line was operated by the Anthracite Railway, the Blue Mountain & Reading Railroad, and Penn Eastern Rail Lines. In March 2001, Berks County acquired the line for $155,000 to keep it active; the line was soon sold to Penn Eastern Rail Lines.[5][6] The Colebrookdale Spur was abandoned by the East Penn Railroad (the successor to Penn Eastern Rail Lines) in 2008.[5][7][8]

The inaugural excursion of the Colebrookdale Railroad on October 18, 2014, led by EMD GP10 7580 in Pennsylvania Railroad colors

The Berks County Redevelopment Authority reactivated the line,[9] with the Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad appointed to operate the line beginning in October 2010.[10] The company's non-profit parent, the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust, is working on developing freight traffic on the line. In 2011, a tourist railroad was proposed to operate on the line.[11] Tourist passenger operations began in early October 2014 with a series of "soft" trips, intended to work out any operational issues before the first full season in 2015.[citation needed]

The Colebrookdale Railroad began regular tourist service on October 18, 2014.[12] In early 2020 the railroad operators requested $25 million from the county government for infrastructure improvements. The rail had to turn away freight business because tracks and bridges needed reinforcement to support the weight of modern railcars.[13] They were approved for $40 million loan from the FRA starting in 2022 to completely rebuild the line and extend it to Bechtelsville.[5]

As of 2021, the railroad has acquired two steam locomotives as part of their new steam program. In addition, the railroad is currently redeveloping their yard for more space to store their equipment, and they're transforming parts of their own parking lot into an Edwardian garden that will serve a variety of community events, as well as more parking space for their passengers.[14]

Locomotive roster

Currently rostered units

Formerly rostered units

Rolling stock[21]

References

  1. ^ "Featured Excursions and Themes". Colebrookdale Railroad. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  2. ^ "Charters and Groups". Colebrookdale Railroad. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Project - How We're Changing Things". Colebrookdale Railroad. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  4. ^ Davis, Larry (October 5, 1950). "Barto Rail Line Halt Causes Little Stir". The Pottstown Mercury. pp. 1, 20. Retrieved August 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b c "Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad". Colebrookdale Railroad. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  6. ^ "Colebrookdale Spur". Reading Eagle. May 2, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  7. ^ "EAST PENN RAILROAD, LLC-ABANDONMENT EXEMPTION-IN BERKS AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES, PA". Surface Transportation Board. September 30, 2008. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
  8. ^ Young, Mary E. (May 3, 2008). "Losing rail spur will hurt, Boyertown company says". Reading Eagle. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  9. ^ Duran, Carole (June 23, 2010). "Board continues Boyertown rail freight facility plan". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
  10. ^ Young, Mary E. (September 3, 2010). "County OKs lease with railroad to reopen Boyertown-Pottstown line". Reading Eagle. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  11. ^ Reichl, Matthew (September 25, 2011). "Would you take the train from Boyertown to Pottstown?". The Boyertown Area Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  12. ^ Dennis, Marian (October 18, 2014). "Colebrookdale Railroad unofficially opens with first public ride". The Mercury. Pottstown, PA. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  13. ^ Shuey, Karen (10 February 2020). "Colebrookdale Railroad asks Berks County for $25 million". ReadingEagle.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  14. ^ Colebrookdale Railroad Weekly Update 4/21/2021, retrieved 2021-04-26
  15. ^ "Pictures of CRR 5128". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  16. ^ "Pictures of EBGR 9". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  17. ^ "Pictures of EBGR M55". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  18. ^ Vasil, Jim (March 24, 2021). "Colebrookdale RR to run steam locomotive in 1-2 years". Allentown, PA: WFMZ-TV. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Colebrookdale Railroad - The Secret Valley Line. Facebook. 2021-03-27 https://www.facebook.com/colebrookdalerailroad/posts/3711244792276989. Retrieved 2021-03-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ "Project 02: US Army Transportation Corps 5002". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  21. ^ "Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad Photographic Roster". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  22. ^ "Rent Our Caboose". Colebrookdale Railroad. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  23. ^ Colebrookdale Railroad Weekly Update 5/20, retrieved 2021-09-23
  24. ^ Colebrookdale Railroad Weekly Update 9/22, retrieved 2021-09-23
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