The rudimentary operation was slow and ground to halt during the late fall through early spring when frigid temperatures kept the canals frozen and unnavigable. The Reading Railroad's ""Bee Line Service" logo. During this era railroads struggled to gain a footing in the face of stiff canal opposition; backed with money and political connections canal owners were effective at delaying construction efforts of the Lehigh Valley, Erie, and Mohawk & Hudson (an early New York Central predecessor). The railroad is an icon that many people have forgotten yet some nostalgically cling to. In 1892 Port Reading was connected to the Reading Railroad system via a new branch line from Bound Brook, New Jersey, known as the Port Reading Railroad. Enable JavaScript to see Google Maps. It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate. In 1933 the ACRR joined Pennsylvania's West Jersey & Seashore Railroad to form the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, a successful commuter operation linking Camden with the Jersey Shore. The decline of this traffic began in the 1920s and hastened after World War II. There were first-generation GP7's, F7's, and RS3's while second-generation variants included models like the C630, GP30, and GP40-2. To overcome the obstacles of winter the state legislature authorized construction of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad on April 4, 1833. As the 1800s came to a close the railroad continued to prosper with demand for anthracite soaring. Beautiful antique Pennsylvania railroad maps and map prints restored to excellent quality suitable for framing. Unfortunately, the loss of its key traffic source quickened through the 1960s and by 1975 it was handling less than 2 million tons. Author's collection. Author's collection. From Doggett's Railroad Guide, New York, (1848), p. 56. It planned to move coal from mines near the Panther Creek Valley at Tamaqua to Port Clinton (about 20 miles) where the product would then be transferred to the Schuylkill Navigation Company's canal linking Reading and Philadelphia. Map. The PRSL faded over time but survived until the formation of Conrail in 1976. All content copyright American-Rails.com (unless otherwise noted). The Reading Railroad logo. Transportation. This subsidiary worked to acquire mines for the railroad and was so fruitful that Mr. Schafer notes it controlled nearly 30% of the anthracite market before overextending itself and falling into bankruptcy in 1880. Sc. Beginning in late 1891 it leased the Lehigh Valley and soon afterward held stakes in the Jersey Central, Lackawanna, and even Boston & Maine. In a further corporate reorganization it shed all of its non-rail interests in 1923 due to antitrust issues. In 1892, due to legal difficulties, the railroad became the Harrisburg to Shippensburg Railroad for a brief period of time. Photo by Andrew Carbine, 10/23/2013. Depicts railroad lines from Raleigh, N.C., through South Carolina and Georgia, highlighting in purple ink the particular train route Sneden took as a prisoner. Historical City Maps; Old County Maps ... Philadelphia and Reading Railroad - Osborne 1838 - 23 x 68. Map and pictures of the abandoned Perkiomen Branch between Perkiomen Junction and Emmaus, Pennsylvania. 1864, when sent from Richmond, Va., to Andersonville, Georgia. Realizing the severity of the situation the federal government stepped and setup the Consolidated Rail Corporation, Conrail. The company was forced into receivership and all of the rail and non-rail properties under its control except the CNJ were reorganized as the Reading Company. The map is in very good condition and the reverse side is blank. Its goal in this endeavor ultimately failed and the company settled into operating a haphazard, tentacled network radiating out of Reading, Pennsylvania. There are seven major railroads in the United States (Class I railroads) and over 500 shortline and regional railroads (Class II & Class III railroads). The origins of the Reading Railroad began just this way. In 1998 a gentleman by the name of Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. Ephraim Railway, which connected its namesake cities in New Jersey. Hours. Mr. Woodland notes that in 1946 the Reading still handled 16 million tons of anthracite with roughly 30 million tons in other freight. APA citation style: Alter, R. H., Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co & Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. Its system was largely devoid of a main line except for a small spine west of Philadelphia. Jerry Custer photo. Its absolute furthest run over home rails was 202 miles from Newberry Junction (near Williamsport) to Philadelphia. Electro-Motive Corporation/Electro-Motive Division. The little operation was soon standard-gauged and through a series of other acquisitions the P&R consolidated all of its southern New Jersey properties into the Atlantic City Railroad in 1889. Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his UtahRails.net site (another fine resource). On May 14, 1879 it purchased the North Pennsylvania Railroad which extended service to the important steel-production center at Bethlehem and that same year added the Delaware & Bound Brook Railroad (D&BB). The entire Northeastern industry was seriously hurt by the formation of the Penn Central Transportation in February of 1968. © Copyright 2007-2021 American-Rails.com. The maps in the Map Collections materials were either published prior to 1922, produced by the United States government, or both (see catalogue records that accompany each map for information regarding date of publication and source). From Wikipedia: The Lebanon station, also known as the Reading Railroad Station, is a historic train station in Lebanon PA. The P&R was the earliest ancestor of the Reading's railroad operations. [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/98688767/. The line was chartered on December 5, 1833, and was completed in 1839. Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML. (See map courtesy of Craig Hobschaidt) or check out the NS Harrisburg Division timetable from 2001. The Reading Railroad (pronounced "Redding"), officially known as the Reading Company, was another of the many Northeastern anthracite carriers and arguably the most famous. Into the early 1800s the idea of waterway transportation, better known as canals, drew increasing support. An American Locomotive builder's photo featuring freshly outshopped Reading C630 #5305 in June of 1966. An official, 1940 system map of the Reading Railway. PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD MAP BUREAU OF PLANNING AND RESEARCH BUREAU OF RAIL FREIGHT, PORTS, & WATERWAYS FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION CLASS I RAILROADS 3,169 Miles ... Pennsylvania Southwestern Railroad Reading Blue Mt. The new president aimed to transform his company into the dominant anthracite carrier. Your journey will begin when you climb aboard our Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs). Warren Calloway collection. At this time the P&R controlled over 70% of the anthracite business and appeared would enter the 20th century as the region's largest railroad. Spanning 143 years, the Reading Railroad’s life mimicked the rolling hills and mountains it traversed. Reading power is lined up next to Western Maryland BL2 #82 and the Delaware & Hudson's famous PA's at Hagerstown, Maryland during February of 1972. Jerry Custer photo. The two most popular reasons for wishing to consult railroad-related land records are property ownership investigations and historical research. The first to do so successfully was the Lehigh Coal Mine Company of 1792. Available... Outline map indicating the railroad network in central Pennsylvania, parts of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Through the 1840s, most railroad companies operated a single route–either a passenger line like the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad (PGN) or a freight line such as the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (the Reading), chartered in 1833. Menu & Reservations Make Reservations . He looked to corner the coal market by establishing the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company in 1871. These popular excursions became legendary and became a fondly remembered part of Reading's history. The Rambles were not only a successful public relations campaign during an era when railroads were far more friendly, welcoming, and open to the general public but also demonstrated the importance steam power once played. Price: $36.95 Details. It then purchased the Lebanon Valley Railroad on March 20, 1858 which linked Reading with the state capital at Harrisburg (the LVRR opened on January 18, 1858). Central were predominantly scrapped, 1951. The route's construction began in earnest during 1830 and it was opened in 1831 utilizing horses pulling carts over wooden rails with iron straps. Author's collection. Reading's Passenger And Commuter Services. Wes Barris's SteamLocomotive.com is simply the best web resource in the study of steam locomotives. The P&R proved, once more, that rail transportation was superior to the canal. Central Railroad of New Jersey, "The Big Little Railroad"Delaware & Hudson, "The Bridge Line" Erie Lackawanna, "The Friendly Service Route" Lehigh & Hudson River, "The Bridge Route"Lehigh & New England, "Industry's Freight Route" Lehigh Valley, "Route Of The Black Diamond" New York, Ontario & Western, "Route Of The Mountaineer"Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, Providing Commuter Service Across Southern New Jersey. Just type in a town or city and click on the timeline of maps at the bottom of the page! Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848. Into the diesel era it experimented with examples from all of the major manufacturers, including Fairbanks-Morse's unique H24-66 "Train Master" of the 1950s. A pair of Reading F7A's layover between assignments at Newberry Junction, Pennsylvania circa late 1950s/early 1960s. Outline map showing railroads between Port Trevorton and Catawissa on the Susquehanna River and the Port Richmond Wharves in Philadelphia. As the 1960s unfolded the anthracite market had almost entirely dried up resulting in the Reading depending heavily on bridge traffic. Lehigh Valley and Jersey It was envisioned to replace the canal, connecting Pottsville with Philadelphia via Reading running parallel with the Schuylkill River. (1884) Map of the Pennsylvania, Reading, and Lehigh Valley Railroads, and their connections. As the years passed, however, these operations lost increasingly more money, a problem facing all other Northeastern carriers. The P&R was not the only carrier to flourish by handling hard, or stone coal. This was no different for the P&R, which fought local canal interests for years until opening its first segment between Reading and Pottstown in 1838. Map of the northeastern United States showing relief by hachures, drainage, oil region, cities and towns, distances between stations, and county names and boundaries in red. (1884) Map of the Pennsylvania, Reading, and Lehigh Valley Railroads, and their connections.Philadelphia. The new carrier comprised the skeletons of several bankrupt Northeastern carriers, including the Reading, and it launched operations on April 1, 1976. As the popularity of beach goers exploded through the late 19th century the ACRR was double-tracked along an arrow-straight main line linking Camden with Atlantic City. Today, some of its lines remain in use by various agencies handling both freight and passenger assignments. Still, as the D&H operation proved, demand for anthracite was so great there remained a bright future in the business. When you have eliminated the JavaScript , whatever remains must be an empty page. For Emergencies: (877) 533-6913; It did, however, go on to join the "Alphabet Route." Reviews (570) 943-5026 Website. They were so popular they kept running through the 1964 season. Alter, R. H., Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co & Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. A trio of Reading RS3's have the "Schuylkill" (Philadelphia - Pottsville) near Tuckerton, Pennsylvania circa 1955. This branch of the Reading Railroad was almost absorbed by Conrail in 1976 if it was not for SEPTA, who purchased the line outright with the intent on running a commuter rail service between Fox Chase (near downtown Philadelphia) northeast to the end-of-the-line at Newtown, PA. & Northern Railroad Shamokin Valley Railroad Corp. Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad Company Union County Industrial Railroad Company Philadelphia, 1884. Its best-remembered was the steamlined Crusader. Unfortunately, despite its celebrity the carrier relied heavily on a commodity which precipitously declined after World War II. However, it generally relied on examples from Electro-Motive and American Locomotive. Its earliest predecessor was the Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad & Coal Company, which was granted a charter by the state of Pennsylvania on February 28, 1826. Interestingly, this 93-mile route was the only true main line the Reading ever operated. It was one of Pennsylvania's earliest such operations and became a profitable venture handling anthracite from near Honesdale to Kingston. RAILROAD MAPS IN MY STORE: The Reading Company was a railroad in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states whose final iteration ran from 1924 until 1976, when it was absorbed by Conrail. 4 Rail Transit Commission (RTC) owned - Switching and terminal operations (Madison Terminal Railway, LLC, Rail & Transload, Inc. in Watertown, Port of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Rapids Railroad) are not shown. ; On verso of Copy 1: M.C. Roger Puta photo. In 1964 the Reading Railroad took over operation and leased the line until 1968 when they bought it from Bethlehem Steel. Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML. Almost immediately the PC began to crumble and along with it most other carriers. After a series of presidents, Archibald McLeod took the reigns in 1890 leading the Philadelphia & Reading through what could arguably be described as its greatest period. A set of Reading MU's are stopped at Doylestown, Pennsylvania on August 15, 1970. ANTIQUE READING RAILWAY MAP This is an antique map which was carefully removed from a 1932 book on finance. Finally, there was the Iron Horse Rambles. Map of the Pennsylvania, Reading, and Lehigh Valley Railroads, and their connections. The rest of its network consisted primarily of branch and secondary lines. Jul 29, 2014 - This Pin was discovered by Daniel Newman. Transportation. According to Jim Shaughnessy's book, "Delaware & Hudson: The Bridge Line," on April 22, 1828 the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company first entered revenue service. Map of Reading Railroad and principal interchange points. An official, 1969 system map of the Reading Railroad by Rand McNally & Company. One of the Reading's famous 4-8-4's (T-1), #2102, makes a photo run-by during a special excursion from Baltimore to Hagerstown at Hanover, Maryland on a cold and snowy February 6, 1972. Alter, R. H, Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co, and Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. In 1884 it purchased the narrow-gauge Camden, Gloucester & Mt. Things went from bad to worse as the PC threatened total shutdown if some assistance was not provided. Alas, the financial Panic of 1893 brought down the McLeod empire although the P&R did maintain control of the CNJ. Philadelphia, 1884. It is a must visit! If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer. Less than a decade later Reading was acquired, through stock ownership, by the much larger Baltimore & Ohio. In 1999 the system, which finally returned to profitability during the early 1980s, was split between Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation. Map. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1918 READING RAILROAD SYSTEM MAP RDG RR HISTORY DEPOTS STATIONS at the best online prices at eBay! These systems were the most important components of the P&R's network although, as Mr. Woodland points out, nearly 100 predecessors ultimately comprised the modern Reading Company system. Superiority the reading railroad map evaporated ) $ 27.50 FREE shipping only 1 left Add. Seen here in service at Reading Terminal in September, 1964 on bridge traffic life the! 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