Colebrookdale Railroad

Colebrookdale Railroad

Dining car
Locale Boyertown to Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Dates of operation 2014–
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length 8.6 miles
Headquarters Boyertown, Pennsylvania
Website http://www.colebrookdalerailroad.com/

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. 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 to rent the caboose for birthday parties.[2]

History

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

The Colebrookdale Railroad started building the railroad line between Boyertown and Pottstown in 1865 and trains started running in 1869. 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 state of Pennsylvania acquired the line and hired operators. In March 2001, Berks County acquired the line for $155,000 to keep it active.[3] The Colebrookdale Spur was abandoned by the East Penn Railroad in 2008.[4][5] The Berks County Redevelopment Authority reactivated the line,[6] with the Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad appointed to operate the line beginning in October 2010.[7] The company is working on developing freight traffic on the line. In 2011, a tourist railroad was proposed to operate on the line.[8] Tourist passenger operations began in early October 2014 with a series of "soft" trips, intended to work out any operational issues before the full and widely advertised grand opening on October 18. The Colebrookdale Railroad began regular tourist service on October 18, 2014.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Featured Excursions and Themes". Colebrookdale Railroad. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Charters and Groups". Colebrookdale Railroad. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Colebrookdale Spur". Reading Eagle. May 2, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  4. ↑ "EAST PENN RAILROAD, LLC-ABANDONMENT EXEMPTION-IN BERKS AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES, PA". Surface Transportation Board. September 30, 2008. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
  5. ↑ Young, Mary E. (May 3, 2008). "Losing rail spur will hurt, Boyertown company says". Reading Eagle. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  6. ↑ Duran, Carole (June 23, 2010). "Board continues Boyertown rail freight facility plan". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
  7. ↑ Young, Mary E. (September 3, 2010). "County OKs lease with railroad to reopen Boyertown-Pottstown line". Reading Eagle. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  8. ↑ Reichl, Matthew (September 25, 2011). "Would you take the train from Boyertown to Pottstown?". The Boyertown Area Times. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  9. ↑ Dennis, Marian (October 18, 2014). "Colebrookdale Railroad unofficially opens with first public ride". The Mercury (Pottstown, PA). Retrieved January 5, 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Colebrookdale Railroad.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.