PORT CLINTON — Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad has expanded its fleet of passenger cars for excursions in a season that will see the return of the iconic Iron Horse Rambles.
“Our passenger department has acquired several new pieces of rolling stock as we prepare for an even bigger season in 2025,” the railroad said in a press release. “This will allow for greater flexibility in passenger operations, as well as enhanced experiences for our guests.”
The Schuylkill County-based line is reviving its Iron Horse Rambles, locomotive-driven excursions popularized by the Reading Railroad in the early 1960s.
On Feb. 8, Reading & Northern’s classic steam-powered locomotive No. 2102 will power an Iron Horse Ramble from Reading to Jim Thorpe, crossing a winter landscape in Berks, Schuylkill and Carbon counties for the first time.
On Tuesday, seven antique passenger cars arrived at Reading & Northern shops in Nesquehoning, where they will undergo restoration.
Wearing the Maroon and Tuscan color scheme of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the cars had been part of the Penn Valley Railroad in Sunbury. For 27 years, they carried rail fans on fall foliage and holiday excursions through central Pennsylvania.
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Jeff Pontius, 70, Penn Valley’s owner, said he is downsizing and plans to spend more time on his farm and Penn Valley Pictures, a company that markets DVDs on railroad history.
“It was a bittersweet departure,” Pontius said. “I built the collection out of love for railroads, but I’m slowing down to do other things.”
Selling the fleet to Reading & Northern, Pontius said, was a good decision. He was pleased that the coaches will continue running.
At the heart of the collection, Reading & Northern said in its news release, are three former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western coaches equipped with roller bearings that allow for a smoother ride and reduced wear.
“They will fit seamlessly into the existing fleet of No. 300-series Standard Coaches that have been the backbone of the Reading & Northern passenger roster since the 1980s,” the railroad said.
A Pennsylvania Railroad commuter coach in the group will be recommissioned as Crown Classic Coach No. 671 in the Reading & Northern fleet.
Crown Classic coaches account for most of the service on all-day excursions from Pittston to Jim Thorpe, and are popular on Iron Horse Rambles. They are also found on the railroad’s Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway trains as an inexpensive upgrade from standard coach seating.
A dining car was also among the coaches bought by Reading & Northern.
The King Coal Cafe, a dining car on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway inaugurated last year, has proven popular with guests, Reading & Northern said.
The acquisition included a generator car, a critical backup given that the railroad at times operates five trains on weekends.
The former Penn Valley Railroad coaches were picked up by a Reading & Northern crew Tuesday at Mount Carmel. The train traveled southbound to the railroad’s Mahanoy & Shamokin branch to East Mahanoy Junction, where it headed to the Nesquehoning Station.
The passenger cars will be on display at Nesquehoning for a brief period before being overhauled and repainted in the Reading & Northern’s classic red passenger coach scheme.
Tickets went on sale Monday for regularly scheduled excursions from the Reading Outer Station to Jim Thorpe and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Regional Railroad Station at Pittston. Excursions begin March 15, and run every weekend through the end of December, including Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
Information on a separate slate of Fall Foliage for October and early November will be announced at a later date.
Iron Horse Ramble from Reading to Jim Thorpe are also scheduled for May 24, June 21 and Aug 23.
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