The Colebrookdale Railroad’s rebirth as a successful tourist railroad breathes new life into a former Reading Company branch in southeastern Pennsylvania. The revival was sparked by a determined man named Nathaniel Guest and a supportive community. Guest, a Pottstown native, learned the railroad was going to be officially abandoned. Believing the line’s history made it worth saving, Guest began a campaign to get trains running again.
Guest approached the Berks County commissioners for help. The commissioners readily understood two things: First, the Colebrookdale RR was an irreplaceable asset for the old industrial communities of Pottstown and Boyertown along its route and, second, once gone, it would be gone forever. With their support the Civil War-era railroad was reborn as an engine of community and economic development — a heritage railroad christened the Secret Valley Line. A 501(c)3 organization, the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust (CRPT), was established to oversee the project. The trust restored and developed the railroad as an active freight utility and heritage tourist railroad.
The line developed a network of political, industry, and business supporters assisted by a partnership that includes the Redevelopment Authority of Berks County, Montgomery County, the Boroughs of Pottstown and Boyertown, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
History
The railroad’s history began in 1865 to serve industries along the Manatawny Creek near Pottstown, Pa. It was named Colebrookdale after the first ironworks in England. Operation commenced in 1869 and the line was later leased to the Philadelphia & Reading RR on Jan. 1, 1870. Local freight and passenger service was provided as far north as Barto, Pa., for many years. On April 1, 1976, the line became part of Conrail when the Reading was absorbed into the Conrail System. Conrail planned to abandon the line, but the Colebrookdale Spur was quickly acquired by PennDOT and operation was contracted out, initially to the Anthracite Railway and then the Blue Mountain & Reading Railroad in 1995.
In March 2001, Berks County acquired the line to ensure it would remain active. Operation passed to the Penn Eastern Railway, which applied for abandonment. Acquired by Berks County in March 2009, for the second time, operation was conveyed to the Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad (EBG), a subsidiary of holding company U.S. Rail Partners, Ltd. USRP bowed out of the operation at the end of 2013 and handed the operating contract to the CRPT. In 2011, a tourist railroad was proposed to operate over the 8.6-mile line. Today the EBG is the freight carrier, serving two Pennsylvania terminals, Pottstown and Boyertown, and is unique in being a wholly owned subsidiary of the non-profit 501(c)3 CRPT.
The Colebrookdale Line Grows
The fledging operation acquired its first piece of rolling stock as a donation from the Rivanna Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, based in Charlottesville, Va. The group had restored ex-PRR N5b cabin car No. 477768. The cabin car was delivered to Boyertown on Jan. 17, 2014. A donation of $15,000 by the Lions and Rotary clubs of Boyertown to the CRPT and a subsequent donation of $5,000 to the NRHS Restoration Grant fund was a factor in the decision to donate the 477768 to the Colebrookdale RR and illustrates the community’s commitment to the railroad as a central theme in the continuing revitalization of Boyertown.
In March 2014, the CRPT leased EMD GP10 No. 7580. The locomotive was built in 1957 as PRR GP9 No. 7128 and rebuilt by CR into GP10 No. 7580. Later it served the Wimpey Materials quarry in nearby Annville, Pa. Since there was some freight business at the south end of the line, the GP10 was kept at Stowe, Colebrookdale’s connection with Norfolk Southern’s Harrisburg Line.
In July 2014 the railroad acquired a 70-foot-long flatcar built for Vermont’s Rutland Railway during the 1950s. Later side rails were welded to it for use on tourist trains on the Upper Hudson River Railroad in New York State. The car provided an open-air experience for passengers riding the line. The same year the railroad acquired two Canadian National six-axle passenger cars Nos. 5033 and 4970, formerly used on the Adirondack Railway in New York State as well as a Plymouth Locomotive Works 30-ton switcher. The locomotive was donated to the railroad by NRG Energy when its Titus Generating Station was decommissioned.
The Colebrookdale Railroad’s soft opening took place on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2014. In August of the following year, a lowboy truck delivered a 1924 Pullman sleeping car which later became PRR No. 8663, the Lake Girard. The CRPT received a $10,000 grant to help with restoration. With the addition of more coaches, the Boyertown Borough Council approved closing a portion of Third Street for longer trains to sit while passengers boarded. During 2015 the railroad’s first full year of operation, it carried 25,000 passengers. The railroad received a “Preserve America” award presented by Michelle Obama in recognition of its efforts to maintain and protect valuable historic and cultural resources.
Former Pennsylvania Railroad GP9 No. 7236, later Conrail GP10 No. 7587, arrived on the railroad on Jan. 19, 2016. Owned by Mobile Loco Services, Inc (LOCX No. 2944) the locomotive was previously used at Maple Grove, Ohio. The 2944 was repainted and made its debut run May 1, 2016. The railroad chose an attractive dark blue paint scheme set off with thin white stripes. Unlike the previous GP9, which was leased, this locomotive was purchased by the Colebrookdale Line.
Plans for a station at the south end of the Secret Valley tourist train line always included a station at Pottstown, Pa. In 2014, the trust received a $676,000 grant from the state’s Multimodal Transportation Fund which required a local 30% match, which came from an additional $250,000 grant awarded in 2015 by the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority and private donations. The Pottstown Station is a project, Guest believes, that will spark a revival in that town. The park will be a regional center with amenities like canoe and bike rentals and a tie-in to the Schuylkill River Trail, a hiking trail that runs from Philadelphia to Pottsville, mostly on the bed of the former PRR Schuylkill Valley Branch. The railroad also decided to create a picnic grove situated in the former village of Colebrookdale, complete with a water tower, an early 1900s Reading Company shed, and a windmill.
According to its 2016 annual report, the railroad hosted 20,000 riders and created 15 new jobs. The railroad estimated it had an annual $2 million impact on Boyertown and Pottstown since 2015 from direct spending by the railroad for operations and a $6 million impact from visitors as well as a $13 million impact from capital investment. Thirteen new businesses have opened in Boyertown attributing their choice of location to the railroad. The success of the railroad has also resulted in re-investment in real estate adjacent to the station grounds. The railroad enhanced community events like Boyertown’s anniversary celebration, Pickfest, and Pottstown’s Brewfest. Goals for the new year included improving handicap access to the cafe car, restoring an additional dining car, installing 110,000 century-old paving bricks to provide access at Boyertown as well as a cast iron fence donated by the Smithsonian around the yard and a fountain. A high-level handicap-accessible platform was also added at Boyertown.
To give the railroad more flexibility, Colebrookdale acquired former Norfolk Southern high hood GP38-2 No. 5128 in September 2017. Built in January 1974, the locomotive avoids a run-around move at each end of the line by running trains push-pull with a locomotive on each end.
The Colebrookdale Railroad’s first Winter Photo Shoot train operated in March 2017 and, later in the year, the railroad hosted an excursion geared for kids and adults with autism and their families. The excursion was run in a way that made the children feel comfortable with the surroundings.
Members of Restoration Works International worked in Boyertown helping to restore a Frankfort & Cincinnati Model 55 Rail Car acquired by the railroad. Known as The Cardinal it is a historic railcar listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Built in 1930 by the J.G. Brill Company of Philadelphia, the 43-foot-long steel car has a four-cylinder gasoline engine with a mechanical drive and holds 43 passengers. The Cardinal originally ran the “Whiskey Route” of the Frankfort & Cincinnati RR from Frankfort to Paris, Ky. After the F&C stopped passenger service in 1952, the Kentucky Railway Museum gained possession of The Cardinal in 1960. (The F&C had two Brill Railcars: M55-1 and No. 2. Car No. 2 was on the BR&W Delaware Division where it is known as the Delaware Turtle.) The car operated it’s first public Colebrookdale excursions on Oct. 13, 2018. The short trips were called the Pumpkin Patch Excursions and operated to the Colebrookdale Grove, 2 miles south of Boyertown.
On Jan. 29, 2019, Voyage Digital Media, an independent New York production company, in conjunction with the National Maritime Historical Society, filmed a documentary on the railroad called, Sails over Ice and Seas. The documentary outlines the history of Ernestina-Morrissey, an 1894 schooner that journalist Frederick Wallace was invited to ride in December 1912. To get to the boat he had to take the train from Montreal to Portland, Maine. Several of the train scenes were filmed including Frederick Wallace boarding the train, a conductor summoning passengers, and Wallace sitting in a railcar with fellow passengers in period attire. Footage of the train’s interior and exterior, as well as scenic views along the rail route, were included.
The Future
The railroad has robust plans for the future. Its vision will secure long-term success according to nationally respected rail preservation expert John Hankey. Plans include the creation of a Colebrookdale Village Educational site as an “off the grid” experience for young people, a display of made-in-Pennsylvania artifacts at the Boyertown Station, operation of the world’s first LNG powered steam locomotive, providing the experience of sleeping in a stationary Pullman Car, operation of Rail Bikes, and operation of an ADA Compliant passenger car.
The Colebrookdale Railroad has done an excellent job marketing its product by operating a variety of excursions originating in Boyertown. The trains included: Fall Foliage, Haunted History, Santa Claus, Valentine’s Day, Easter Bunny, Mud Ball, Brunch and Dinner, Wine Tasting and Cheese, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day trains. The railroad also offers group charters of the entire train or the caboose for birthday parties.
With farsighted and capable leadership, as well as a cadre of dedicated volunteers, the Colebrookdale Railroad’s future looks bright. As predicted the Boyertown community has benefited from the creation of the railroad with new restaurants and businesses opening up. The Secret Valley is no longer a secret.
