Blue Mountain & Reading

Company History: The BMRG was launched in 1983 to take over operation of the 13 mile former Pennsylvania Railroad line from Temple to Hamburg, Pennsylvania. After two years of hauling freight, BMRG began operating tourist trains featuring a former Gulf Mobile & Northern 4-6-2 and a former Reading T-1 class 4-8-4. In 1988 and ’89 BMRG took over operation of a trio of former Reading lines serving Auburn, Topton, Kutztown, Pottstown, Boyertown, Emmaus and Pennsburg. This brought the total length to 44 miles. Traffic included brick, chemicals, coal, feed, food products, gravel, lumber, and transportation equipment. In addition to the two steamers, a pair of E8’s and a trio of RDC’s for the tourist operations, the roster also included an SW7, two CF7’s, three NW2’s and a GP7.

In 1990, the company bought 150 miles of lines in eastern Pennsylvania. Headquarters was moved to Port Clinton and the company was re-organized to become the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad.

Successor/Parent History: The RBMN was the result of the 1990 expansion and re-organization of the Blue Mountain & Reading Railroad. At first, locomotives were lettered for Reading Blue Mountain & Northern but this was later simplified to Reading & Northern. For most purposes, the company uses the two names interchangeably. Today the RBMN operates 300 miles of line in eastern Pennsylvania (it’s about the length of the Clinchfield or Toledo Peoria & Western.)

The mainline runs north from Reading through Port Clinton, Tamaqua, Jim Thorpe, to Pittston. Branches from Pittston reach Scranton and Mehoopany. There is also a dense network of branches to the west of the mainline in Schuykill County. This is Pennsylvania’s anthracite region and while the golden age of anthracite for home heating is well behind us, it still has important industrial uses and RBMN proudly calls themselves the Road of Anthracite on their Reading influenced black diamond logo.

RBMN has continued the tradition of tourist operations begun by their predecessor and continues to roster the ex-GM&N Pacific and ex-Reading Northern. A former Canadian Pacific 4-6-0 has also been added to the roster. As of this writing, the freight locomotive fleet includes two SD50M’s, two SW8’s, two SW8m’s, an SW7, two SW1500’s, three SD38’s, four GP39RN’s, nine SD40-2’s, and three SD50’s. We will have more Reading & Northern photos with tomorrow's Railroad of the Day.

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