Cornwall

Company History: This line opened in 1855 under the name North Lebanon Railroad to move iron ore from mines in Cornwall, Pennsylvania to the Union Canal in Lebanon City about 6 miles away. After two years of operation, the Lebanon Valley Railroad (later part of Reading) built a connection to the NL at Lebanon City. The NL changed their name to Cornwall Railroad in 1870. The company developed Penryn Park along the line to encourage more passenger traffic. After 1883, they competed mile for mile with the Cornwall & Lebanon who had built a parallel route in an effort to split the ore traffic. In 1884, The Cornwall Railroad opened a subsidiary, the Cornwall & Mt. Hope Railroad (merged two years later) that brought the total length to 12 miles from Lebanon City to Mt. Hope. They also arranged for trackage rights on the Reading & Columbia to Manheim and Lititiz. The ore traffic peaked in 1949 when Cornwall Railroad was moving 80 ore cars per day. By that time, Cornwall was a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel. The next year, Cornwall completely dieselized with three SW7’s and two NW2’s. Three SW1’s joined the roster in 1957-1958. Traffic remained strong until 1962 when Bethlehem Steel built a new ore concentrator at Rexmont, replacing the one on the Cornwall Railroad at Lebanon. In 1964, Bethlehem Steel sold the Cornwall Railroad and it was merged into the Reading Lines.

Successor/Parent History: Let’s get a couple of quick clarifications out of the way first. Reading rhymes with bedding and is not “reading” a book. Second, the only “Reading Railroad” is on the Monopoly game board. Its actual name was “Reading Company” with “Reading Lines” used on logos and advertising.

The Reading Company, usually called the Reading Railroad as was enshrined by the Monopoly board game, and boasting a predecessor company officially founded under the name the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1833 through 1976. Until the decline in anthracite loadings in the Coal Region after World War II, it was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States.

Reduced coal traffic coupled with highway competition and short hauls forced it into bankruptcy in the 1970s. The railroad was merged into Conrail in 1976, but the corporation lasted into 2000, disposing of real estate holdings.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.