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 Map of Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad's routes and tracks in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Reporting mark | RBMN |
| Locale | Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Dates of operation | 1983–present |
| Predecessor | Conrail |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 400 miles (640 km)[1] |
| Other | |
| Website | www |
The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (reporting mark RBMN), sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. With a headquarters in Port Clinton, the RBMN provides freight service on over 400 miles (640 km) of track. Its mainline consists of the Reading Division between Reading and Packerton and the Lehigh Division between Lehighton and Dupont. This mainline gives the RBMN a direct route from Reading to Scranton, the first such route to exist under the control of a single railroad. Founded in 1983 to take over from Conrail on the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad Schuylkill Branch between Reading and Hamburg, the railroad quickly grew over the next several decades to become the largest privately-owned Class II railroad in the United States. Its main freight cargo is anthracite coal,[2] but also sees significant shipments in frac sand, forest products, petrochemicals and minerals, food and agricultural products, metals, and consumer products.[3]
The Reading and Northern is also well known for operating several passenger excursions over its system. A subsidiary, the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway (LGSR), offers daily service between Jim Thorpe and Lehigh Gorge State Park between the months of April and November, while RBMN itself runs regular weekend trains to Jim Thorpe from Reading and Pittston. In 2022, the RBMN also revived the Reading Company Iron Horse Rambles, using recently restored locomotive RDG 2102.[4]
- ^ "Reading and Northern profile".
- ^ Vantuono, William C. (January 8, 2018). "For R&N, a coal-fueled record year". Railway Age.
- ^ "Reading & Northern Railroad Smashes All Records Again" (PDF). Reading and Northern Railroad News. Reading and Northern Railroad.
- ^ "The 2102 "Iron Horse" Revival Story". Reading and Northern Railroad Passenger. Reading and Northern Railroad.