The Colebrookdale Railroad, also known as the Secret Valley Line or colloquially as ''The Colebrookdale'', is a

tourist railroad A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The railroad operates between

Boyertown Boyertown (Pennsylvania Dutch: ) is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,264 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Boyertown has been in operation since 1828. The community was named for its ...

in Berks County and Pottstown in Montgomery County.

Operations

The Colebrookdale Railroad operates a variety of excursions originating out of

with plans eventually to have trains originating from Pottstown as well. The trains operated include a

fall foliage Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon ...

train, Haunted History train,

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

train,

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

train,

Easter Bunny The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" origi ...

Express, Wine Tasting and Cheese Train, and

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

and

Father's Day Father's Day is a day set aside for honoring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. "Father's Day" complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in som ...

trains. The railroad also allows groups to charter the entire train, or select cars, and to rent the

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...

for

birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many religion ...

parties. They currently operate a

consist A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

of 5 train cars: deluxe coach, dining car, cafe car, lounge car, and parlor car. The fifth passenger car entered service in mid-November 2020 and is a cross between a parlor car and a coach car. The deluxe coach and parlor car are fully restored with their final interiors but the dining and cafe cars have yet to receive their final restoration. They also have an open-air gondola and a PRR caboose. Other cars not yet restored include a private car named ', a baggage car that will eventually serve as a child entertainment center for the train, and an immigrant sleeper named ''The Beaver'' currently stored at their restoration shops. They are not planning on starting restoration on any of these cars for at least a few more years.

History

The original Colebrookdale Railroad started building the railroad line between Boyertown and Pottstown in 1865 to serve the

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

industry along the Manatawny Creek and trains started running on September 6, 1869. The line, which featured both

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

and

passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

service, originally continued further north to Bechtelsville and Barto before service was later cut back to Boyertown. The Colebrookdale Railroad was leased by the

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railr ...

who operated the line until 1976, when it became a part of

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

. Conrail planned to abandon the line, but the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

acquired the line and hired operators. The line was operated by the Anthracite Railway, the Blue Mountain & Reading Railroad, and Penn Eastern Rail Lines. In March 2001, Berks County acquired the line for $155,000 to keep it active; the line was soon sold to Penn Eastern Rail Lines. The Colebrookdale Spur was abandoned by the

East Penn Railroad The East Penn Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching railroad, switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Re ...

(the successor to Penn Eastern Rail Lines) in 2008.The Berks County Redevelopment Authority reactivated the line, with the Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad appointed to operate the line beginning in October 2010. Tourist passenger operations began in early October 2014 with a series of "soft" trips, intended to work out any operational issues before the first full season in 2015. The Colebrookdale Railroad began regular tourist service on October 18, 2014. The company's non-profit parent, the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust, was working on developing freight traffic on the line; however, business had to be turned away because tracks and bridges needed reinforcement to support the weight of modern railcars. In early 2020 the railroad operators requested $25 million from the county government for infrastructure improvements. A $40 million loan from the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...

was approved starting in 2022 to completely rebuild the line and extend it to Bechtelsville. As of 2022, the railroad has acquired two

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s as part of their new steam program. In addition, the railroad is currently redeveloping their

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...

for more space to store their equipment, and they're transforming parts of their own

parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...

into an Edwardian garden that will serve a variety of community events, as well as providing more parking space for their passengers.

Locomotive roster

Currently rostered units

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

GP9 No. 7236. Built by EMD in 1959. Purchased by the Colebrookdale in 2015, it currently serves as the railroad's main workhorse. * Southern Railway GP38-2 No. 5128. Built by EMD in 1974. It was retired from the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

, and it has been used by Colebrookdale since 2019. * Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad Plymouth MDT No. 9. Built by

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in 1964. It has been serving as the railroad's yard switcher since 2015. * Grand Trunk Western

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomoti ...

J-3b No. 5030. Built by the

Baldwin locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

in Philadelphia in 1912, rebuilt in the GTW service shops. It had been on static display in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

for several years and was acquired by Colebrookdale in February 2021. It is in need of restoration but the particular date the locomotive will be restored is unknown. * Lake Superior and Ishpeming

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

SC-4 No. 18. Built by the American Locomotive Company's (ALCO) Pittsburgh Works in 1910, rebuilt by the LS&I in 1930. It was previously operated by the defunct

Rio Grande Scenic Railroad The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad of Colorado was a heritage railway that operated from 2006 to 2019 in and around the San Luis Valley as a subsidiary of the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad. The heritage railroad ceased operating excursions follo ...

Alamosa, Colorado Alamosa is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. Alamosa is located along the Rio Grande. The city population was 9,806 in the 2020 Unit ...

before becoming inoperable. It was eventually purchased in March 2021 by the Maguire family foundation with the intention of restoring it to operational condition. *

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

4-6-2 J-7-b No. 5288. Built by the

Montreal Locomotive Works Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer that existed under several names from 1883 to 1985, producing both Steam locomotive, steam and diesel locomotives. For many years it was a subsidiary of the American ...

in 1919. It was acquired from the

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was founded as a chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1960 by Paul H. Merriman a ...

in 2023. Plans are display it as a historic artifact with goal of eventually restoring to operable status.

Formerly rostered units

GP10 The EMD GP10 is a diesel-electric locomotive that is the result of rebuilding a GP7, GP9 or GP18. The Illinois Central Railroad had three separate rebuild programs to upgrade their old EMD GPs and GPs that they had purchased from equipment dea ...

No. 7580. Built by EMD in 1957. It was the first locomotive to operate at the Colebrookdale, but it was on loan from a leasing company. It continued to do runs on the line until around 2015, when the railroad acquired No. 7236 for themselves. No. 7580 is currently leased to

Steam into History The Northern Central Railway of York is a non-profit, Civil War themed heritage railroad based in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. A reproduction 4-4-0 steam locomotive hauls passengers over 10 miles of Northern Central Railway track between New Free ...

New Freedom, Pennsylvania New Freedom is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 4,874. It is part of the York, Pennsylvania, York–Hanover metropolit ...

. *

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

Doodlebug No. M-55. Built by the J. G. Brill Company at an unknown date. Occasionally used and recently refurbished in 2019. Acquired by the

Nevada Northern Railway Museum The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Ely, Nevada, owned by the State of Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway. Museum ac ...

in 2025. *

Transportation Corps The Transportation Corps is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, air, and sea. It is one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Qu ...

0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

S100 No. 5002. Built by H.K. Porter, Inc. It was stored in Boyertown from 2015 to 2016 before being sold to BMG Railroad Contractors, who is currently restoring it to operating condition in

Baraboo, Wisconsin Baraboo ( ) is the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Baraboo River. The population was 12,556 at the 2020 census. The most populous city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo micropo ...

. *

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...

CF7 The Santa Fe CF7 is an EMD F-unit railroad locomotive that has had its in order to adapt the unit for switcher, switching duty. All of the conversions were performed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway's Cleburne, Texas, workshops between ...

No. 2627. Built by EMD in 1946, and rebuilt by the Santa Fe in 1974, it was stored in Glasgow from 2016 to 2020 before being acquired by the

Minnesota Transportation Museum The Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM, reporting mark MNTX) is a transportation museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. MTM operates several heritage transportation sites in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin. The museum is actively involv ...

, which is currently using it as a spare parts provider for their own F7A.

Rolling stock

No. 477768. Built by the PRR in 1941. Formerly used by the defunct Knox and Kane Railroad before becoming the very first piece of equipment to be owned by the Colebrookdale Railroad. It now serves as a private venue. * The Colebrookdale rosters two 1916-built

flatcar A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on trucks (US) or bogies (UK) at each end. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted ...

s, one of which was converted to a gondola car by the

Green Mountain Railroad The Green Mountain Railroad is a class III railroad operating in Vermont. GMRC operates on tracks that had been owned by the Rutland Railroad and Boston and Maine Railroad. The railroad operates on a rail line between North Walpole, New Hampsh ...

in the 1960s to carry passengers. *

Pullman

Passenger car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

M520 No. 5038. It was previously used by the defunct

Upper Hudson River Railroad The Upper Hudson River Railroad was a heritage railway, heritage railroad that operated from 1999 to 2010 in the upper Hudson River in New York State's Adirondack Mountains. Primary motive power consisted of Southwind Rail Travel Limited ex-Delaw ...

, before it was acquired by the Colebrookdale and converted into a

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

. *Canadian National Passenger car M500 No. 4970 ''Dawn Treader''. Built by Pullman in 1919. *Canadian National Pullman passenger car M500 No. 5033 ''Storm King''. * Maine Central

lounge car A lounge car (sometimes referred to as a buffet lounge, buffet car, club car or grill car) is a type of passenger car on a train, in which riders can purchase food and drinks. The car may feature large windows and comfortable train seats to creat ...

. Built by Pullman in 1914. It sat hollow without wheels for several years before being completely rebuilt for use on regular service. It was purchased from the Conway Scenic Railroad, and entered service in November 2020. *Pennsylvania Railroad

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

No. 729 ''Lake Girard''. Built by Pullman in 1924. It was converted to a maintenance-of-way car after being retired from passenger service. After spending several years on the

Everett Railroad The Everett Railroad is a shortline railroad, shortline and Heritage railway, heritage railroad that operates on ex-Pennsylvania Railroad trackage in the Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Hollidaysburg area of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It runs f ...

, the sleeping car was acquired by the Colebrookdale in 2015, and it has been in service since 2017. *''The Beaver'' sleeping car. Built by Pullman in 1927; former railroad unknown. It was acquired by the Colebrookdale in 2019 as their first sleeping car, and it is currently awaiting a thorough restoration to be used in the railroad's regular consist. * Business car M530 No. 4714 ''Joseph Early Widener Lynnewood''. Built by Pullman in 1917. It was previously owned by Gaspe Rail for display in

Gaspé, Quebec Gaspé () is a city at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of eastern Quebec in Canada. Gaspé is about northeast of Quebec City and east of Rimouski. Gaspé has a total population of 15,063, as of th ...

, before it was acquired by the Colebrookdale. * Wabash observation car ''Diplomat''. Built by Pullman in 1927. Previously owned by the Delmarva chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of Rail transport, railroads. It is headquartered in Phila ...

and the

Eastern Shore Railway Museum The Eastern Shore Railway Museum is located at 18568 Dunne Avenue, Parksley, Virginia, United States. The museum exhibits historic trains and equipment. The museum also contains a restored train station with railroad memorabilia from the line ...

Parksley, Virginia Parksley is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 842 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Eastern Shore Railway Museum. Geography Parksley is located at (37.785078, -75.654222). According to the United State ...

, underwent a restoration by the Colebrookdale for use as a ''

Christmas Carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

''-themed car for their Polar Bear train. It subsequently became part of the railroad's regular consist. * Wheeling and Lake Erie Palace passenger car #3 ''Huron''. Built by Pullman in 1887. Previously owned by the defunct

Indiana Transportation Museum The Indiana Transportation Museum ( initialized ITM, reporting mark ITMZ) was a railroad museum that was located in the Forest Park neighborhood of Noblesville, Indiana, United States. It owned a variety of preserved railroad equipment, some o ...

Noblesville, Indiana Noblesville is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Indiana, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, a part of the north Indianapolis suburbs along the White River (Indiana), White River. The population was 69,604 at the 2020 Unite ...

before being put at risk of getting scrapped. The Colebrookdale acquired it last minute, and it was shipped to Boyertown.

References

External links

Official website
{{Pennsylvania railroads Heritage railroads in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania railroads Railway companies established in 2014 2014 establishments in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Berks County, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania