The Lebanon Valley Railroad was a railway company in the United States. Its company leaders oversaw the construction of the

Lebanon Valley Branch The Lebanon Valley Branch was a railway line in Pennsylvania. Built between 1857–1858, it linked the cities of Harrisburg and Reading. It was part of the Reading Company system from its completion until 1976, when it was conveyed to Conrail. Un ...

between the cities of

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

and

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

, which opened on January 18, 1858.

History

This company and its line were acquired by the

Philadelphia and 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 Railro ...

, a predecessor of the

Reading Company 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 Railro ...

, on March 20, 1858, which put the company in direct competition with the

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 ...

for the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Harrisburg route. The line now belongs to

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 is part of its

Harrisburg Line The Harrisburg Line is a railroad, rail line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in the United States, U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Philadelphia (HP 5.2) west to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg (HP 112 ...

which runs between Harrisburg and Philadelphia.

Passenger service

Up until the 1960s, this railroad line was the foundation of passenger train operations between

and

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, yet bypassing

. The most famous train to operate on this line was the "Queen of the Valley." Intermediate stations included

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, Easton, Bound Brook and Bayonne.

References

RSME Timetable article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebanon Valley Railroad Railway companies established in 1850 Railway companies disestablished in 1858 Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Predecessors of the Reading Company 1850 establishments in Pennsylvania 1858 disestablishments in Pennsylvania American companies disestablished in 1858 American companies established in 1850