As an aside, while reading some of my favorite blogs, I sometimes feel like George Wilson from the Dennis the Menace comic strip:
"Marthaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
:)
The 2 and 1/2 hour, 28-mile round trip, went from Pennsburg, PA to Emmaus, PA and back.
Emmaus, located 5 miles southwest of Allentown, PA was listed as one of the top 100 "Best Places to Live" in the United States by Money magazine and is named after the biblical town where according to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was seen by disciples following his crucifixion and resurrection.
Pennsburg was built on land William Penn purchased from the Lenape Indians for "two watch coats, four pairs of stockings and four bottles of cider".
Both Pennsburg and Emmaus are typical small towns in eastern Pennsylvania. As was the case with many of the towns found along the Reading Railroad, cigar-making was one of the largest employers in the late 1800's.
The Perkiomen Railroad was completed in 1875. The excursion trip went through the 1,798-foot-long Dillinger Tunnel, also completed in 1875, and passed several remaining stations from the former Reading Railroad's Perkiomen Branch.
From the beginning, the branch was leased and operated by the Reading Railroad and the Reading Company eventually absorbed the branch in 1945. Never a very successful railroad branch line, passenger service ceased on July 15, 1955.
In 1974, the 15 mile stretch between Collegeville and Pennsburg was abandoned and in 1978 was transformed by Montgomery County into the Perkiomen Trail that I so much enjoy walking on.
In 1976, the 143 year old, bankrupt Reading Company ceased railroad operations and transferred most of its assets to the federal government-backed ConRail System.
Freight service continues on short parts of both ends of the original branch today. After changing hands a couple of times (Anthracite Railway, then the Blue Mountain and Reading), the northern-most remnant of the Perkiomen Railroad is now operated by the East Pennsylvania Railways. It was on this section, the fall foliage excursion took place.
The excursion train itself was headed by two Reading FP7 passenger locomotives, built by General Motors' Electro Motive Division (EMD) in La Grange, Illinois in 1950. Each of these engines weight 255,100 pounds and is nearly 55 feet long. The V-16 diesel engine produce 1500 horsepower and have a top speed of 89 mph. Each of these locomotives also have, what is today considered small in railroad locomotive terms, 1,200 gallon fuel tanks.
These engines are beautifully restored and currently owned by the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society.
The passenger coaches were on loan from the Morristown & Erie Railway in New Jersey.
16 comments:
I never knew so many other Martha's until I started blogging... we are EVERYWHERE! Your mosaic is great. I knew you could do it, not smarter than a 5th grader uh?
Thanks for another history lesson. I have so much to learn about the area that I spent most of my life! I wish trains were still that beautiful! There is something glamorous about them!
Once I read "Reading Railroad", I was gone. I started thinking about playing Monopoly and how I never, ever win...unless I cheat. I should really have taken a cue from that game to know to avoid the business world. LOL
GREAT collage! I love it.
Nice mosaic. You're good with the history lessons.
And smarter than even a 7th grader.
Looks like it was a wonderful ride.
loved the pictures and how you arranged them in the collage like that; my favorite was the blurred picture of foliage as the train hurried by (is that a descriptive phrase or what?)
looks like an interesting trip and as always, enjoyed learning a bit of history from your area
betty
Really nice :-)
I wonder..if the indians even knew he was buying their land..or if they thought he was giving them gifts..Just a thought.
Your pictures made a very nice collage. I loved looking at them the other day in your Flickr account.
I would love to live in a town called Emmaus! Yes, it's biblical and all, but I also like the sound. I'd like to say "I'm from Emmaus!"
Thanks for the lesson Iggy, and your so lucky you got a train ride..I want a train ride tooooo, I wanted to go on a train ride on my trip last week but hubby said no :o(...hope you had fun on your ride and I bet the scenery was beautiful!! HUGS
Oh I bet the scenery was gorgeous out there.
I'm so impressed with all the pictures you have taken and love the train collage
great photos........ and WOW just look at the funny train LOL its sooooooooooo american :) nuffin like our boring looking trains....
x
I like your collage.
Do you have any fall foliage pictures to share? I bet they are pretty. The leaves here are changing colors, but not quite at peak yet.
What a wonderful way to see the foliage changing! Do you do this every year? Awesome! I was only on one train ride. When I was in the 6th grade we had a field trip where we took a train from Minneapolis to Chicago! We rode the train at night, I remember. Can't remember if that was on the way there or on the way back, tho. Saw the big museum and that's mainly all I remember of Chicago--hehe! They'd never let kids take a train trip with a couple of teachers like that these days! You brought back memories, Iggy. I absolutely loved that train ride. Hummm? Maybe something I should do again one day? Ride a train is now on my wish list. :):)
Thanks for the history lesson. I don't get out to that end of PA much since I don't live in NJ any longer. I love the collage.
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