The Lebanon and Tremont Branch of the
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Commonly calle ...
was a railroad line in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Schuylkill County (, ; Pennsylvania Dutch: Schulkill Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the heart of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the popula ...
, built to tap the coal fields in the West End of Schuylkill County and send coal southward to Lebanon.
Origins
The northern portion of the Lebanon & Tremont came from the Good Spring Railroad, which was incorporated in 1861 or 1863, but was not organized until March 26, 1869. It was controlled by the
Reading Company
The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Commonly called ...
(RDG) which transferred to it the property of the Swatara Railroad in 1863, giving it a line from Lorberry Junction to
Donaldson via
Tremont. In 1868, it was extended from Donaldson to Brookside.
At Lorberry Junction, the Good Spring connected with the former
Union Canal
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
and the
Lorberry Creek railroads, the former of which ran south to the Union Canal and the Schuylkill & Susquehanna Railroad at
Pine Grove. All were by now owned by RDG. While coal originating on these railroads could be hauled laterally east and west over the Schuylkill and Susquehanna from Pine Grove, or west on the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad from Tremont, there was no direct route southward. To remedy this, the RDG chartered two new roads.
The Pine Grove and Lebanon Railroad was incorporated on September 27, 1868 (the first railroad incorporated under Pennsylvania's general railroad law) to build south from Pine Grove to the
Lebanon County
Lebanon County ( Pennsylvania Dutch: Lebanon Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,568. Its county seat is the city of Lebanon.
The county was formed from portions of Dauphin ...
line. The Lebanon & Pine Grove Railroad (L&PG) was incorporated at about the same time to be built from the county line south to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, meeting the Reading's
Lebanon Valley Branch. The new line was built in 1870, and the first train ran between Lebanon and Pine Grove on March 7, 1870.
The Pine Grove & Lebanon, L&PG, Good Spring and Lorberry Creek were consolidated to form the Lebanon & Tremont Railroad (L&T) on March 25, 1871. On May 8, 1871, L&T was itself merged into the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad.
Main and branch lines
The L&T proper consisted of former L&T lines from Lebanon to Pine Grove and Lorberry Junction to Tremont, and the former Union Canal line from Pine Grove to Lorberry Junction. The Good Spring became the Brookside Branch, and the Lorberry Creek became the Lorberry Branch. In 1872 the tail of the second Lorberry Branch switchback was extended, and ran by a switchback down the north side of
Stony Mountain to reach the Kalmia Colliery. It was then extended by another switchback into Clarks Valley, and ran along Clarks Creek. In 1892, the
Williams Valley Railroad built a line into the Williams Valley from Brookside, which later came under RDG control.
Several other RDG lines connected with the L&T:
*Lebanon Valley at Lebanon
*Schuylkill & Susquehanna at Pine Grove
*Tremont Extension and Mount Eagle at Tremont.
Stations
Lebanon & Tremont Branch
Brookside Branch
Lorberry, Kalmia and Clarks Valley Branches
Operation
Passenger service was provided
on most lines to bring workers to the collieries. After RDG purchased the West End collieries in the 1870s, it began offering service to its workers in the form of two miners' trains running north from Pine Grove. After the
Coal Strike of 1902
The Coal strike of 1902 (also known as the anthracite coal strike) was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners struck for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the recognition of ...
, the RDG hired extensively in the
Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
country to the south of the coal fields. The miners's trains ceased in 1908.
In 1942, a turning loop was built at the Indiantown Gap station to create a railhead for
Fort Indiantown Gap
Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and National Guard Training Center primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. A portion of the installation is located in eastern Daup ...
. The former site of the loop is now an isolated piece of Swatara State Park.
Passenger service was eliminated in 1957.
Decline
The Clarks Valley and Kalmia lines between Ecco and Kalmia collieries were removed before 1920. In 1940, the remainder of the Kalmia Branch was removed; around this time, the second switchback on the Lorberry Branch was abandoned, as the Lincoln Colliery had ceased operation in 1930.
A new spur and loop was constructed at Lorberry to serve strip mines. In 1965, the L&T between Pine Grove and
Suedberg was abandoned. The Lorberry Branch followed in its entirety in 1966. In 1971, the Good Spring line was cut back from Brookside to Keffers; by 1973 to Good Spring.
The remaining trackage was transferred to
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 busin ...
in 1976. The Lorberry Junction-Pine Grove segment was abandoned before 1978; remaining parts of the L&T were abandoned before 1981.
The Tremont-Good Spring segment was sold by Conrail in 1990 to current owner
Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad. The Inwood-Irving segment within
Swatara State Park
Swatara State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Bethel, Swatara and Union Townships, Lebanon and Pine Grove Township, Schuylkill Counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. of Swatara Creek lie within the park's boundaries, which are r ...
are now the Swatara
rail trail
A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
.
References
*USGS historical quads
*1875 Atlas of Schuylkill County
External links
* {{Osmrelation-inline, 1386961, Lebanon & Tremont Branch
Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania
Reading Company lines
Transportation in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Transportation in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania