Colebrookdale Railroad facts for kids
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Garden Cafe Car
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| Overview | |
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| Headquarters | Boyertown, Pennsylvania |
| Locale | Boyertown-Pottstown, Pennsylvania |
| Dates of operation | 2014–present |
| Predecessor | East Penn Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 8.6 miles (13.8 km) |
The Colebrookdale Railroad is a special train ride in Pennsylvania. It's also known as the Secret Valley Line. This train takes you on fun trips between Boyertown in Berks County and Pottstown in Montgomery County. It's a great way to see the beautiful countryside!
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Train Rides and Fun Trips
The Colebrookdale Railroad offers many exciting train trips. Most rides start in Boyertown. They plan to start trips from Pottstown in the future too.
Some popular train rides include:
- Fall Foliage trains to see colorful leaves.
- Haunted History trains for spooky fun.
- Santa Claus trains during the holidays.
- Special trains for Valentine's Day, Easter Bunny Express, Mother's Day, and Father's Day.
- Wine Tasting and Cheese trains for adults.
You can also rent the whole train or just a few cars for groups. The old caboose is even available for birthday parties!
What Kind of Cars Do They Have?
The Colebrookdale Railroad uses a set of five special passenger cars. This group of cars is called a "consist."
- A fancy deluxe coach car.
- A dining car where you can eat.
- A cafe car for snacks and drinks.
- A comfy lounge car.
- A parlor car, which is a mix of a fancy parlor and a regular coach car.
The deluxe coach and parlor cars are fully restored and look amazing inside. The dining and cafe cars are still waiting for their final fancy makeovers.
They also have an open-air car called a gondola. There's also a historic Pennsylvania Railroad caboose. Other cars waiting to be fixed up include a private car named Voiture Lynnewood. There's also a baggage car that will become a kids' play area on the train. An old sleeping car named The Beaver is also waiting for its turn.
History of the Secret Valley Line
The original Colebrookdale Railroad started building this train line in 1865. It was built to help the iron industry. Trains began running on September 6, 1869. The line carried both goods and passengers. It used to go further north to Bechtelsville and Barto. Later, the service only went as far as Boyertown.
Who Owned the Railroad?
The Reading Railroad operated the line for many years until 1976. Then, it became part of a company called Conrail. Conrail almost closed the line down. But the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation bought it to keep it open. Different companies operated the line after that.
In 2001, Berks County bought the line for $155,000 to keep trains running. Later, the line was sold to Penn Eastern Rail Lines. In 2008, the line was no longer used by the East Penn Railroad.
Bringing the Trains Back to Life
The Berks County Redevelopment Authority helped bring the line back. The Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad started operating it in October 2010. Fun train rides for tourists began in October 2014. These first trips were "soft" trips to make sure everything worked perfectly. The Colebrookdale Railroad started its regular tourist service on October 18, 2014.
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The Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust is a non-profit group. They work to bring more freight trains to the line. But the tracks and bridges needed to be stronger for modern trains. In 2020, the railroad asked for $25 million to improve the tracks. In 2022, they received a large loan of $40 million. This money will help rebuild the entire line and extend it to Bechtelsville.
As of 2022, the railroad has bought two steam locomotives. They are also making their train yard bigger to store more equipment. Plus, they are turning parts of their parking lot into a beautiful Edwardian garden. This garden will host community events and provide more parking for visitors.
Cool Trains: Locomotives and Cars
The Colebrookdale Railroad has many interesting locomotives and passenger cars.
Trains They Use Now
- Pennsylvania Railroad GP9 No. 7236: This diesel engine was built in 1959. It's the main workhorse for the railroad and is painted in Colebrookdale colors.
- Southern Railway GP38-2 No. 5128: Built in 1974, this diesel engine joined the Colebrookdale in 2019.
- Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad Plymouth MDT No. 9: This smaller engine was built in 1964. It helps move cars around the train yard.
- Arizona Eastern Railway doodlebug railcar M-55: A special self-propelled railcar.
- Grand Trunk Western 4-6-2 J-3b No. 5030: This big steam locomotive was built in 1912. It was acquired in 2021 and needs a lot of work to run again.
- Lake Superior and Ishpeming 2-8-0 SC-4 No. 18: Another steam locomotive built in 1910. It was bought in 2021 and will be restored to run again.
- Canadian National 4-6-2 J-7-b No. 5288: This steam engine was built in 1919. It was acquired in 2023 and plans are to restore it to run.
Trains They Used to Have
- Pennsylvania Railroad GP10 No. 7580: This was the first engine to run on the Colebrookdale line. It was on loan and later moved to another railroad.
- Transportation Corps 0-6-0 tank S100 No. 5002: A small steam engine that was stored here for a while. It is now being restored by another company.
- Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe CF7 No. 2627: This engine was stored here and later moved to a museum.
Passenger and Other Cars
- Pennsylvania Railroad caboose No. 477768: This caboose was built in 1941. It was the very first piece of equipment owned by the Colebrookdale Railroad. It's now used for private events.
- Two 1916-built flatcars: One was changed into an open-air gondola car for passengers.
- Canadian National Pullman Passenger car M520 No. 5038: This car was turned into a dining car.
- Canadian National Passenger car M500 No. 4970 Dawn Treader: Built in 1919.
- Canadian National Pullman passenger car M500 No. 5033 Storm King.
- Maine Central lounge car: Built in 1914. It was completely rebuilt and started service in 2020.
- Pennsylvania Railroad sleeping car No. 729 Lake Girard: Built in 1924. It was fixed up and has been in service since 2017.
- The Beaver sleeping car: Built in 1927. It's waiting for a full restoration to join the regular trains.
- Business car M530 No. 4714 Joseph Early Widener Lynnewood: Built in 1917.
- Wabash observation car Diplomat: Built in 1927. This car was restored and used for a special Christmas Carol-themed train. It is now part of the regular trains.
- Wheeling and Lake Erie Huron Palace passenger car: Built in 1887. The Colebrookdale saved this very old car from being scrapped.
