A Reading & Northern Railroad (RBMN) train is seen in Lehigh Gorge State Park. RBMN on Tuesday announced that it plans to launch weekend passenger excursions between a new station on North Main Street, Pittston, and Jim Thorpe starting Saturday, May 27.
                                 Courtesy Reading & Northern

Reading & Northern to launch Pittston-Jim Thorpe train excursions

Tourists will soon be able to ride from the Pittston area to Jim Thorpe in classic style.

The Reading & Northern Railroad (RBMN) on Tuesday announced that it plans to launch weekend passenger excursions between a new station on North Main Street, Pittston, and the popular Carbon County destination starting Saturday, May 27.

Tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 1. More details regarding pricing and seating options will be announced in a future press release.

RBMN boasted a quarter million train riders in the Jim Thorpe and Reading markets last year. Now, the fast-growing, privately owned railroad is focusing attention on the Wilkes Barre-Scranton market.

“The railroad knows there is a strong demand and interest for passenger excursions in the Wyoming Valley,” said Matt Fisher, RBMN’s General Manager of passenger operations.

“What better place to start up passenger service than the Pittston property at 718 North Main St., operating excursion trains to our most popular location, Jim Thorpe?”

About the new station

Planning and groundbreaking has already begun at the Pittston location on a station platform, ticket booth, and parking area. The remainder of the construction will be handled in phases. The area leading to the station will be lined with trees and shrubs “and will be a fantastic addition to the neighborhood on 718 North Main St.,” a RBMN release stated.

RBMN CEO Andy Muller “always strives to enact positive changes along his railroad that reflects his appreciation of the local communities,” the release added.

The new facility, which reflects the railroad’s growing emphasis on customer experience, “is funded without any public money taken from taxpayers’ dollars,” Muller announced.

About the trips

“The railroad is well-equipped and maintained to handle the passenger trains, which will be the first in nearly 50 years operating from the Wyoming Valley through the Poconos,” the release stated.

The all-day, round-trip excursions will depart the new station at 9 a.m. sharp, making station stops at Penobscot (Mountain Top) and White Haven enroute to Jim Thorpe.

Passengers will have over three hours to explore, dine, and shop in historic Jim Thorpe — which is also home to the company’s Lehigh Gorge Scenic train operations — before reboarding the train in the afternoon for the return trip north.

A thriving business

RBMN, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, Schuylkill County, is a privately held railroad company serving over 70 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Wyoming).

It has expanded its operations over the last 40 years and now handles over 34,000 carloads of freight and 250,000 excursionriders annually over 400 miles of track.

Growing role of passenger operations

In addition to its successful freight operations, Reading & Northern has become a favorite with families, daytrippers and railfans for its various passenger excursions throughout the region.

They have included seasonal day trips from Outer Reading station in Berks County to Jim Thorpe via Port Clinton and Tamaqua, special trips from Outer Reading to Pottsville, as well as special excursions using steam locomotives 425 and 2102. The debut of newly restored 2102 last year attracted railfans and railroad journalists from all over the country, while 425 was the star of a well-attended Rotary Club of Mountain Top excursion last July.

In Jim Thorpe, meanwhile, the railroad’s Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway offers trips into Lehigh Gorge State Park that depart from the historic Mauch Chunk railroad station in the heart of the borough.

As noted, riders on the Pittston trains will be able to connect with those trips during their stopovers in Jim Thorpe.

For more information on RBMN’s passenger operations, visit www.rbmnrr-passenger.com.