Reading Lines - Central Division

Reading Lines - Central Division

The Reading (pronounced Redding) Company is mostly remembered as a railroad thanks due mainly in recent times to the game Monopoly. In reality it was one of the Unites States largest corporate entities dating back to 1833 when it started out as the "Philadelphia & Reading Railroad". The P & R started out a line between it's name sake cities. It grew from there to encompass most of Eastern Pennsylvania and into the neighboring states of New Jersey & Delaware. They founded the P & R Coal and Iron Co. (P & R C & I) to control the mining and transport of it's coal. Finally in 1924 the federal government forced the Reading Company to split off the P & R C & I as a seperate entity. The Reading Company continued control of the Reading Railroad as it became known up until 1971 when it filed for bankrupcy due to coal demand decreases after word war II. The federal financed railroad Conrail took over its operations in 1976.

The following layout tour is of the home layout of MTP-Model Train Products owner Barry Hensel. It models the Reading Railroads Central Division. The slide show tour below will tke you through the following locations;

Sinking Springs, PA (East)
Reading and its yard (East)
Beltline Jct. (East)
Schuylkill Haven (West)
Birdsboro (West)
Mt. Carmel (West)
Perkomen Jct. (West)
Lansdale (West)
Bethlehem (West)
Kutztown (West)
Tamaqua (West)
East Mahony Jct. (West)
Shamokin Jct. (East)
Stevens (East)
Over the Susquehanna River
Manaheim (East)
Pottstown (East)
Over the Schuylkill River
Wayne Jct. (East)
Camden Yard (East)
Hershey (East)
Port Richmond (East)

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