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Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad 6/20/2010

I pulled into the Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad parking lot and walked to the ticket office to pick up my ticket then started to explore.

This view looks back towards Kempton.

Road crossing sign.

The former Wilmington and Northern Railroad station built in 1888 and was moved from Joanna in 1963 when the Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern started the tourist line.

The railroady's gift shop, housed in the former Reading Railroad Catasqua freight house which was originally built by the Catasaqua and Fogelsville Railroad. It was moved to Kempton in the mid 1960's.

Chesapeake and Ohio refrigerator car 5504 built by the railroad in 1960.

Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad operates out of Atlantic City Railroad wooden coach 72 built by Jackson and Sharp in 1889. In 1910, it became Ironton Railroad tool car 1. The Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern acquired the car from the Ironton Railroad in 1963.

Reading coach 1474 built by Bethlehem Steel in the 1910's.

Reading coach 1494 built by Bethlehem Steel in the 19010's and combine 408 built by Standard Steel in 1925.

A Kempton scene.

Kempton timetable board.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern 0-6-0ST 65, nee Safe Harbor Water Power 65 built by H.K. Porter in 1930. It was the last piece of equipment to have arrived at the WK&S by rail. The track south of North Albany was scrapped soon thereafter and the WK&S became a landlocked railroad. Number 65 powered the majority of WK&S trains for the better part of four decades. But by 2009, the locomotive was used only sporadically and by 2010, was out of service.

The steam engine was first used by The Arundel Corporation of Baltimore, Maryland for construction of the Safe Harbor Water and Power Company at Columbia, Pennsylvania in 1930/31. After the dam was constructed, the locomotive was sold to Safe Harbor where it would remain for the next four decades. In 1941, the locomotive was reconditioned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Then for a period during World War II, it was used as a stationary boiler to provide steam to the Safe Harbor power house. This may have been due to wartime oil shortages. Finally the locomotive was donated to the WK&S in 1972. Aside from initial dam construction, the locomotive appears to have been lightly used at Safe Harbor and arrived at the WK&S in excellent condition.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern shop.

The tender from Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern 2-6-2 4 built by Baldwin in 1914 for the Burton-Swartz Cypress Company of Florida. It was originally operated at Perry, Florida hauling logs from the timber areas to a large sawmill. By 1943, the locomotive was moved further south in Florida to Copeland. The company name was changed to Lee Cypress Company and in 1947, became known as Lee Tidewater Cypress Company. In 1958, there was yet another name change to JC Turner Lumber Company. By 1962, the locomotive was already out-of-service and was sold to F. Nelson Blount of Steamtown. Blount sold the engine to George Silcott in 1968 who then sold it to John Thompson of Monee, Illinois. The locomotive was to become part of a rail operation on the Thompson Winery and was joined by several other locomotives. But it never operated at Monee and was sold again in 1998 to the Hardin Southern Railroad of Hardin, Kentucky. The HSRR operated a tourist railroad in western Kentucky for several years and began the rehabilitation of 4. But the work was never completed and the HSRR closed down operations by the mid 2000's. The locomotive was for sale and the WK&S was contacted through a third party about the availability of 4. In December 2007, the locomotive was inspected and subsequently purchased in January 2008 then moved to Kempton in May 2008.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern 75 ton switcher 602, ex. Lehigh and New England 602, exx. Gulf Oil Company 70 ton switcher 7, nee United States Army 6467 built by Whitcomb in 1944.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern 65 ton centre-cab switcher 734 nee US Metals and Refining Division of American Metals 4 built by General Electric in 1956. It was acquired from the Railway Restoration Project 113 in Minersville, Pennsylvania after it had been donated to them and in turn, was traded to the WK&S for Central of New Jersey business car 98. Before coming to the WK&S, 734 was stored at Koppers Corporation in Muncy and had been used to switch cars hauling scrap ties.

Lehigh Valley tool car 7473 constructed from a former Lehigh and New England flatcar and is used to transport ties and tie replacement tools. This is a WK&S original and has no "heritage".

Coaling area.

Trackside views.

A privately-owned track car of unknown origin.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern 0-4-0ST 2, nee Colorado Fuel and Iron Company 2 (Birdsboro, Pennsylvania) built by H.K. Porter in 1920. This was the first operational locomotive when the new WK&S railroad opened for business in 1963. During the early years of operation, it faced north then around 1967, the locomotive was turned and now faces south. On two occasions number 2 was the railroad's primary locomotive; once in 1963 and again in 1970-72. But mostly, 2 served as backup to 250 and then to 65.

When 2 arrived by truck at the WK&S back in the early 1963, it had no tender. Water is carried in the saddle tank above the boiler and the coal was simply carried on the floor of the cab. Obviously the locomotive's range was quite limited. In 1970 WK&S crews fabricated a coal tender starting with the four-wheel rolling chassis from a tiny Plymouth diesel-mechanical locomotive 146. The little switch engine was razed from the frame up and a tender body was fabricated in its place. With its homemade coal tender, 2 could carry enough coal for the entire weekend. But by 2002, the tender would have required new side sheets so it was simply removed. In addition to replenishing the water supply, engine crews were once again faced with having to through a few wheelbarrows of coal in the cab after each trip to Wanamaker.

Following the 2002 season, 2 was replaced by engine 65. In 2005, the tender went to a railroad equipment collector in Geigertown, Pennsylvania and was traded for a small crane that now resides between the two tracks in the shop building. There are no plans to return this steam engine to service.

The tender wore three different paint schemes. Beginning in 1970 the tender was lettered "WK&S" with a thin stripe around the top and bottom of the body. In 1981 the Locomotive was done up to look like LNE #201. The tender was painted black with an LNE bullseye logo. Sometime thereafter the tender was painted with a WK&S Hawk Mountain Line logo which was how it remained when the tender left in 2005.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern gondola 729, nee Lehigh and New England unknown 10201 series car around 1958 and was used as a boom car for LNE crane 698. During 2004 the car was stripped of what remained of the wood planking.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern gondola 730, nee Lehigh and New England 10256 built by the Magor Car Company in 1923. The rebuilt version features side dump doors for distributing cinder ballast along the track.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern coach 1365, nee Reading 1365 was built by Bethlehem Steel in 1915 and is part of the original stable of equipment run by the WK&S. When the coach was delivered to the WK&S, it was painted solid olive with Reading Company livery. The car number appeared twice on each side of the coach toward the end of the vestibule door.

Lehigh & New England flat car 719 rebuilt from a box car around 1932 or 1933 and used in wreck service as a tie car or a boom car. The box car from which 719 was rebuilt was likely built sometime from 1908 to 1913 during a period that the LNE purchased 1,100 new box cars. It has a steel frame and a wood deck. The WK&S mechanically restored the car in preparation for a special LNE freight train that was conducted at the WK&S in 2000. Since then, all of the decking and paint has been replaced as well. This car is used to shuttle material and equipment around the yard. It is also used on for occasional Photo Freight Special train.

Lehigh & New England bobber caboose 512 built by American Car & Foundry in 1914. It was one of a six car order and has a steel underframe and is sheathed in wood. There is some evidence that these six cabooses may have had cupolas when built. If so they were all removed long before 512 came to the WK&S. It is interesting that the LNE ordered this batch of four-wheel cabooses in 1914 even though the railroad was already building a roster of eight-wheel cabooses beginning as early as 1912. In a sense, 512 was already obsolete when built. Nevertheless, most of the class remained in service into the 195'0s and continued on the MOW roster until the end of the LNE in 1961.

The Lehigh & New England was generally profitable. But it was a small railroad located in an area of dense competition. With the inevitable decline of coal and cement traffic, parent company Lehigh Coal & Navigation deliberately closed down the LNE Railroad in 1961 and liquidated all assets. In retrospect, the LNE ended on something of a high note and was uniquely spared from the subsequent collapse and bankruptcy suffered by the rest of the northeast rail system. After 1961 a skeleton crew remained to manage the liquidation process. In 1962, caboose 512 was restored in the LNE's Pen Argyl shops and sent to the former CNJ passenger station at Bethlehem presumably as some sort of display. Around 1962, the CNJ station had been leased to the Jaycees of Bethlehem who were attempting to develop the property.

In a letter dated March 1966 the WK&S expressed interest in "borrowing" caboose 512 from the Jaycees. Apparently the WK&S though the caboose could be put to better use as a display at Kempton. Whatever the ensuing arrangement may have been, the WK&S would come to own the caboose outright. During the late 1960's and most of the 1970's, caboose 512 was part of a static display of equipment on the back track behind the WK&S Kempton station.

Caboose 512 was pulled off the back track in 1978 and underwent a full restoration in 1979. Although fully functional, the caboose has never been used on scheduled trains. It is mostly used as sleeping accommodations for volunteers wishing to spend the night. However, the car may be chartered and has been included with several Photo Freight Specials. After 25 years out in the weather, the caboose underwent another full restoration in 2003. It was repainted again in 2009. This time the caboose was returned to the simple boxcar red paint scheme it may have worn in its early cupola days.

Reading caboose 92830 built by the railroad in 1936. The trucks have Central of New Jersey markings because they were built from a combination of new and used parts, some of which came from the CNJ. It was retired around 1969 and Reading conductor Forrest Trittenbach, who worked the Perkiomen Branch, arranged for it to be donated for display at a park in Emmaus. Unfortunately the caboose became a hangout for delinquents and proved to be a liability. The caboose was next acquired by Railways to Yesterday, but there was no room for it at Orbisonia. So it was moved and stored by McHugh Brothers Heavy Hauling of Penndel, Pennsylvania. Railways to Yesterday never utilized the caboose and in April 1986, it was again moved from Penndel to Kempton.

View looking north to where I wouuld be going at 4:00 PM.

Trainorder signal.

The 3:00 PM train returning to Kempton.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern 45 ton switcher 7258, nee United States Army 7258 built by General Electric in 1942. It was acquired from Birdsboro Steel in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania in 1997 and was fully restored to operating condition.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern 78 seat coach 582, nee Delaware, Lackawanna and Western 582. built by Pullman in 1915. It was purchased in 1963 for $1,000 and was one of the railway's earliest acquisitions.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern open air car 10381, nee Lehigh & New England 50 ton composite gondola 10381 built by American Car & Foundry in 1934. Once a general purpose freight car, the WK&S converted it to an open-air observation car. A bench seat runs down the middle of the car and an opening was cut in one end so passengers may pass to and from an adjoining coach.

Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern wooden caboose 92936, nee Reading 92936 built by the railroad in 1942. The wood exteriors were susceptible weather and expensive to maintain and most of this class were retired in 1963 and eventually scrapped. Coincidently, the WK&S was formed in 1963. The timing was perfect and the WK&S ended up with a special piece of railroad history. Early retirement meant that this caboose was not modernized.

The train was now ready for passengers so I boarded.

The engine runs around the train.

The Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern is a privately owned heritage railroad company in Kempton, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1963 and operates over an isolated remnant of a former Reading Company line. Its nickname is the Hawk Mountain Line due to its proximity to the Hawk Mountain range.

The WK&S operates tourist trains on about three miles of track between Kempton and Wanamaker regularly on weekends between May and November as well as on special occasions using either diesel or steam engines. Its Kempton station is not the original one, but consists of buildings from the Reading Company that were brought to their current location. The ticket office was the original station at Joanna, Pennsylvania. The company owns a shop building and an additional 1.5 miles of track south of Kempton.

The origins of the Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern date back to 1870 with the charter of a new railroad, the Berks County Railroad. In a very short time, the new line was bankrupt. It went to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad as the renamed the Schuylkill and Lehigh line, a small branch line from Reading to Slatedale where the Reading connected with the Lehigh Valley Railroad. With the decline of railroads, the Reading Company filed abandonment of the Schuylkill and Lehigh line.

In 1963 a group of volunteers founded the Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern Railroad with its main purpose to preserve railroad history. The original plan for the line was to operate 11.5 miles of track from Kempton to Germansville. However this did not happen because an uncooperative land owner forced the new railroad to stop where the owner's land started, which is why the railroad stops just a north of Wanamaker along Route 143. The new railroad purchased three miles of track for $65,000. After the rest of the line was abandoned, the tracks south of Kempton were next on the list to be scrapped, but the WK&S had no money to purchase the line. However, the scrapper donated 1.2 miles of track south of Kempton. The end of the line to the south became North Albany.

The train was ready to go.

We departed Kempton.

The view to the east.

Looking back to the picnic area under a grove of trees.

Semaphore signal.

The "Peter Jones House" which dates from 1772 and was originally located along Route 422 in Douglassville. Threatened by development, the house was dismantled and saved by the Amity Heritage Society in 2005. The house was subsequently moved to Trexler around 2011. Reconstruction is in progress and managed by the Amity Heritage Society. After years of searching for a site, the AHS achieved their goal of keeping the building in Berks County.

Trexler, located less than a mile north of the WK&S Kempton station, is the only town along the WK&S that pre-dates original construction of railroad.

Curving into the forest.

Ontelaunee Creek also known as Maiden Creek.

Curving through the forest.

Another semaphore signal.

Two more curves.

Pasture land.

The bridge over Ontelaunee Creek.

Ontelaunee Creek.

The two bridges here are known as "The Bridges". The longer southern span crosses the creek and also divides the railroad between Lehigh County to the north and Berks County to the south. The shorter northern span crosses an old mill race and farmer's road. But both the race and road are long abandoned. The fill between the two bridges was added just before the two existing concrete spans were constructed around 1918. Before that, the whole distance was spanned by a combination of wood trestles and a covered bridge. The current concrete bridges are typical of what would have been found up and down the Schuylkill & Lehigh line in the twentieth century.

Beautiful views along this railroad.

A grade crossing.

Horses.

The Endless Hills.

The train ran past the Wanamaker station, a former Reading Railroad structure from 1879, which is the only WK&S one in its original location.

Wanamaker siding.

Another farm.

Running along a highway.

We were taken to the end of track and from here, reversed to the Wanamaker siding where the engine would run around the train.

The locomotive cut off.

The Wanamaker station.

Running around the train.

Returning to the other end.

The Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern train at the station.

Leaving Wanamaker for Kempton.

Baby horses. I relaxed the whole way back to Kempton.

The train returned to Kempton and I thanked the crew for the excellent trip on the Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad.

From here, I drove back west and made a side trip to the Reading and Northern Railroad in Port Clinton.

Reading and Northern SD402-2 3052, ex. Union Pacific 3972, nee Missouri Pacific 6072 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1980.

Reading and Northern SW1500 1548, ex. Conrail 9618, nee Reaading 2768 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1969.

Reading and Northern SD40-2 3053, ex. Union Pacific 84321, exx. Union Pacific 4321, nee Missouri Pacific 3321 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1980.

Reading and Northern SD38 2004, ex. Grand Trunk Western 6254, nee Detroit, Toledo and Ironton 254 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1971.

Yard view. I then returned to Interstate 78 for the quick trip back to the Comfort Inn at Bethel for the night.

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