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Modeling the


Reading Railroad Shamokin Division


CRAFTSMAN/Jim Hertzog, photographs by Mike Rinkunas


Roaring 567’s A westbound freight, led by FT 257, exits the west end portal of Tamaqua Tunnel and onto a short bridge as it climbs a 1.4 percent grade.


The Reading Railroad was a


Class I carrier with more than 1,200 miles of trackage located in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Conrail absorbed Reading in 1976, ending 143 years of continuous service. Al- though some of Reading’s former branches have been abandoned, several still see frequent traf- fic under Norfolk Southern and Reading & Northern ownership. The Reading was divided into


three separate operating divi- sions, each with its unique admin- istration and rules. The Philadel-


48 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN


phia Division served the southern region around its namesake city, extending into New Jersey. It of- fered plenty of priority trains and passenger service over mostly lev- el terrain. The Reading Division handled the all-important cross- line middle segment of the rail- road, running from the area west of Harrisburg (Lurgan), through Reading, and then on to Allen- town and Bethlehem with reason- able gradients. The Shamokin Division’s more


diverse terrain included grades exceeding 2.5 percent with several


climbing more than 1.4 percent. Tracks spread outward into the coal mining districts similar to that of a spider’s web. The Sham- okin Division officially began north of Reading at Port Clinton, Pennsylvania. It continued north- west into the heart of the anthra- cite (hard coal) region on its trek to the interchange with New York Central and Pennsylvania Rail- road at Newberry Junction, just west of Williamsport. Numerous mining communi-


ties dotted the heart of the Sham- okin Division. Massive mining


READING RAILROAD - SHAMOKIN DIVISION


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