Colebrookedale Acquires ex-CN Steamer

A Pennsylvania tourist railroad has acquired a steam locomotive from a Tennessee museum.,

Former Canadian National 4-6-2 No. 5288 has been at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum for two decades but will move within the coming weeks to the Colebrookedale Railroad.

Colebookedale officials say they hope to someday restore the 5288 to operating condition.

The railroad has two other steam locomotives in its collections that it also hopes to restore to operating condition.

The Colebrookedale is based in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, located northwest of Philadelphia.

The 5288 was built for the Grand Trunk in 1919 and later would up in the collection of Steamtown when it was owned and operated by F. Nelson Blount. The TVRM acquired the 5288 in 2001.

The other two steams in the Colebrookedale collection are Grand Trunk Western 4-6-2 No. 5030 and Lake Superior & Ishpeming 2-8-0 No. 18. 

Colebrookdale Receives $2.25M State Grant

Pennsylvania-based Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust has received a $2.25 million grant from the state.

The funding will be to create a new event space and market area in the yard of the Colebrookdale Railroad in downtown Boyerstown, Pennsylvania.

Aside from a market building the project will create a café, stage, restrooms, flagpole plaza and event support space. Work is expected to begin in 2024.

The grant is being awarded by the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Matching funds for the grant will be provided by federal, county, and local funds.

Pa. Tourist Railroad Acquires Steam Locomotive

The Colebrooke Railroad has acquired former Rio Grande Scenic Railroad 2-8-0 No. 18.

The locomotive was built by Alco in 1910 in Pittsburgh for the Lake Superior & Ishpeming in Upper Michigan.

The acquisition comes after the railroad had said it was seeking funding to launch a steam program this year.

Some funding to buy No. 18 came from the Maguire Family Foundation.

Ozark Mountain Railcar helped to handle the transaction of the locomotive, which came via a liquidation of locomotives and rolling stock from the bankrupt Iowa Pacific Holdings.

It will be shipped on a flatcar from Alamosa, Colorado, to Boyertown, Pennsylvania on a flat car.

No. 18 has a year to go before its boiler requires a 1,472-day inspection and will join Grand Trunk Western 4-6-2 No. 5030, purchased in February from the City of Jackson, Michigan.

The latter locomotive needs extensive restoration work before it came become operable.

The Colebrooke operates a tourist line between Pottstown and Boyertown.

Pa., Tourist Railroad to Aid Sound Sensitive Passengers

A Pennsylvania tourist railroad will offer excursions on March 27 designed to meet the needs of passengers with autism or other sensory sensitivities.

The Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyerstown will designate a parlor car as a quiet car for passengers who wish to be away from sound and other activities during their ride.

Passengers with sound sensitivities are invited to bring a sensory or fidget toy. Complimentary coloring books and crayons will be provided to children.

Railroad officials said they will stagger boarding times for those who experience anxieties from waiting in long lines.

Pa. Short Line Acquires ex-GTW Steam Locomotive

A former Grand Trunk Western steam locomotive that has been on display in Michigan has been sold to a Pennsylvania short line railroad.

The locomotive, 4-6-2 No. 5030, has been on static display for more than 60 years in North Lawn Park in Jackson, Michigan.

The Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust has agreed to pay $50,000 over five years for the locomotive, a light Pacific type built in 1912 by Montreal Locomotive Works.

The trust represents a 9-mile short line railroad, the Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyertown, Pennsylvania.

The locomotive had been donated to Jackson in in 1957. City officials said they agreed to sell it after concluding they lacked the money needed to continue to maintain it.

Colebrooke officials said they have been looking to acquire a steam locomotive for their tourist operations

Moving and rebuilding the locomotive is expected to cost $2 million.

Colebrookdale Railroad Resumes Operations

Pennsylvania-based Colebrookdale Railroad has resumed operating excursion trains and plans to offer fall foliage trips through early November.

The tourist railroad based in Boyerstown said the foliage trains will run Oct. 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, Nov. 7-8, with three departures on Saturdays and two on Sundays.

Colebrooke will operate Christmas specials starting on Nov. 21.

In a news release the railroad said it is observing COVID-19 regulations including trains operating at 50 percent capacity and subject to enhanced cleaning protocols, limited food and beverage options, and mask requirements for passengers.

Pa. Tourist Railroad Lands Grant

A Pennsylvania tourist railroad has received a $176,470 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to create a multimedia educational program on the railroad’s history.

The Colebrookdale Railroad, which operated nine miles of track between Boyerstown and Pottstown, received the money as part of a grant program to help educational and cultural programs survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding will be established to create a virtual and on-site Rails of the Revolution program for children in grades 3-8.

The grant was one of 317 grants awarded to 2,300 applicants.

In the meantime, the Colebrookdale has yet to reopen during the pandemic and has not said when it will resume operations.

Colebrook Offering Restoration Program

The Pennsylvania-based Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust along with Restoration Works International are sponsoring what they are billing as one of the only U.S.-based railroad restoration programs open to the public.

The event will be held Aug. 3 to 8, in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, and involve hands-on historic restoration.

Among the tasks to be performed by the participants will be painting and staining rail cars, lamp posts, and fences; cleaning train interiors and exteriors; and landscaping work at the station.

The event is suitable for children aged 10 and older.

The week-long event cost $1,100, which includes overnight accommodations, breakfast and lunch, tours, and a farewell dinner aboard the train.

The sponsors are considering the trip fee to be a charitable donation.

Discounts are available for those sharing a room, as well as for children younger than 17 sharing a room with a parent or guardian.

New Tourist Railroad Operating in Pennsylvania

The Colebrookdale Railroad became Pennsylvania’s newest tourist railroad last weekend with a trip over its 9-mile line from Boyertown to Pottstown.

The railroad characterized the first trips as a soft opening with a grand opening planned for 2015.

The railroad plans to continue operating on Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Nov. 9 The route used was once owned by the Reading Lines, which ceased using it in 1976.

After a series of owners, the track was purchased for $1.35 million by Berks County in 2009 to

keep it from being abandoned.

Calling itself the Secret Valley Line, the Colebrookdale Railroad runs along Manatawny Creek, climbing a long grade from Pine Forge to Boyertown. Along the way it crosses three wood trestles.

The tourist operation is overseen by the the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust. For more information, go to www.colebrookdalerailroad.com.