History of the Penn Lake System
During the mid 1920s, the Delaware & Hudson and the Reading Company, began to purchase the stock of an anthracite shortline named the Penn Lake Railway, in an attempt to increase their anthracite traffic. While neither road was successful in gaining complete control of the line, together they acquired the majority stake in it and were able to prevent the PL from falling into the hands of either the Lehigh Valley, or Lackawanna. However, the ICC prevented either company from exercising operational control. As a result, the Penn Lake continued to operate independently, much like the ACL and L&N’s Clinchfield.
Through the steam and early diesel era, Penn Lake’s locomotives carried Penn Lake marking, but followed the motive power policies of it’s parents. By the mid 1960s, Penn Lake’s independent image was disappearing. As it’s own equipment wore out, PL’s parents provided hand-me down equipment from their own fleets, primary Alco RS and C series road switchers. By 1970, PL operated completely with Reading and D&H locomotives. Penn Lake quickly gained a reputation as an Alco lovers paradise.
On April 1st 1976, the Reading’s interest in the PL transferred to Conrail. Conrail, uninterested in the line, soon sold it’s holdings to the D&H. The D&H integrated PL’s operations into it’s own, but never bothered to formally merge company . During it’s purchase by Guilford, D&H lost control of the PL to a group of Pennsylvania and New York investors.
The new ownership consolidated the Penn Lake Railway with other Conrail spin offs and renamed the line the Penn Lake System. Built during the late 19th Century, the PL had generous clearances. The PLS quickly rehabbed the track and instituted double stack service from the Port of New York/New Jersey.
The PLS, using it’s Anthracite Speedway slogan, developed a reputation for fast, on time service, and prospered. By the early 1990s, PLS and it’s lucrative traffic from the Port of New York/New Jersey attracted the attention of the expansionist CP Rail. CP began to acquire interest in the PLS. In 1996, CP acquired 100 percent of the PLS, and merged it back into the D&H.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/