Reading Company

The Reading Company, chartered in 1871 as the Excelsior Enterprise Company, became the holding company for the system of railroads, canals and coal mines assembled by the predecessor Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company between 1833 and 1896. As a result of anti-trust proceedings, the Reading Company divested itself of its mining subsidiary in 1923 and became an operating company for its rail properties. After bankruptcy in the early 1970s, viable portions of the rail network were conveyed to Conrail on April 1, 1976. The reorganized Reading Company retains real estate and other non-rail assets.

Prior to the introduction of Air Force One in the 1950s, most presidential travel within the United States was by private trains. Such special trains were designated with the acronym POTUS (President of the United States) and handled with tight security, including a pilot train to check for possible obstructions and halting other traffic while the train passed. FDR made frequent trips by train between Washington and his home at Hyde Park, often over the Baltimore & Ohio-Reading-Central of New Jersey route instead of the more highly-travelled Pennsylvania.

Prior to 1857 the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company consisted of a single 90-mile main line between Philadelphia and Pottsville, devoted almost exclusively to the transportation of anthracite coal. By the time of its reorganization in 1923, the Reading system included 1,122 route miles. The bulk of this growth occurred during the last half of the 19th century through the absorption of previously independent railroads.

The Reading's first major acquisition was the Lebanon Valley Railroad (1857), which opened a second route from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. Expansion accelerated under the administration of Charles E. Smith (1861-69), when the Reading acquired control of its previously independent feeder lines in the coal fields and secured a monopoly of coal traffic from the Schuylkill Region. The purchase of the Reading & Columbia (1866) increased the Reading's share of the rich agricultural and industrial traffic of Berks and Lancaster Counties. The East Pennsylvania Railroad (1869) formed with the Lebanon Valley part of a short-cut from New York to the West.

Under the ambitious and aggressive Franklin B. Gowen (1869-86), the Reading attempted to dominate the entire anthracite trade. The first step was the direct purchase and operation of coal mines through the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company (1871). The company secured over 40 per cent of the country's anthracite reserves, but with no regard to recoverability and at inflated prices. The enormous debt thus incurred brought the railroad into bankruptcy in 1880. During this period, rail acquisitions were limited to selected strategic lines: the Philadelphia, Germantown & Northern (1870) in the Philadelphia terminal area and suburbs; the Catawissa Railroad (1872) extending to the Williamsport gateway; and the North Pennsylvania Railroad (1879) controlling two-thirds of the route between Philadelphia and New York. The Reading also bought the Schuylkill Canal (1870) to eliminate its competition for the coal trade.

The second phase of Gowen's expansion program centered around attempts to break out of the company's confines between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers, widening the distribution net for coal and attracting more long distance merchandise traffic. In doing so, the Reading came into conflict with the much stronger Pennsylvania Railroad, its only significant rival in southeastern Pennsylvania. With the exception of the Philadelphia & Atlantic City Railway (1833) and the lease of the Central of New Jersey (1883-86), the work of this phase involved joint ventures and aid to other companies rather than direct purchase.

Gowen's reckless enthusiasm again drove the Reading into bankruptcy, and he was forced to resign in 1886. After a brief respite, an even more reckless promoter, A.A. McLeod, tried to carry out Gowen's unfinished agenda. The Philadelphia, Harrisburg & Pittsburgh (1890) finally brought access to the southern and western gateway at Shippensburg, Pa., and the Port Reading Railroad (1892) gave the Reading its own coal route to New York harbor. McLeod also tried to increase the Reading's hold over the anthracite industry by leasing the Central of New Jersey (1892) and the Lehigh Valley (1892-93) and an extension via the Poughkeepsie Bridge to Hartford, Conn. To control the distribution of coal in New England, McLeod tried to acquire a number of New England rail systems. Before this plan could be consummated, the combined opposition of bankers and politicians brought about its collapse. McLeod was ousted after another Reading bankruptcy in 1893, and the Reading withdrew from New England.

Later additions to the Reading system were infrequent and largely confined to short branches and improvements in alignment. The largest such acquisition was the Wilmington & Northern, acquired from the du Ponts in 1898.