Reading Company 973087 223927445 2008-07-06T15:35:12Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Infobox SG rail| railroad_name=Reading Company| logo_filename=Reading Herald.png| logo_size=150| railroad_abbr=Reading| marks=RDG| locale=[[Delaware]], [[Maryland]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Pennsylvania]]| start_year=1838| end_year=1976| successor_line=[[Conrail]]| old_gauge=| hq_city=[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] }} [[Image:1923 Reading.gif|thumb|300px|1923 map]] The '''Reading Company''' {{reporting mark|RDG}}, usually called the '''Reading Railroad''' ({{IPA-en|ˈɹɛdɪŋ}}), and officially known as the '''Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road''' and then the '''Philadelphia and Reading Railway''' until 1924, operated in southeast [[Pennsylvania]] and neighboring states. Contrary to its spelling, it is actually pronounced 'redding'. Until the decline in [[anthracite]] loadings in the [[Coal Region]] after [[World War II]], it was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States. However, the reduced coal traffic, coupled with [[highway]] competition and short hauls, forced it into bankruptcy in the 1970s. The Reading Company's railroad was merged into [[Conrail]] in 1976, but the corporation lasted into 2000 disposing of real estate holdings. Since the railroad served [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], ''Reading Railroad'' is also a property in the popular board game [[Monopoly (game)|Monopoly]]. ==History== ===Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road: 1833–1896=== The '''Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road''' was chartered [[April 4]], [[1833]] to build a line between its namesake cities, [[Philadelphia (PA)|Philadelphia]] and [[Reading (PA)|Reading]], alongside the [[Schuylkill River]]. The part from Reading to [[Norristown, Pennsylvania|Norristown]] opened [[July 16]], [[1838]], and the full line opened [[December 9]], [[1839]]. Its Philadelphia terminus was at the state-owned [[Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad]] on the west side of the [[Schuylkill River]], from which it ran east on the P&C over the [[Columbia Bridge]] and onto the city-owned [[City Railroad (Philadelphia)|City Railroad]] to a depot at the southeast corner of [[Broad Street (Philadelphia)|Broad]] and [[Cherry Street (Philadelphia)|Cherry Street]]s. An extension northwest from [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]] to [[Mount Carbon (PA)|Mount Carbon]], also on the [[Schuylkill River]], opened on [[January 13]], [[1842]], allowing the railroad to compete with the [[Schuylkill Canal]]. At Mount Carbon it connected with the earlier [[Mount Carbon Railroad]], continuing through [[Pottsville (PA)|Pottsville]] to several mines, and would be extended to [[Williamsport (PA)|Williamsport]]. On [[May 17]] of that year, a freight branch from [[West Falls, Pennsylvania|West Falls]] to [[Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Port Richmond]] on the [[Delaware River]] north of downtown Philadelphia opened. Port Richmond later became a very large [[coal]] terminal. On [[January 1]], [[1851]] the [[Belmont Plane]] on the [[Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad]], just west of the Reading's connection, was abandoned in favor of a new bypass, and the portion of the line east of it was sold to the Reading, the only company that would continue using the old route. The [[Lebanon Valley Railroad]] was chartered in 1836 to build from [[Reading (PA)|Reading]] west to [[Harrisburg (PA)|Harrisburg]]. The Reading took it over and began construction in 1854, opening the line in 1856. This gave the Reading a route from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, for the first time competing directly with the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], which would turn out to be its major rival. In 1859 the Reading leased the [[Chester Valley Railroad]], providing a branch from [[Bridgeport, Pennsylvania|Bridgeport]] west to [[Downingtown (PA)|Downingtown]]. It had formerly been operated by the [[Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad]]. A new Philadelphia terminal opened on [[December 24]], [[1859]] at [[Broad Street (Philadelphia)|Broad]] and [[Callowhill Street (Philadelphia)|Callowhill Street]]s, north of the old one at [[Cherry Street (Philadelphia)|Cherry Street]]. The [[Reading and Columbia Railroad]] was chartered in 1857 to build from [[Reading (PA)|Reading]] southwest to [[Columbia (PA)|Columbia]] on the [[Susquehanna River]]. It opened in 1864, using the [[Lebanon Valley Railroad]] from [[Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania|Sinking Spring]] east to Reading. The Reading leased it in 1870. The [[Port Kennedy Railroad]], a short branch to [[quarries]] at [[Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania|Port Kennedy]], was leased in 1870. Also that year, the Reading leased the [[Pickering Valley Railroad]], a branch running west from [[Phoenixville (PA)|Phoenixville]] to [[Byers, Pennsylvania|Byers]], which opened in 1871. [[Image:1873 Reading.jpg|thumb|300px|1873 map]] The Reading leased the [[North Pennsylvania Railroad]] on [[May 14]], [[1879]]. This gave it not only a line from Philadelphia north to [[Bethlehem (PA)|Bethlehem]] but the valuable [[Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad]], the descendant of the [[National Railway]] project, giving it a route to [[New York City]] in direct competition with the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s [[United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company]]. On the New York end it used the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]]'s [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] terminal. [[Image:1884 PRR RDG LVRR.jpg|thumb|300px|1884 map of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad|Pennsylvania]], Reading and [[Lehigh Valley Railroad|Lehigh Valley]] Railroads, soon after the Reading acquired the CNJ]] On [[May 29]], [[1883]] the Reading leased the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]]. The Reading eventually bought up a majority of the CNJ's stock as well. The [[Port Reading Railroad]] was chartered in 1890 and opened in 1892, running east off a junction from the New York mainline near [[Bound Brook (NJ)|Bound Brook]] to a new port - [[Port Reading, New Jersey|Port Reading]] - on the [[Arthur Kill]] near [[Perth Amboy (NJ)|Perth Amboy]]. The [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]] was leased on [[December 1]], [[1891]] under the presidency of Archibald A. McLeod, but that lease was cancelled on [[August 8]], [[1893]] when the Reading went into receivership. The Reading also relinquished control of the [[Central New England Railroad]] and the [[Boston and Maine Railroad]]. Amid the turmoil of the [[Panic of 1893]], Joseph Smith Harris was elected president. Under his leadership, the Reading Company was formed and the P&R was absorbed into it on November 30.<ref>James L. Holton, ''The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire''. Garrigues House, Publishers, Laury's Station, Pennsylvania. 1989. p. 339.</ref> ===Philadelphia and Reading Railway: 1896–1923=== ===Reading Company: 1924–1976=== The Reading Company was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in 1971. The bankruptcy was a result of dwindling coal shipping revenues and strict government regulations that denied railroads the ability to set competitive prices, required high taxes, and forced the railroads to continue to operate money-losing lines. To further complicate matters, the Reading was forced to continue paying its debts to the [[Penn Central Transportation|Penn Central Railroad]], however, Penn Central (also in bankruptcy at the time) was not required to pay its debts to the Reading Company. ===Post-railroad=== On [[April 1]], [[1976]], the Reading Company sold its current railroad interests to the newly formed [[Consolidated Railroad Corporation]] (Conrail), leaving it with 650 [[real estate]] assets, some coal properties, and 52 abandoned [[Right-of-way (railroad)|rights-of-way]]. It had sold 350 of the real estate tracts by the time it left bankruptcy in 1980. In the early 1980s a [[Los Angeles]] lawyer named James Cotter gained control of the corporation through his [[holding company]], the Craig Corporation, and liquidated the rest of its assets to finance his [[movie theater|cinema]] chains in [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]]. The company sold its last railroad-related asset, the [[Reading Terminal]] Headhouse, in 1993. In 1996 Cotter reorganized the company as [[Reading Entertainment]]. The Craig Corporation merged in 2001 with Citadel Holding Corporation, another Cotter company, and became Reading International, Inc. ==Company officers== The presidents of the Reading were as follows: * [[Elihu Chauncey]], 1834&ndash;1842 * [[William F. Emlen]], 1842&ndash;1843 * [[John Cryder]], 1843&ndash;1844 * [[John Tucker]], 1844&ndash;1856 * [[Robert D. Cullen]], 1856&ndash;1860 * [[Asa Whitney]], 1860&ndash;1861 * [[Charles Eastwick Smith (P&R president)|Charles E. Smith]], 1861&ndash;1869 * [[Franklin B. Gowen]], 1869&ndash;1884 * [[Frank S. Bond]], 1881&ndash;1882 (Elected president when Gowen's leadership was contested) * [[George DeBenneville Keim]], 1884&ndash;1887 * [[Austin Corbin]], 1887&ndash;1890 * [[Archibald A. McLeod]], 1890&ndash;1893 * [[Joseph Smith Harris]], 1893&ndash;1901 * [[George Frederick Baer]], 1901&ndash;1914 * [[Theodore Voorhees]], 1914&ndash;1916 * [[Agnew Dice]], 1916&ndash;1932 * [[Charles H. Ewing]], 1932&ndash;1935 * [[Edward W. Scheer]], 1935&ndash;1944 * [[Revelle W. Brown]], 1944&ndash;1952 * [[Joseph A. Fisher]], 1952&ndash;1960 * [[E. Paul Gangewere]], 1960&ndash;1964 * [[Charles E. Bertrand]], 1964&ndash;1976 ==Popular Culture== Although the Reading was habitually overshadowed by its larger, longer, and more powerful neighbor the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], it still managed to make a mark on the public consciousness when railroads dominated the national economy and many imaginations. The railroad was a frequent target for the [[Molly Maguires]], and that conflict is reflected in a number of musical and print works. Perhaps the greatest impact of the Reading on contemporary American imaginations arose from its being included on the [[Monopoly (game)|Monopoly]] game board, just five spaces after "Go". Although many who only knew the Reading through print media (such as the Monopoly board) pronounced its name "REED-ing", it was actually pronounced "REDD-ing". ==See also== *[[Schuylkill Canal]] ==External links== *[http://www.readingrailroad.org/ Reading Company Technical and Historical Society] *[http://www.northeast.railfan.net/rbmn_history.html North East Rails] (Reading to [[Pottsville, Pennsylvania]] and the Anthracite [[Coal Region]] of [[Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania]]) ==References== *[http://www.earlpleasants.com/search_1.asp Railroad History Database] *[http://www.prrths.com/PRR_hagley_intro.htm PRR Chronology] *[http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=1023993 SEC filings of Reading Entertainment Inc.] *[http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=716634 SEC filings of Reading International Inc.] *[http://archives.pottsville.com/archives/2000/Jul/15/E424587A.htm Reading Railroad, link to L&NE, goes aglimmer any day now] (Pottsville Republican & Herald) *Coates, Wes (1990). "Electric Trains to Reading Terminal." Flanders (NJ), US: Railroad Avenue Enterprises, Inc. *Holton, James L. (1989). ''The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire''. Vol. I: The Nineteenth Century. Laurys Station, PA: Garrigues House, Publishers. ISBN 0-9620844-1-7 *Holton, James L. (1992). ''The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire'' Vol. II: The Twentieth Century. Laurys Station, PA: Garrigues House, Publishers. ISBN 0-9620844-3-3 *Reading Company (1958). ''Building a Modern Railroad''. [[Category:Reading Company| ]] [[Category:Companies established in 1838]] [[Category:Former Class I railroads in the United States]] [[Category:1976 disestablishments]] [[Category:Defunct Delaware railroads]] [[Category:Defunct New Jersey railroads]] [[Category:Defunct Pennsylvania railroads]] [[Category:Railroads transferred to Conrail]] [[Category:Companies based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] [[de:Reading Company]] [[fr:Reading Company]]