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"Reading Railroad" (Pennsylvania)

The Reading Railroad (pronounced "Redding"), officially known as the Reading Company, was another of the many anthracite carriers of the Northeast and perhaps t...
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The Reading Railroad (pronounced "Redding"), officially known as the Reading Company, was another of the many anthracite carriers of the Northeast and perhaps the most famous (it was even featured in Monopoly!). Unfortunately, despite this fame it also relied heavily on the commodity and when demand dried up following WWII so, too did the Reading’s profits. While the railroad was one of several that collapsed in the wake of the Penn Central disaster of 1968 it was certainly one of the most interesting and colorful anthracite railroads of all. Today, despite the road's failure during the 1970s, ironically many of its principle lines remain in use by various successors (such as regional Reading & Northern) thanks in part to Conrail, which retained many of the routes within its network.

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