Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad
| Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 5 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern, Inc. ( WK & S ) (nicknamed Hawk Mountain Line ) is a private railway museum in the State of Pennsylvania . The railway line begins in Kempton, Berks County ( 40 ° 37 ′ 44.5 ″ N , 75 ° 51 ′ 12.4 ″ W ) and ends in Wanamakers, Lehigh County ( 40 ° 39 ′ 37.7 ″ N , 75 ° 50 ′ 43.1 ″ W ). In 1963 the museum railway was put into operation. The museum railway runs regularly every weekend between May and October.
History and description
The route is approximately 3 miles (5 km). The track width is 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in). The railroad depot is in Kempton. The fleet consists of several steam and diesel locomotives.
In 1870 the route of the "Berks County Railroad" was opened. This railway company became insolvent after a short time. Then the "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad" took over the route. In the 20th century, operations on the line were reduced and finally stopped entirely.
In 1963 a group of volunteers formed the Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad. Originally the route from Kempton to Germansville was supposed to lead. Uncooperative landowners prevented this. For this reason, the route ends in the north in Wanamaker on Pennsylvania Route 143. The purchase price for the route was $ 65,000. An extension of the route from Kempton to the south failed because of the purchase price.
vehicles
Steam locomotives
- 0-4-0 from HK Porter, Inc. No. 2, built in 1920
- 0-6-0 from HK Porter, Inc. No. 65, built in 1930
Diesel locomotives
- General Electric diesel-electric locomotive No. 7258, built in 1941
- Whitcomb Locomotive Works No. 602 diesel-electric locomotive built in 1944
- General Electric diesel-electric locomotive No. 734, built in 1956
Locomotives that have not been restored
- 2-6-2 from Baldwin Locomotive Works No. 4, built in 1914
- 2-6-2 from Baldwin Locomotive Works No. 250, built in 1914
Picture gallery
Wanamakers Station (2012)
Wanamaker Station (2008)
Museum Railway (2006)
0-6-0 HK Porter locomotive (2008)
0-6-0 HK Porter locomotive (2008)
Whitcomb locomotive (2008)
Draisine from GMC, built in 1966 (2008)
.jpg)
