Benjamin L. Bernhart, who is the Reading Railroad Museum curator, wrote an article for the January 2010 issue of Reading Railroad Magazine. It is titled Moving Milk on the Reading and gives us another clue into why the M&H is sometimes referred to as the milk & honey railroad. Following is an excerpt from that article:
Milk operations were at their height between 1910 and 1920. The Reading Railroad was moving between 3000 and 4000 cans daily. Every day, early in the morning, a special milk train left Harrisburg for Philadephia. The train began its journey with cars of milk gathered from the Gettysburg Brand and the PH&P Branch that morning.
Additional milk was taken on at the junction of the Middletown & Hummelstown Branch, just west of Hershey.
Milk cars were added at Lebanon from the Lebanon & Tremont Branch. At Reading, milk cars were added from the Reading and Columbia Branch, Wilmington & Northern, Schuylkill & Lehigh, and the East Penn Branches. East of Reading milk was added at Douglasville, Phoenixville, and the Pickering Branch finally arriving at 3rd & Berks Streets in Philadelphia late that night for process and sale in Philly the next morning. So think of the Reading Railroad as a big river of milk stretching from Harrisburg to Philly with tributary streams like the M&H.
Photo by Jeb Boyd, Whiskey Spring Studios
Built prior to 1890, this car has a wood frame, link and pin couplers and hand brakes.
George Westinghouse’s air brake invention was first used on passenger trains in 1868; freight cars came much later. On a signal from the engineer, the brakeman jumped from car to car setting the hand brakes.
To couple the cars, the brakeman had to slip a pin down through the hole in the coupler and through the link as the cars slammed together. All this was done, night and day, in all kinds of weather. Railroading in the “good old days” was an extremely hazardous occupation. Many men were seriously injured or killed.
Truss rods under the car were periodically tightened to keep the car from sagging in the middle.
The box car in the picture is owned by Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad.
One of the projects the winter of 2008-09 was painting an ALCO S-6 locomotive. It was bought new by Western Maryland in the 1950’s. A group of men restored the engine to it’s original colors in six weeks.
Here is a before picture:
And After:
The Middletown Hummelstown Railroad uses this locomotive to move freight.
It is available for photo charter trips.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX2r-V596iI
The Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad has begun its Santa’s Surprise Trains for 2009. Santa visits with gifts for all the children ages 2-11, plus returns after Gift Time for pictures. Bring a camera and save the memories. There’s plenty of time to watch out the window and enjoy the scenery in Swatara Creek Valley and listen to the live Christmas Music.
The trains will leave the Middletown Station at 11:00 am and 1:30 pm on
Friday November 27;
Saturday Nov 28; December 12 & 19;
and Sunday: Dec 13 & 20.
Reservations recommended. Adults (12 yrs & up): $16.00 Child (2-11 yrs): $9.00 Infants (does not include a seat): $2.00
If your daytime is all filled up, then join Santa in the evening for a ride on the Polar Bear Express. A story about a Polar Bear and Santa will be read, while the children watch for Santa to appear at the North Pole. Enjoy the beautiful Christmas Light Display in Hoffer Park on the way out the line and coming back to the Station, as well as the lights along the tracks on the way to the North Pole.
The train pulls out of the Middletown Station
on Fridays: Nov 27 at 4:30 pm; Dec 4, 11, & 18 at 6:30pm.
Saturday: Nov 28; Dec 5, 12, 19 at 4:30pm.
Sunday: Dec 6, 13, & 20 at 4:30 pm
Reservations required. Adults (12 yrs & up): $17.00 Child (2-11 yrs): $10.00 Infants (does not include a seat): $2.00
Reservations may be made by calling (717) 944-4435, Ext 0 with a VISA or Mastercard.
You won’t want to miss this special event!
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