“Rail speeders” visit Tamaqua

TAMAQUA – On a typical day, you’ll see a few green freight trains headed up or down the rails of the Reading, Blue Mountain, and Northern Railroad.

Today was no typical day.

Riding the rails through the heart of Tamaqua today were several dozen railroad motorcars, or “rail speeders.”

The railcars were operated by members of the North American Railcar Operators Association, “a non-profit group dedicated to the preservation and the safe, legal operation of railroad equipment historically used for maintenance of way,” according to their website.

The organization regularly hosts excursions on various regional railroads, and this weekend, they visited the Reading and Northern’s trackage.

Today, they travelled from Schuylkill Haven to Port Clinton, and tomorrow, they will be out on the rails again with a route yet to be determined.

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Kaylee Lindenmuth

Kaylee Lindenmuth is a Shenandoah native with a passion for journalism and the community she calls home.

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