Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern, Inc.
"The Hawk Mountain Line"

Our History
 

Have a Caboose Party!

48 Years and Counting

 The WK&S has a very unique history that started back in 1963 when the railroad was first chartered as Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern, Inc.  The company operated its first steam excursion on Memorial Day 1963.  Trains were run during the summer tourist season until November, 1968 when the railroad was temporarily closed due to mounting debt and poor ridership.  In 1970 the railroad was reorganized under new, volunteer management.

The tracks where the train runs were part of the Reading Railroad and originally part of the Berks County Railroad that ran from Reading to Slatington.  It also connected with main line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.  In 1972, the Reading Railroad sold the section of the line south of Kempton to Evansville to a salvage dealer.  However, efforts were made to keep 1.2 miles of the track effectively making the line 4.2 miles.  The passing siding track at Wanamaker was re-installed in 1963.  The passing siding at Kempton pre-dates the WK&S and the pit track at Kempton was installed in 1971. The latest track expansion started in 2004 which added a new track to the Shop building.

 Many buildings located at the WK&S are not originally from Kempton or Wanamaker, although they are rich in history stemming from the Reading Railroad which operated in Berks and Lehigh Counties.  The Kempton Station was moved here in 1963 from the village of Joanna, located on the Wilmington and Northern Branch, south of Birdsboro. The Rigelweg Gift Shop was a freight station that was located in Catasauqua on the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Branch, in Whitehall, PA.  The Refreshment Stand was a trackside maintenance shed for the Reading Railroad located at Chapmans, near Kuhnsville in Lehigh County.  The Maintenance Shop was constructed new here and completed in 1997. The track expansion project which started in 2004 put tracks into the shop in 2006.  Please visit our Projects page to learn more about the Track Project.

The locomotives and rolling stock that operate at the railroad each have their own story on how they became part of the WK&S.  The oldest piece is our newly acquired locomotive #4 which was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1914.  The newest piece of rolling stock is the C & O Box car which was built in 1960.  All of the rolling stock acquired since 1972 has been trucked into Kempton, with the orginal equipment being delivered by rail. Visit our Projects and Equipment pages to learn more about our rolling stock and the newer acquisitions to the railroad.

 The railroad was founded and is still operated and maintained by volunteers.  Many of these very talented and dedicated people have been here since the first day.  Please see our Staff page to learn more about our volunteers.

Above: Taken around 1920 and features the original Kempton Station.  The station was dismantled and sold for lumber in the late 1960's when the Reading Railroad abandoned the line.
 

E-Mail:
info@kemptontrain.com

Phone Us:
610-756-6469

WK&S, Inc.
42 Community Center Drive
P.O. Box 24
Kempton, PA 19529-0024

Copyright ©WK&S, Inc. 2009-2011
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