Also be sure to check out the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad while your there. The Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad layout is located in the coach car #72 directly behind the WK&S Ticket Office.
The Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad is closed for the season. The layout located in Coach car #72 at the home of the WK&S Railroad in Kempton will reopen on the first Sunday in May, May 7, 2017.
As a general rule, the Schuylkill and Lehigh runs HO gauge trains in side Coach car #72 every Sunday beginning May 7, 2017 through the end of October. There will be a special weekend run the first weekend in November and the first weekend in December. There may be other occasions when trains are running on a Saturday and notices of the dates of these special runs will be posted to this blog, our FaceBook page and our web site.
The web site can be found by clicking the link below:
Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad
The Schuylkill and Lehigh on Facebook:
S&L Model Railroad - FaceBook
We will be looking forward to seeing you in the spring, 2017!
Christmas Special - December 3 & 4, 2016 Trains are Running at Kempton
During this Holiday Special Weekend (Saturday, Dec 3 and Sunday, Dec 4, 2016, the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad will be running trains in Coach Car #72 from approximately 10:30 until about 4pm.
This Christmas Special weekend will be the final run for the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad for the 2016 season. Thank you for your patronage and we hope you enjoyed your visits. See you on the first Sunday in April, 2017.
The WK&S Excursion train runs every hour on the hour beginning at 11:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday for the special Santa Claus weekend.
For this weekend, Reservations are required. Adults & Children (ages 3 & up) $10.00 Ages 2 & Under $2.00. See the WK&S web site for additional details (link below).
The Schuylkill & Lehigh Model Railroad Club operates independently from the WK&S Railroad but follows a similar schedule. The Coach Car opens about 10:30pm on Saturday and Sunday until about 4:00pm during the Santa Claus Special Weekend. Visiting the Model Train layout is "free" although Good-Will donations are appreciated. Stop in and visit! The Schuylkill & Lehigh Model Railroad Layout is located directly behind the Kempton Station in Coach Car #72.
The WK&S web site cab be found:
http://www.kemptontrain.com
Trains are Running Sunday, May 1stTrains are running at Kempton starting Sunday, May 1, 2016. The WK&S Excursion train runs every hour on the hour beginning at 1:00pm and run every hour on the hour with the last train leaving the station at 4:00pm. Each trip lasts approximately 40 minutes and goes from Kempton to Wnnamakers and back. Your ticket is good for every trip the train makes, so go as often as you like. The Schuylkill & Lehigh Model Railroad Club operates independently from the W,K & S Railroad but follows a similar schedule. The Coach Car opens about 12:30pm and is generally open and running model trains on the layout until 5:00pm. Visiting the Model Train layout is "free" although donations are appreciated. Stop in and visit! The Schuylkill & Lehigh Model Railroad Layout is located directly behind the Kempton Station in Coach Car #72. |
The members of the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad Club wish you and yours a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!
For the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad Club the year 2015 was a very successful and enjoyable year. The number of people that passed through Coach 72 to view the unique layout of the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad Club was at an all-time high. The visitors seemed to have a lot of fun and enjoyed watching the model trains make their designated tour around the layout. I can assure you that the club members running the trains had a great time running trains and chatting it up with the visitors, particularly the kids, that passed through the coach car either before are after their ride on the WK&S Railroad excursion train up to Wanamaker's and back.
We hope you enjoyed your day in Kempton, had a great ride on the WK&S and stopped by the Coach car 72 to check out the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad layout.
We hope to see you all again soon when the trains start running in May, 2016. Be sure to check out the WK&S schedule on their web site; WK&S Railroad website.
The Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad will also be posting it's schedule in early April, 2016. Check the 2016 schedule at Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad.
See you in the spring!
Railroad overcomes embezzlement, keeps on chugging
Volunteers at the Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern Railroad had an unbelievably difficult operating season in 2014.
We had to overcome the effects of a massive embezzlement that left the 3 1/2-mile tourist attraction between Kempton in Berks County and Wanamaker (Lynn Township, Lehigh County) reeling from the crippling effects.
When news of the desperate financial condition that haunted the railroad broke in the spring of 2014, many of us felt it was the end of the line for the WK&S. For most businesses it would have been the end. (James D. Krause of Schnecksvile, the former general manager and treasurer, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to Berks County Prison in December 2014 and is required to make restitution.)
Operating funds were gone, and savings were down to a few thousand dollars.
The newly elected board of directors and officers had to face enormous past due accounts in seemingly every direction. They discovered overdue bills from vendors and unpaid state sales and income taxes and local real estate taxes. The company negotiated a line of credit from a bank to pay off some of the debts quickly and provide operating funds.
Railroad officials — all volunteers — determined early on that in defiance of the odds the trains would run all summer on a regular schedule. All scheduled special events would run as planned.
And that is exactly what happened. The train did not miss a day through the season, including the first week in December when, to continue a tradition, a whole weekend full of Santa Claus specials ran on time, with fully reserved trains.
Railroad President Oliver Blatt told a recent shareholders meeting that the volunteer team running the railroad line intends to return the business to its original prosperity and continue a full schedule with its all-volunteer operation this year and beyond. The railroad website announces an ambitious complete schedule for 2015 trains.
The railroad is no stranger to adversity. Starting with its founding on Memorial Day 1963, the railroad grew exponentially for a short time, then ran into financial difficulties. In 1970 the line closed in preparation for a sale of assets. Two Allentown businessmen, Harry Schaller of Mack Trucks and Albert Moffa, owner of the Americus Hotel, stepped forward, lent cash and negotiated a lifesaving reorganization for the company.
With Moffa as the new president, Schaller became the railroad treasurer and acting CEO and reopened the railroad, shepherding it back to health. Schaller made peace with the volunteers, retaining most of them who were dedicated to keeping the trains rolling. Ten years later, when all the debts and loans of the company were paid off and with enough money in the bank to make the line totally solvent, Schaller retired, turning the railroad over to a new generation of volunteers.
Over the 50-plus years in existence, the railroad struggled through national economic turndowns and seasons of rain and heat, which kept travelers from riding the train.
Yet, enough out-of-area visitors and local families continued to ride this little railroad; they marveled at its cleanliness and the attitude of its volunteers. WK&S provides a pleasant railroad experience many children will never forget. The train trip with vintage coaches and engines is priced reasonably and the volunteers consider customer comfort and enjoyment as their top priority.
Kempton railroad volunteers have bounced back from the ultimate challenge, keeping the WK&S rolling. Come and see us for a ride in our 52nd year after reopening in May.
Wally Ely, who lives in Allentown, has been a volunteer for the Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern Railroad since it was founded in 1963. His email address is WallyEly1@aol.com
On January 18, 2015, three members of the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad visited two loyouts belonging to other Model Railroad Clubs.
The first stop was at the Keystone N-Trak Modular Railroad, Dublin TEC Center, 123 N. Main Street, Suite 216 (use rear door), Dublin, Pennsylvania.
As would be expected, this layout is an N scale modular panel layout. The Club has a permanent layout in one room and a display of member owned modular panels in another. From time to time the club takes the member owned modular panels for display at various events. It is an impressive N scale layout as you will see if you visit the Schuylkill and Lehigh web site were you can view the Keystone layout in a slideshow and a video.
The second stop of the day was a visit to the Logan Model Engineers layout, located in the Souderton Station, 2 West Broad St., Souderton, Pennsylvania. This club operates the fictional Logan & Southern Railroad. on a layout located in the 2nd floor of the Souderton Station. This is an impressive HO gauge model railroad with a large equipment roster, much of it owned by members. The clubs web site can be found here:
Logan Model Railroad Club
You can view two slideshows and a video of the Logan layout and a slideshow and video of the Keystone N-Trak layout by visiting the Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad web site which can be found here:
Schuylkill and Lehigh MRR web site
The 2015 Schuylkill and Lehigh Model Railroad Schedule will be posted soon. Watch for it!
