On June 30, 1981, the last regularly scheduled passenger train on the route from Philadelphia to Pottsville pulled into the station at Pottsville, and the arrival was documented by Anthony Rice of St. Clair, Schuylkill County. The photo (later colorized) of passengers disembarking was published in the Pottsville Republican, July 15, 1981.
The stations connecting the two cities (Pottsville and Philadelphia) on the 93.6 mile route also lost passenger rail service: Schuylkill Haven; Auburn; Hamburg; Shoemakersville; Mohrsville; Leesport; Reading – Franklin Street; Birdsboro; Monocacy; Pottstown; Linfield; Royersford; Phoenixville; Valley Forge Park; Norristown – De Kalb Street; Philadelphia – North Broad Street.
The “poor year” for Schuylkill County rail passengers was noted in a December 31, 1981, article which appeared in the Pottsville Republican along with the following photo by Vince Ney (later colorized):
Future blog posts will picture stations on this route that also lost rail service as the result of the shut-down of the SEPTA (Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)’s Pottsville-Philadelphia line.
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Photos obtained through Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.