9-16-2023 5:09am

More Than Train Rides: The Colebrookdale Railroad Is Catalyst for Economic Growth

Lesley Misko Editor

by Jane Stahl

Excursions Add to Oktoberfest--Saturday, September 16, 2023

The Colebrookdale Railroad's popular Autumn Splendor Fall Foliage train rides have begun and continue on select dates through November 19, 2023.

Excursions this Saturday (September 16, 2023) feature ice cream sundaes and beer & bratwurst; others will include a Bloody Mary Brunch or a late afternoon wine tasting.

A Youthful Dream
Many times over the past 10 years, Nathaniel Guest, Executive Director of the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust, has told of the boyhood dream to run a railroad that he shared with his grandfather decades ago.

“In elementary school, I traveled to many communities with my grandfather to visit trains after church on Sundays. At one point, my grandfather speculated that the Colebrookdale Railroad would make a great tourist railroad,” Nathaniel recalls.

“Those words eventually became the career plan I announced when he asked what I wanted to do with my life. What I didn’t pay attention to at the time was the end of his sentence—'too bad there are no tourists to ride them!’ Nor did I pay attention to his question, ‘Do you have a back-up plan?’” he quips.

The story in which he sold the trains he’d collected throughout his life to buy the Colebrookdale Railroad is told in a children’s book “Nathaniel’s Trains” written by Diane Bakos and illustrated by Matt Szychowski, published in 2022, a gift that surprised him and represents what he terms “the greatest honor” of his life.

"More than train rides"
His long-ago dream--what he now terms a “hare-brained idea”—has changed, has matured, and today takes on a substantive difference centering on weightier issues: economic and community vitality through job creation; the addition of educational, historic, and cultural opportunities; and the promotion of tourism driving visitors from all over the country and the world, for example, to the Boyertown/Pottstown area.

“The project is more than train rides,” he explains. “I have the growth of the entire community as my mission—making Boyertown, PA, a tourist destination to rival any other place in the country.

It will take a huge commitment from the community at large to get to the vision I see, but we’re working on it with a cadre of staff and volunteers who are passionate and committed and that rival any group of people in the country.”

Rescue from abandonment
In college, learning about the potential sale of the train with its “superlative history,” he was triggered to rescue it from abandonment, believing that historic properties can be anchor props to turn economic development around.

He recounts the restoration of each train car as though it was truly an act of love. He can tell you the history of each acquisition and each design decision at the Colebrookdale today much in the same way as a parent extolling the achievements of a favorite child.

Historic preservation of Boyertown
“We’re building on the footprint of Boyertown’s previous station,” he explains. The vision includes a Welcome Center in a Victorian Gothic design containing elements of railroad stations around the world, buildings inspired by Frank Furness,one of the most renowned architects of his era. Over his 45-year career, Furness designed more than 600 buildings; nearly one-third of his commissions came from railroad companies. Furness was chief architect of the Reading Railroad. He designed about 130 stations and industrial buildings including one of Nathaniel’s favorites the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Broad Street Station in Philadelphia.

Planning for beauty and serenity
In Boyertown, Nathaniel imagines a building where concerts can be held, a separate space for meditation surrounded by beautiful landscape. He envisions an open design with lots of windows and a glass roof from which the town’s clocktower can be seen.

“If you’ve visited Longwood Gardens, you’ll note that it provides a transcendent experience offering tranquility by seeing the beauty in the gardens, experiencing the floral scents and the sound of water fountains. In the Welcome Center, I want folks to experience the pastoral nature of the area before they get on the train—to prepare them for the beauty of the ride.”

Aesthetic considerations inspired by history
Reflecting on history, Nathaniel shares that Pennsylvania once was a glass-making state—stained glass that can be seen today in the Tiffany Glass Trail and in the windows created by Tiffany’s rival La Farge, forged with iron and steel acquired from Pittsburgh.

“Through our architectural salvage, the stained glass that will become part of the Colebrookdale Railroad’s Welcome Center will be spectacular and historic,” exudes Nathaniel. “People will come to Boyertown just to see the glass.”

Bringing back an historic marketplace
Beyond aesthetics, Nathaniel shares history of the Colebrookdale line that once took produce and milk to Philadelphia and then, on its return trip, brought back the mail. The railyard served as a vibrant marketplace and once had a horse barn, a chicken coop, and kept livestock. The plan to bring a Farmer’s Market to the railyard is bringing back a piece of the community’s and the railroad’s history.

More than $2 million of state grants will go toward the event space and festival marketplace in Boyertown. In addition, the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program is providing the money as a match for nearly $2.5 million of federal, county, and local money.

"Cool little shops...restaurants and a ride"
Officials say the new events space will feature a stage and flagpole plaza, farmers’ market and café in hopes of connecting the Colebrookdale Railroad and the downtown. "I can see a lot of people coming out to the Boyertown, Pottstown area to see what we have. To see the cool little shops and the little restaurants and ride the railroad," says state Senator Tracy Pennycuick (R)-24th District. State lawmakers say they worked across the aisle to get the project approved because they believed it was best for the area.

A tourist destination
These dollars, added to hefty previous grants over the past 10 years, have already transformed the railyard within the town’s center into a well-appointed spot to hold festivals and events. “We want to raise spaces worthy of our vision of the future of the community where we celebrate food, art, culture,” Nathaniel adds. “And we want to move people around Boyertown to the unique shops, museums, and eateries. The town has so much to offer tourists.”

The Challenge: spreading the word, generating support
While much has been achieved, the work ahead is daunting. “Success means that we attract tourists. But like many endeavors, spreading the word about the railroad’s existence, even locally, is a challenge,” he notes. “There are local people who still do not know we are here or what we offer. And because our tourist market stretches outside the community, developing awareness is difficult, on-going, and expensive,” he continues.

A "labor of love" brings results
“Running the train bears a heavy cost. The energy costs to move tons of steel, the supplies and maintenance of the tracks, compensation for our engineers means that our programs must excite tourists across 50 states and internationally to ride the rails,” he shares. To date 30,000-40,000 people have brought $18 million dollars to the community. Still, he admits, “none of us involved in the project are millionaires; in fact, we have less than when we started. Participation is a labor of love.”

Offering an immersive experience back in time to the Gilded Age through spectacularly beautiful countryside is the promise inherent in the ticket. “We have employed a full time ‘Chief Creative Officer Justin Boyd, our ‘Imagineer,’ to recreate an authentic feel. I have no doubt that when we do the Gilded Age, nobody does it better!”

The Colebrookdale Railroad’s most popular rides occur from October 15-December 31 each year. “The scenery during autumn is glorious and the cars are packed. They’d ride the roof if we put seats up there,” Nathaniel says.

Building audiences: a full-time job
But the rest of the year, the railroad depends on educational, special, and corporate events as if there are two different operations attracting two different types of audiences. Building audiences for those events is Job #1 from January to mid-October.

The expanded dream: Boyertown, Christmas City, USA
Nathaniel continues to dream—and not just for the railroad. He’s dreaming for the entire community, inspired by the Warner Brother’s movie The Polar Express. “I know it sounds corny, but I want to give magic a home, to make Boyertown, Christmas City, USA.

“I envision Santa arriving by train. I hear the sound of the whistle. I see a Christmas tree, 60-80-feet high, decorated with huge ornaments. Kids wide-eyed in wonder. When the train arrives, Christmas arrives. And, tying the railroad to the whole community, I see all the stores in Boyertown—Christmas City—brightly decorated for the season.

"This vision has economic power; it can be done but we’ll all have to work a lot harder to get there.”

But dreamers gotta dream, and there’s no mistake that the Colebrookdale Railroad has come alive again in the 21st century because of a young boy’s dream. How much of the dream becomes a reality, however, will take the entire community’s belief in the dream, coordinated effort among all stakeholders, through a lot of hard work by all.