The Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern (RBMN) has completed the purchase of 19 miles  of track, between Jim Thorpe and Haucks Junction, Pa., from Carbon County. This line was originally the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania’s Panther Valley Branch. With this acquisition, the RBMN now owns a continuous railroad line from Reading to Scranton, Pa.  For the last eighteen months RBMN CEO Andy Muller and RBMN President Wayne Michel negotiated directly with the Carbon County Commissioners, Chairman Wayne Nothstein and new Commissioners Rocky Ahner and Chris Lukasevich.  From the beginning of the negotiations it was clear that Nothstein along with the new Commissioners were looking for a way to make a deal that worked for both the County and the RBMN. An agreement in principle was reached in the Fall and the deal was announced on May 6, 2021.  All the necessary government approvals have been received, so the parties have consummated the deal. RBMN is paying a total of $4.7 million dollars to acquire this property. Plans are to upgrade the track to conform with the RBMN’s 30 mile-per-hour railroad. As part of the acquisition, RBMN has agreed to keep in place the lease with the current freight operator of the line, the C&S Railroad. C&S will continue to provide freight service to the three local customers on the railroad. RBMN will continue to use the line for overhead freight traffic and its very popular passenger excursion trains.

-via Railpace Newsmagazine