(Source: Reading Eagle, September 12, 2013)
READING, Pa. — The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co., or the P&R, predecessor to the Reading Railroad, authorized the construction of a line between Philadelphia and Reading in December 1833, 180 years ago.
Reading was strategically located just south of the Schuylkill County coal fields, which were rich with high-energy anthracite to fuel the nation’s burgeoning industrial sector.
Full story: Reading Eagle