The Allentown and Auburn Railroad
By William A. Yurvati
(This article was originally published in “Along the Saucony,” Volume 20, Number 4, December 1997. Updated information was included by Jim Schlegel.)
In the 19th century, most communities equated railroads with economic and social progress. Residents of towns and villages exerted great efforts to be included along any projected route. For citizens of Kutztown, expectations were raised as early as 1837 when a railroad was proposed between Hamburg and Allentown via Kutztown. However, as with many suggested routes during the early days of railroad construction, the plan failed to materialize.
Several years later, on April 19, 1853, the state legislature granted the Allentown Railroad Company a charter for a railroad from Allentown to any point between the city of Reading and Port Clinton, Schuylkill County. Engineers surveyed possible routes the same year. Eventually, the company decided to build the railroad beginning at a connection with the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Allentown. From there, the route traveled west through Wescoesville, Trexlertown, Breiningsville, Kutztown, and Hamburg, terminating in the village of Auburn, Schuylkill County to link with the Philadelphia & Reading. The planned railroad covered a distance of 38 and on-half miles. For the next three years, the company, then known as the Allentown & Auburn Railroad, solicited stock subscriptions and purchased the necessary land along the planned right-of-way.
On March 10, 1857, construction of the railroad commenced with a ceremonial groundbreaking near Kutztown. By the end of Spring, contractors partially graded the line, erected bridge abutments, and constructed retaining walls, but had not laid any track. Despite several months of work, financial problems within the company brought the project to a halt, a pattern which would be repeated for over a decade.
Subsequently, a plan unfolded in 1858 with the intention of consolidating several proposed railroad projects into a continuous route from New York to Harrisburg and west. The line, grandly named the Atlantic & Great Western, resurrected the Allentown & Auburn as an important middle link in the system. Limited grading of the roadbed resumed. Simultaneously, construction began on a segment of the East Pennsylvania Railroad (originally named the Reading & Lehigh) to connect the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Allentown to the Philadelphia & Reading and Lebanon Valley Railroads in the city of Reading, bypassing Kutztown to the southeast via Topton and Lyons.
Despite opposition by the Allentown Railroad, the East Pennsylvania was completed on May 11, 1859. At the same time, financial and organizational difficulties with the proposed Atlantic & Great Western system, in addition to a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, once more suspended construction of a railroad through Kutztown. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia & Reading, in an attempt to further its own expansion and restrain possible competition, obtained control of the stock of the Allentown & Auburn.
Several attempts to revive the route, including a proposal for the East Pennsylvania to build a branch line from Topton to Kutztown, failed during the early 1860s. But in 1868, public meetings were held by local citizens who petitioned the Philadelphia & Reading to complete a railroad to Kutztown, the Philadelphia & Reading reportedly approved the request. However, it remains unclear as to whether the Philadelphia & Reading planned to complete the original Kutztown to Allentown route, which passed near Topton enroute to Trexlertown, or build a terminus at Topton to connect with the East Pennsylvania.
Subsequently, the Philadelphia & Reading leased the parallel East Pennsylvania Railroad on May 19, 1869. Plans for the Allentown to Kutztown segment were finally abandoned. Instead, the Philadelphia & Reading decided to use the route from Auburn to Kutztown as a short cut for eastbound trains originating in the Schuylkill County coal fields. Furthermore, the modified plan included a four and one-half mile line from Kutztown to Topton to connect with the newly leased East Pennsylvania, providing direct access to eastern markets.
Work on the revised route began on June 9, 1869. During this phase, crews concentrated on completion of the portion of the line between Topton and Kutztown. By October, the first rails were finally laid at Topton. At the same time, a large labor force was employed with the task of excavating a tunnel, estimated at over 1,400 feet long, near the village of Windsor Castle. Construction of the Kutztown passenger station and freight depot also began with the components shipped to the site from the Philadelphia & Reading shops in Pottstown. The station was remodeled in 1913.
Finally, on January 10, 1870, a large crowd gathered at the Kutztown station to witness the departure of the first passenger train to Topton. The locomotive was decorated with wreaths and flowers fashioned by several Kutztown residents, mostly made from colored paper due to the winter season.
Efforts to extend the railroad to Schuylkill County continued shortly after the completion of the track to Kutztown. Designated the Topton and Port Clinton Branch, workers cleared and graded portions of the original Allentown & Auburn roadbed northwest of Kutztown. In addition, boring of the tunnel near Windsor Castle resumed. But as with previous attempts, financial pressures on the Philadelphia & Reading, due to a depressed national economy, ended the project. Several subsequent attempts to complete the extension to Schuylkill County were also unsuccessful.
The opening of the branch from Topton led to the establishment of several businesses along the right-of-way near the Kutztown terminus. The largest industry was the Kutztown Foundry, erected in 1869 on land just beyond the railroad station. Rebuilt twice following disastrous fires, the foundry continued as an important freight customer for the branch line.
Initially, several daily trains carried passengers between Kutztown and Topton with through service to Allentown. Dubbed the “Kutztown Flyer,” the trains provided transportation for residents as well as normal school students. A small turntable was installed near the end of the track next to the foundry to accommodate the turning of locomotives for the return trip to Topton. After the commencement of trolley service between Allentown and Reading in 1902, passenger service was reduced to two trains per day. In the 1930s, the improvement of public roads and an increase in the use of motor vehicles ended scheduled passenger service.
With the passage of time, nature slowly reclaimed the abandoned roadbed of the proposed railroad northwest from Kutztown. However, remnants of the railroad grade and masonry work are visible today along country roads between Kutztown, Virginville, and Hamburg. The remains of the tunnel excavation near Windsor Castle are still evident on private property north of the village.
Besides the Kutztown branch, two additional segments of the original Allentown & Auburn right-of-way were eventually used. In the 1880s, the Catasaqua & Fogelsville Railway laid track on a portion of the old roadbed from Trexlertown in Lehigh County to Longswamp Township in Berks County for shipping iron ore from the numerous mines in the area. The Philadelphia & Reading leased the Catasaqua & Fogelsville in 1893. After the turn of the century, portions of the branch were removed as ore shipments declined. In 1917, the Philadelphia & Reading built an industrial spur on unused roadbed from East Penn Junction in Allentown to the new Mack Truck’s plant. This track was abandoned by Conrail in the 1980s.
The Allentown Railroad Company continued as a corporate entity into the middle of the twentieth century, leased and operated by the Philadelphia & Reading. Following a Reading Company reorganization, the Allentown Railroad was fully absorbed into the parent company on December 31, 1945. Nevertheless, official timetables identified the railroad to Kutztown as the Allentown Branch. Freight service continued into the Conrail era. Following ownership by several short lines over the past decade (late 1980s, early 1990s), the railroad and right-of-way was owned by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The branch was leased by East Penn Railroad Excursions, Inc. which commenced tourist passenger service in 1996.
The branch is now known as USRA (United States Railway Administration) Branch #910 and is owned by the Borough of Kutztown’s Transportation Authority since the year 2000 and is leased to the newly incorporated Allentown & Auburn Railroad Company headquartered in Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County.
The Kutztown Transportation Authority owns the railroad to avoid “user fees” charged to the Borough of Kutztown to bring the major electric lines into Kutztown from the borough’s sub station on the borough farm. Over time the fees totaled over $270,000. By purchasing the Railroad Right of way from Penn DOT, the borough forever eliminated having to pay these fees. In addition, the Authority receives annual income from Buckeye Pipe Line Company, Met ED Electric, and a fiber optics company who also uses the right-of-way.
The Allentown & Auburn operates excursion trains throughout the year: Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Bluey and Bingo trains, Butterfly trains, Pumpkin trains, and Santa trains.
In recent years, the railroad has provided freight service for the Mc Conway & Torley (former Kutztown Foundry) Mini Steel Mill, which resumed operations in the spring of 2022. They also provide freight service for Seal Coat, a Trexlertown-based company, who receives car loads of a special clay in covered hopper cars from Tennessee and spotted on a siding on the Topton end of the Allentown & Auburn. The clay is transloaded into special tank trucks and shipped to Trexlertown where the clay is blended with asphalt that is supplied from Atlas Mineral & Chemical Inc. in Mertztown to make driveway sealant and crack filler for highways. Local organic farmers occasionally get car loads of organic feed from Nebraska to feed their organic cattle. The feed is unloaded via a conveyor belt into dump trucks and taken to the feed mill on Long Lane Road in Maxatawny Township. The Allentown & Auburn, according to the operator’s agreement, must maintain the railroad and pay the Kutztown Transportation Authority 15% of passenger revenue and 10% of freight revenue to the Authority. For fiscal year 2024 the Railroad turned over $12,000 in passenger revenue and $4500 in freight revenue. In addition, the Allentown & Auburn leases the shop building at the Topton end of the line from the Kutztown Transportation Authority. In this building they perform maintenance on Allentown & Auburn equipment and the restore antique railroad rolling stock and locomotives. It is a busy little line.
To see the 2025 schedule for Allentown & Auburn Railroad excursions, go to https://allentownandauburnrr.com/2025-train-schedule/
