INTRODUCTION
This cache is one in a series of caches giving a brief history on some railroads. It is located along the Stony Rail Trail and parking is available at the trailhead on Goldmine Road.
Reading Company, was in its heyday a multifaceted industrial giant. Originally established as The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (P & R) in 1833 to transport anthracite coal, the pioneering 94-mile line evolved into a mighty corporation serving eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Operations included coal mining, iron making, canal and sea-going transportation and shipbuilding. With its great complex of shops for locomotive and car building and repair, and constant advances in railroad technology, the company held a position of leadership in the railroad industry for over a century.
By the nature of the territory which it served, the P & R fueled the Industrial Revolution which led the United States to economic leadership. With lines reaching out to the North, South, East and West, the P & R served the heart of the most densely industrialized area of the nation and by the 1870s became the largest corporation in the world.