The operator of a popular passenger train ride in Jim Thorpe maintained Friday it’s pulling out of the Pennsylvania tourist destination, announcing new stops elsewhere for its 2019 Santa Train.
Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad announced earlier this week it’s leaving Jim Thorpe over a tax dispute. Borough and state officials have continued to hold out hope an agreement could be reached on keeping the railroad’s Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway ride in town.
“A ride on the railroad is truly a unique experience that takes passengers back in time, while enjoying some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the Commonwealth," state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, said in a statement. “We are concerned by the latest turn of events and are hopeful of a resolution in the coming weeks as we look at the big picture and how losing the railway impacts our regional economy.
“My office will be working to try to bring all parties together to find a solution to the issues involved so we can keep the trains running in Jim Thorpe for all to enjoy for many more years to come.”
That possibility wasn't looking good Friday, as Reading & Northern announced 2019 Christmas train rides beginning Nov. 30 in Berks and Schuylkill counties.
Reading & Northern said it was pleased to add the new stops and notes it’s been “overwhelmed by the support from people throughout the region, including residents and merchants in Jim Thorpe” after terminating its relationship with the borough “due to the lack of support (from) Borough management.”
The borough's tax collector, Bangor-based Berkheimer, sued the train operator last month seeking nearly $100,000 in back amusement taxes for 2016 through 2018. The train operator says it's in the freight, not amusement, business and shouldn't have to pay the tax.
Borough Council President Greg Strubinger said he’s surprised by the railway’s claims that no agreement could be reached on the tax or the amount owed, and that the two sides never met to discuss any terms of how to move forward from the dispute. He said the borough believes the amusement tax does apply to the railway, but says officials didn’t push the issue until this year over fears of just what happened -- that the railway operator would decide to pack up and leave.
"We just decided to take it to a formal process," he told lehighvalleylive.com. "It's kind of unfortunate that it's gotten to this point.
“Once things get out in a public way and statements are misinterpreted, that’s why we were trying to get a sit-down to see where everyone was at with it and what we could do to come to a resolution that’s agreeable to everyone. But that’s hasn’t happened -- yet.”
Borough officials last week agreed to an extension until Dec. 2 on the amount owed and are prepared to meet as early as next week, despite the final tone of railway's announcement Wednesday it was moving on.
Reading & Northern owner and CEO Andy Muller Jr. stated Friday: “The goal of our passenger program was always about bringing joy and happiness to the communities, the riders, our employees and our company. People don’t realize how expensive it is to maintain and replace engines and passenger coaches.
"When we look at all of the costs of running our passenger operation we understand that we are not in the business to make money; we do it because it’s a labor of love. If we can’t have fun doing it, we have decided not to do it."
Ava and Tristan Tate, children of Easton resident Krista Tate, enjoy the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway Santa Train out of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com
Area residents, meanwhile, reached out to lehighvalleylive.com this week about what the train ride in Jim Thorpe has meant to them and their families.
"This is so heartbreaking as we have spent many years visiting Thorpe from Easton," Krista Tate wrote in an email. "We have even done the open air cart. The train provides a special culture and history for my children. Along with the beautiful scenery, it has made my family happy and has been a holiday tradition for years now. It's so sad to see money get in the way of something so special to a lot of people. Will be missing the great experience this holiday season."
George and Annette Ricciuti Forman, of Marlton, New Jersey, wondered if this is a "goose that laid a golden egg" moment for the borough.
"So sorry to hear about the train ride," George Forman wrote in an email. "My wife and I were in Jim Thorpe at Christmas time last year and thoroughly enjoyed the festive mood in town AND on the train.
"Hope there is a resolution to this issue. The train ride IS a draw for us."
Gina Ingrassia lives in Lansford, a couple of towns over Jim Thorpe's picturesque setting along the Lehigh River in the foothills of Pennsylvania coal country. Her grandson, Angelo "Geo" Ingrassia, turns 4 in November, and the family's been looking forward to taking him on his first train ride there. He learned of the closure while watching the TV news with his mom Wednesday night.
"'Gramma they can't take the train, what can we do about it,'" Gina Ingrassia said Geo told her on the way to preschool Thursday. She would like to organize a show of support for the railway, maybe holding up signs saying they're appreciated. Maybe the railway would work with local schools on field trips aboard the trains, she said, or offer discount tickets so more students could experience it while providing revenue for the operator.
"It really shouldn't be pursued as an amusement tax," she said. "It really should be pursued as the history of these kids, the coal history."
Strubinger, from Jim Thorpe Borough Council, struck back at the railway's claims earlier this week that “Jim Thorpe Borough government has done NOTHING to assist the railroads” during 15 years of train rides that have “brought over a million people to Jim Thorpe.”
The amusement tax that could be tacked onto ticket sales is designed to offset the cost to taxpayers of police providing traffic control and manning crosswalks across Route 209 separating the county parking lot and passenger rail station from the shops, restaurants and other attractions in Jim Thorpe's downtown, he said.
"That's the purpose, I think, of the amusement tax," he said, adding later: "So that's what the borough's doing for the railroad. That's our responsibility, to make sure that the people coming into the downtown are safe.
"We have a pretty hefty police budget and very professional police department, which does a great job, but that comes at a cost. That's what it's going to."
2019 Santa Train schedule
Reading & Northern said Friday its 2019 Santa Train schedule will be as follows:
- Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 23 and 24: Reading Outer Station.
- Nov. 30 and Dec. 1: Minersville Station.
- Dec. 7 and 8: Schuylkill Haven Station.
- Dec. 14 and 15: Tunkhannock.
- Dec. 21 and 22: Pottsville Union Station.
Trains depart all locations at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. for a 70-to-80-minute round-trip.
All Santa Claus Special Train rides are $15 per adult, $9 per child ages 3 to 12, and children 2 and under are free. Call the Reading & Northern Passenger Office at 610-562-2102 for more information or to purchase tickets in advance.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.