Lehigh Gorge Scenic Shutting Down...Not

[Blazeman]

Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway to end Jim Thorpe rides over tax dispute
3
Shares
 Share Tweet Share Email Share


The decision to cease train rides out of Jim Thorpe stemmed from the Borough Council's efforts to collect an "amusement tax" from the railroad.
Photo – lgsry.com

advertisement

A tax dispute with the local government has prompted the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway (LGSR) to end passenger train rides out of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

LGSR officials announced yesterday that Andy Muller Jr., president and chief executive officer of the LGSR and its sister railroad and operator Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (RBMN), has decided to end the passenger rides out of the community starting in late November.

Muller's decision followed the Jim Thorpe Borough Council's efforts to collect an "amusement tax" from the railroad. After railroad officials — who say the railroad is not an "amusement" — declined to pay the tax, the council sued to recover close to $100,000 in alleged back taxes for 2016-2018, LGSR officials said in a press release.

The LGSR began offering passenger rides out of Jim Thorpe 15 years ago. The railroad invested "hundreds of thousands of dollars in facilities and equipment, including its open air cars and its bike train," LGSR officials said.

As a result of the tax dispute, the Borough Council and the local mayor have made "false and misleading" statements about the two railroads and Muller, LGSR officials said.

"RBMN is a freight business. That is where we make our money," Muller said in the press release. "I have offered passenger excursion rides to local communities as a way of thanking them for their support over the years and to educate young and old in the glorious role railroads in this region played in our country’s industrial revolution."

But because the local government has not been supportive of the railroad, "I have decided to focus our energies on communities that want to work with the railroads," Muller said.

The decision will not affect RBMN passenger operations from other locations to Jim Thorpe, with a new schedule to come later, railroad officials said.

[Blazeman]

Update:

Reading & Northern Railroad announced that it has resolved its amusement tax dispute with Jim Thorpe and will resume passenger rail service to/from Jim Thorpe this spring. The first train trips will be at Winterfest this coming Saturday.
During discussions over the last three months the railroad advised borough officials about its efforts to support the development of tourism in Jim Thorpe and Carbon County.
Reading & Northern said in a press release that it spent over $50,000 a year on advertising and brochures promoting Jim Thorpe and Carbon County.
“As a result of those efforts, and the investments made by the railroad in its passenger fleet and services, over 200,000 people visited Jim Thorpe to see and ride the railroad. The result of these investments has benefited the merchants and citizens of Jim Thorpe and Carbon County.”
“We are pleased to resume service to and from Jim Thorpe and put the amusement tax issue behind us.
“We have consistently stated that we are not now, and have never been, an amusement. Reading & Northern is regulated strictly by the federal government’s Federal Railroad Administration.
Andy Muller, Jr., owner/CEO of Reading & Northern Railroad, said in the release, “The FRA regulates our track, our engines, our rolling stock and our engineers and conductors. We take railroading very seriously. While we are primarily a freight railroad, handling a record-breaking 34,000 carloads last year, we love to provide passenger trips to the communities we serve. It is our way of paying back to our region by sharing our love of railroading with old and young alike.
Muller added, “We are delighted that the borough leadership has decided to work with us on continuing our tradition of bringing visitors to Jim Thorpe and offering train rides sharing the history of Jim Thorpe and the region to people from all over the country.”
Reading & Northern will announce its forthcoming passenger schedule in the near future. For more information visit at www.rbmnrr-passenger.com.