There was once a time when railroads were the primary means of transportation in Central Pennsylvania. People routinely rode trains to work, shop and visit family and friends. In addition, freight trains carried goods to local citizens from far and wide and shipped local agricultural and manufactured products to outside markets. It was a unique feature that the three major railroads (Pennsylvania, Reading and New York Central) all operated in our region. Not only did many people travel by train, but railroads were one of the largest employers of men and women in America. There is a good chance that one of your ancestors worked on the railroad!

This BILL course will delve into the history of railroading in our area through the human stories that the course leader has discovered through his research for the Union County Historical Society. The research has led to three books published (or to be published in the case of the third book) by the UCHS under the general title of Railroads and Railroaders. The stories of human interactions between humans and the large and powerful machines that they controlled (most of the time) will be told through descriptive presentations. They will serve as lead-ins to historical information given for the particular railroads involved in the stories. The course will be given in a lecture format with times devoted to questions and discussion. In addition, perhaps some of the stories will trigger memories for class members of train trips taken in years gone by.

There are no required texts for this course.