A view and a brew: Reading and Northern Railroad launches coffee brand

The hum of a locomotive will soon be paired with the aroma of coffee.

Port Clinton-based Reading & Northern Railroad - which serves customers throughout Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill and Wyoming counties - welcomed more than 410,000 passengers in 2025 and recently announced a partnership with Berks County-based Firehouse Coffee to offer riders an added perk, starting May 22, officials said.

"We're going to have a tasting tent set up in Jim Thorpe, and we'll have it available at our location there," said Russ Scianna Jr., administrative director for Reading & Northern Railroad's passenger department. "Eventually, the idea is to roll it out to all the passenger trains we operate."

Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns almost 2,000 freight cars and employs more than 400 people, officials added.

Scianna noted the process to develop a signature coffee started around the beginning of the year.

"The idea was born in-house from coffee enthusiasts who work here," he said. "They thought it would be neat to have a coffee exclusive to our railroad."

Thus, Iron Horse Coffee Company was born.

"We operate steam train trips that we call Iron Horse Rambles - which is a phrase that dates back to the days of the old Reading Company," Scianna said. "They operated steam-powered passenger trips in the 1960s, to various places, mostly in the coal regions."

In 2022, Reading & Northern restored to operation one of the steam locomotives previously used on those trips, Scianna said.

Described as distinctive, satisfying and easy to enjoy, railroad officials noted the Colombian coffee features a "clean brightness upfront which unfolds into a smooth, medium body layered with notes of chocolate and toffee before finishing with a soft touch of vanilla."

Iron Horse will also offer a decaffeinated option along with seasonal offerings that will rotate throughout the year, officials added.

This isn't Reading & Northern's first foray into the food and beverage world.

"We have all-day excursion trains that go from Reading and Pittston to Jim Thorpe on the weekends, and we always have snacks and beverages available on those," Scianna said. "And the idea came along a couple years ago to start a little cafe area on our Lehigh Gorge train, which runs pretty much daily, except for the winter months. From that came the idea to have a full-blown cafe car at Jim Thorpe. The popularity of the cafe, more or less, spurred us to look at trying some new things such as (coffee)."

Mike Adams, owner of Berks County-based Firehouse Coffee, expressed excitement about the collaboration with Reading & Northern.

"They wanted a quality product and we created their own blends," he said. "I think it's just about a quality cup of coffee to offer the tourists and people in that area for their experience on the railroad. They had a target of what they wanted and I worked with them to get the cup they were looking for."

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