On Saturday, June 13, the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum hosted “Rails Go Bragh” to celebrate the contribution of Irish workers to the Reading Railroad. Volunteers, sporting festive green top hats, greeted visitors to the event at the museum on Third Street in Hamburg.
Though largely an outdoor event, several options were available inside the museum. Displays highlighted local and national railroad history and the role of immigrant groups including the Irish, Italian, Welsh and Polish. Periodically, screenings of a 15-minute film, “The Reading Railroad Shaped Communities” were offered in a side room. The film explored the history of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in the area and its impact on families, culture, energy usage and the economy.
Equipment on display included information on how each was used, and visitors to “Rails Go Bragh” were also invited to the “build a track” interactive station. Outdoors, a museum volunteer laid actual track on one edge of the property. As he worked, he noted that “all this work was done by hand. Men would be cutting timber ahead of crews laying the lines.”
Nearby, guests were invited to explore an original and unmodified 1936 caboose. Painted a traditional red, the railroad car held a kitchen area with water tanks, small sink and a round, cast-iron stove; a desk complete with a lamp and organizing cubbies; built-in cabinets to stow gear and in the rear, two sets of bunk beds. “A crew had everything they needed to live,” another volunteer informed one boy, before smiling and asking, “but do you see what is missing?” (The answer: a bathroom. Railroad workers had to make do, he explained, without one).
Entertainment options emphasized Irish heritage and included storytelling by Larry Roeder and Jim Brazel, step dancing by the Broesler School of Irish Dance and music by groups Irish Mist and Shanachians. Keegan Loesel played on uilleann pipes and whistles while his sister, Aislinn Loesel, demonstrated an old style of Irish dancing, “sean nos.”
“This is very low to the ground,” she explained to the crowd about the dancing, which would typically be seen at home parties or barn dances. “It’s rhythm based and anyone can do it. You kind of make it up as you go.”
Visitors were invited to register for door prizes, including gift cards, a decorative garden shamrock and Reading Line merchandise. During the event, memberships to the railroad museum were offered at half-price. Concessions were sold, but a big draw was a free tasting menu of traditional Irish foods (savory lamb stew, tasty bangers and mash, tender soda bread) offered by Ganly’s Irish Pub, Sinking Spring, Flanigan’s Pub, Shillington, and Bally Hotel, Bally.
While “Rails Go Brach” was a special event, the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. For details on museum activities and special events, or to arrange a group tour, call (610.562,5513), click (www.readingrailroad.org) or visit them at 500 South Third Street, Hamburg.
