GROWING CONNECTION
Officials break ground on new Steel River Train Station
POTTSTOWN >> Saturday marked the beginning of a new era for Pottstown as the area celebrated the groundbreaking for the Colebrookdale Railroad’s new Steel River Train Station.
A crowd formed in Memorial Park Saturday morning to welcome the beginning phases of the new train station that will soon be situated along the park. The project has been a long time in the making and is expected to not only connect Berks and Montgomery counties, but bring a wave of new tourism traffic to the area.
“This isn’t about a county, this isn’t about politics. This is about a vision and a community,” said Berks County Commissioners’ Chairman Christian Leinbach. “Connections are growing, folks. We not only connected here, we’ve connected with every state in the United States because they’re realizing the Colebrookdale Railroad is the railroad every railroad enthusiast wants to visit.”
The Colebrookdale’s Multimodal Station in Memorial Park connects the railroad to Memorial Park, the Carousel at Pottstown, Manatawny Green MiniGolf and Pottsgrove Manor, and includes a bus station served by Pottstown Area Rapid Transit.
All those attractions are part of Pottstown’s Tourism and Recreation District.
“I love, we love, Montco loves this project. Tourists love this project. Right now Montgomery County is exploring growth like you can’t believe with international tourism because of
our trails, over 100 miles of trails, because of our shopping, experiential things like this,” said Mike Bowman, president and CEO of Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board.
The station will also eventually include a connection to the regional trail network and bike access facilities as well as restrooms for community events held in Memorial Park.
Grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Multimodal Transportation Fund, the County of Montgomery, the County of Berks, and the Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation match generous contributions from the Scott and Susan Bentley Fund, Carl and Sylvia Landis, and Peggy Whittaker in support of the Station project.
“I want to especially recognize the elected officials who are here today,” said Nathaniel Guest, executive director of the Colebrookdale Railroad. “It was their pioneering spirit that landed the very first grant that made the station that we break ground for today possible.”
Guests at Saturday’s groundbreaking heard from several speakers including Pottstown Borough Council Member Daniel Weand, Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh, Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence, State Sen. Bob Mensch, State Rep. Tim Hennessey, State Rep. David Maloney, State Rep. Marcy Toepel, Berks County Commissioners’ Chairman Christian Leinbach and President and CEO of Valley Forge Tourism Mike Bowman.
Each remarked on the positive impact the station is expected to make in both Berks and Montgomery counties and on the teamwork it took to accomplish it.
“One of the very first things that I did when I became a Montgomery County Commissioner back in 2015 was come out to Pottstown with a check for $250,000 for the Colebrookdale Railroad. It was part of an economic development grant that foresaw all that this could become so it’s particularly happy for me to be here today for this next really tangible step, which is to get this station built,” said Valerie Arkoosh, chairwoman of the Montgomery County Commissioners.
Following remarks, community leaders each took a turn placing their shovel into the grounds of the new station wearing Colebrookdale Railroad hard hats.
Pottstown Borough Manager Justin Keller was then joined by Boyertown Mayor Marianne Deery in mixing the soil at Pottstown’s new station with soil from Boyertown as a gesture of good luck in connecting the two counties.
“It serves not just as a building useful to the borough of Pottstown or a building usable to Colebrookdale Railroad. It serves as a beacon of hope, proof that remarkable things can happen when you work together. Thank you, Colebrookdale Railroad, for picking Pottstown,” said Pottstown Borough Manager Justin Keller.