Dan Christ is an artist local to Kempton, Pennsylvania. He specializes in wildlife paintings, but took some time out to paint a few scenes along the WK&S. These historic paintings depict the area during the early half of the twentieth century.

Of course the WK&S didn't exist back then. The paintings depict a time when the railroad was operated by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
(see WK&S History).

I own a print of both the paintings shown on this page. The work is outstanding. But beyond the artistry, it's interesting to compare these paintings with modern photographs of the same scenes. Not much has changed around here over the last one hundred years or so. This timelessness is a big part of the WK&S's charm.

Consider the two images below showing the town of Kempton, the painting and a modern photograph. The scene is from the middle of town looking north. The train is headed south toward the city of Reading. The station no longer exists, but look at the rest of the buildings and other details. The town looks much the same. The current WK&S station and yard complex is located right up the tracks on the north side of town. WK&S trains usually do not operate south into town.

The next three images depict the small town of Trexler, about a half a mile north of Kempton. Again looking north, the train is heading south toward Kempton and then on to Reading. As with Kempton, the Trexler station (to the right of the steam locomotive) no longer exists, but everything else looks about the same. In 2001 Trexler was voted onto the registry of National Historic Districts. The log home to the left of the train dates to the late 1700s. The Grain & Feed Warehouse behind the box cars is now home to the Albay Township Historical Society. For more information on Trexler and surrounding Albany Township, take a look at their web site.

For more information on Dan Christ's paintings, check out his web site: