Gift Shop
WK&S gift shop around 2004.
The WK&S gift shop, formally know as the "Rigelweg Gift Shop", is yet another original Reading station that was relocated here in 1963. The station came from West Catasauqua, PA along the Reading Company's Catasauqua and Fogelsville Branch. WK&S crews cut the building into several pieces and trucked it to its present location. I believe "rigelweg" is the Pennsylvania Dutch word for railway. The picture above and the one below show the gift shop around 2004. The brick walkway was added beginning in 2000. The bricks were slowly extended from the station toward the refreshment stand and around to the restrooms. The shed next to the gift shop is the pump house and contains plumbing equipment for the railroad's well. The original pump house was a small Reading watchman's shanty. The current pump house shown here was built around 1981. In addition to well equipment it also includes a small water heater and a sink and shower for volunteer use.
WK&S gift shop around 2004.
Here's early view of the new WK&S gift shop. It's a barren scene without the shrubs and landscaping seen in the top two photos.
An view inside the gift shop from around 2004.
An older view of the gift shop showing the potbelly stove that was removed in 1995. Also note the model train on track encircling the room.
The 3-rail track encircling the gift shop has existed since I don't know when. It was disused for decades, but revamped in 2013 as shown.
Below is how the building looked in its original capacity as the Reading Company's Catasauqua freight station in West Catasauqua, PA. This view looks north across the Lehigh Valley Railroad's four-track main. The crossing track is the Lehigh & New England. Later the Reading station would be moved around the bend to the left, closer to the Reading yard tracks.
View of the Reading Company's Catasauqua freight station in its original location.