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78-958: The Wilson School District serves students from the communities of Spring, West Lawn, Sinking Spring, Lower Heidelberg, and the Berkshire Heights section of Wyomissing , and is located in West Lawn, Pennsylvania . The district operates five elementary schools (Whitfield, Cornwall Terrace, Shiloh Hills, Green Valley, Spring Ridge), two middle schools (Wilson West Middle School, Wilson Southern Middle School), and Wilson High School . Wilson operates 73 vehicles. This includes 49 72 passenger school buses; 2 48 passenger wheel chair accessible school buses; 2 39 passenger wheel chair accessible school buses; 5 mini school buses that carry between 28 and 29 passengers; 5 wheel chair accessible mini school buses that carry between 22 and 24 passengers; and 10 9 passenger school vans. Wyomissing, Pennsylvania The borough

156-480: A borough government. Eventually petitions were filed with the courts for the establishment of a borough, signed by 61 resident property owners and 39 non-resident property owners. On July 2, 1906, the court issued the final decree of the incorporation of the Borough of Wyomissing. Between 1906 and the 1940s, several additional tracts of land were annexed to the borough from Spring and Cumru townships. However, 1949–1950 saw

234-530: A female householder with no husband present, and 37.6 percent were non-families. 34.1 percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.7 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.88. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 18.2 percent under the age of 18, 12.6 percent from 18 to 24, 17.6 percent from 25 to 44, 22.7 percent from 45 to 64, and 28.8 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

312-458: A former Bed Bath & Beyond store. This is the company's first store in Berks County. As of the 2000 census, there were 8,587 people, 3,359 households, and 2,096 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,246.0 inhabitants per square mile (867.2/km ). There were 3,539 housing units at an average density of 925.7 per square mile (357.4/km ). The racial makeup of the borough

390-615: A freight branch from West Falls to Port Richmond on the Delaware River north of downtown Philadelphia opened. Port Richmond later became a very large coal terminal. On January 1, 1851, the Belmont Plane on the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, just west of the Reading's connection, was abandoned in favor of a new bypass, and the portion of the line east of it was sold to the Reading,

468-520: A machine shop. In 1902, the Reading Shops were materially expanded and overhauled into new property on the north side along the Reading yards and North 6th Street, facilitating the maintenance and construction of a greater locomotive and rolling stock fleet. The shops were completed four years later; with their imposing brick architecture, they were among the largest railroad shops in the US. Unlike most railroads,

546-505: A speed record. It ran the 55.5 miles in 43 minutes at an average speed of 77.4 mph. The 29.3 miles between Winslow Jct and Meadows Tower (outside of Atlantic City) were covered in 20 minutes at a speed of 87.9 mph. During the short segment between Egg Harbor and Brigantine Junction, the train was reported to have reached 115 mph. The Reading operated an extensive commuter network out of Reading Terminal in Philadelphia . In

624-550: A western tract, which were divided by a northwesterly line in the vicinity of Lake Avenue. One of the earliest industries in the area was the Evans Grist Mill. This building still stands at the corner of Old Mill Road and Old Wyomissing Road. In 1896, present-day Wyomissing began to take form when Reading lumber dealer Thomas P. Merritt acquired 600 acres (240 ha). Albert Thalheimer, David H. Keiser, Marthias Mengel, and Levi Walter Mengel joined Thomas R. Merrit in organizing

702-529: Is 7a, bordering on 6b. The original inhabitants of Wyomissing are Lenape Native Americans, who lived along the banks of Wyomissing Creek. The name Wyomissing is from the Delaware language , meaning "peaceful/long fish/pike". Much of Berks County was transferred from the Native Americans to William Penn in 1685. Title to the land that much of Wyomissing is built upon was in two parcels, an eastern tract and

780-613: Is a first-class borough with a council-manager form of government . The manager is Pat Brandenburg. The council consists of nine members and elects a mayor from its ranks, who is Fred Levering. The following legislators represent the borough: As of 2019, there were 59.90 miles (96.40 km) of public roads in Wyomissing, of which 9.01 miles (14.50 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 50.89 miles (81.90 km) were maintained by

858-673: Is land and 0.019 square miles (0.05 km ), or 0.47 percent, is water. In the vicinity of the Knitting Mills, formerly the Vanity Fair complex, average monthly temperatures range from 30.6 °F in January to 75.9 °F in July. The climate locally and in the surrounding area is classified by the Köppen climate classification system as hot-summer humid continental ( Dfa ). The local hardiness zone

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936-479: Is recognized as a Tree City USA and selected as a "Contender" for the best places to live in Pennsylvania by Money magazine. Wyomissing is located in central Berks County at 40°19′58″N 75°57′53″W  /  40.33278°N 75.96472°W  / 40.33278; -75.96472 (40.332742, −75.964603). It is bordered by the city of Reading to the northeast and southeast, by West Reading directly to

1014-734: The Central New England Railway and the Boston and Maine Railroad . Amid the turmoil of the Panic of 1893, Joseph Smith Harris was elected president. Under his leadership, the Reading Company was formed and the P&;R was absorbed into it on November 30. Also in 1893, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad built its most famous structure, Reading Terminal in Philadelphia, which served as the terminus for most of its Philadelphia-bound trains, and also

1092-766: The Columbia Bridge and onto the city-owned City Railroad to a depot at the southeast corner of Broad and Cherry Streets in Center City Philadelphia . An extension northwest from Reading to Mount Carbon , also on the Schuylkill River, opened on January 13, 1842, allowing the railroad to compete with the Schuylkill Canal . At Mount Carbon, it connected with the earlier Mount Carbon Railroad , continuing through Pottsville to several mines, and would eventually be extended to Williamsport . On May 17, 1842,

1170-474: The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company . The company's heavy investment in anthracite coal paid off quickly. By 1871, the Reading was the largest company in the world with $ 170,000,000 in market capitalization (equal to $ 4,323,666,667 today). It may have been the first conglomerate in the world. In 1879, the Reading gained control of the North Pennsylvania Railroad , which provided access to

1248-499: The Lehigh Valley Railroad , Central Railroad of New Jersey , and the Boston and Maine Railroad . The Reading almost achieved its goal of becoming a trunk railroad, but the deal was scuttled by J. P. Morgan and other rail barons who did not want more competition in the northeastern railroad business. The Reading was relegated to being a regional railroad for the rest of its history. The Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road

1326-621: The Reading Railroad and logotyped as Reading Lines , the Reading Company was a railroad holding company for most of its existence, and a single railroad in its later years. It operated service as Reading Railway System and was a successor to the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company , founded in 1833. Until the decline in anthracite shipments from the Coal Region in Northeastern Pennsylvania following World War II , it

1404-562: The 1870s, it still was a very profitable and important railroad. From the turn of the 20th century to the outbreak of World War I, the Reading was among the most modern and efficient railroads. In keeping with the standards of much larger railroads, The Reading embarked on many improvement projects which typically were not attempted by smaller railroads. This included triple and quadruple tracking many of its major routes, improving signaling and track quality , as well as expanding system capacity and station facilities. The Reading invested in

1482-422: The 1990s, companies and corporations relocated from the city to newer, Class A office space in the borough. In addition to a suburban layout, the greater Wyomissing area is at the crossroads of U.S. Routes 422 and 222 , providing immediate highway access to the rest of the greater Philadelphia and Berks County region. Several large corporations are headquartered in Wyomissing, including Penn Entertainment ,

1560-496: The 2102 is in active tourist service with the Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad . The Reading built or bought numerous smaller 4-4-0s , 2-8-0s and switchers for its fleet. The Reading Company did not operate extensive long-distance passenger train service, but it did field several named trains, most famous of which was the streamlined Crusader , which connected Philadelphia and Jersey City, New Jersey . Other trains in

1638-651: The British precedent, but in December 1871 the P&R replaced all the names with numbers. The Port Kennedy Railroad, a short branch to quarries at Port Kennedy , was leased in 1870. Also that year, the Reading leased the Pickering Valley Railroad , a branch running west from Phoenixville to Byers, Pennsylvania, which opened in 1871. On December 1, 1870, the Reading leased the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad , thereby gaining that company's route along

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1716-506: The C&;A for 24 years, they established the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway (P&AC) on March 24, 1876. A 3-foot-6-inch narrow gauge was selected because it would lower track laying and operating costs. Work began in April 1877, and the track work was completed in a remarkable 90 days. On July 7, 1877, the final spike was driven and the 54.67 miles (87.98 km) line was opened in time for

1794-611: The Central Railroad of New Jersey. The Reading eventually bought a majority of the CNJ's stock in 1901. On April 1, 1889, the Philadelphia and Reading Railway consolidated the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway, Williamstown & Delaware River Railroad, Glassboro Railroad , Camden, Gloucester and Mt. Ephraim Railway , and the Kaighn's Point Terminal Railroad in southern New Jersey into The Atlantic City Railroad . The Port Reading Railroad

1872-464: The First World War with the release of the Reading from government control, they decided to streamline their corporate structure. For twenty years the Reading Company, the holding company created for the P&R and the P&R Coal and Iron Company, only controlled the P&R after the sale of the P&R Coal and Iron Company. To simplify corporate structure, the P&R ceased operation in 1924 and

1950-618: The P&R main line on the west (south) bank of the river with the Manayunk/Norristown Line on the opposite side, allowing passenger service to Norristown and a bypass of the old main line, known as the West Side Freight line. The Ninth Street Branch —the main thoroughfare into Reading Terminal—was also improved. Between 1907 and 1914 the old double-track and street-level route was replaced by an elevated quadruple-track route that offered greater capacity and safety. In 1901,

2028-584: The Pennsylvania Railroad's United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company . At the New York end, it used the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Jersey City Terminal from which passengers could board ferries to Liberty Street Ferry Terminal , Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal , and West 23rd Street in Lower Manhattan . The Reading Terminal opened in Philadelphia in 1893. On May 29 the Reading leased

2106-563: The Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh branch, or PH&P to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania where trains connected with the Western Maryland Railroad to continue westward. This route became known as the Crossline, and the Reading started to pool locomotive power between its connecting railroads to provide a more seamless transfer of freight and passengers. Even though the Reading was never again to regain its powerful position of

2184-483: The Reading Shops were able to fabricate locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars in addition to regular overhauls and repairs. The locomotive department employed an average of 2,000 workers, featuring a machine shop containing 70 erecting pits, while the car department employed an additional 1,000. Other car shops were kept busy at Wayne Junction (Philadelphia), St. Clair/Pottsville, Tamaqua, Newberry Junction (Williamsport), and Rutherford, outside of Harrisburg. Most of

2262-715: The Reading Suburban Real Estate Company. Shortly afterwards Wyomissing Industries, manufacturer of textile machinery, was established by the firm of Thun and Janssen along the Reading Railroad just west of Van Reed Road (today named Park Road). Ferdinand Thun, Henry K Janssen, and Gustav Oberlaender became known as "The Big Three of Wyomissing Industries. Wyomissing Industries comprised Narrow Fabric Co., Textile Machine Works and Berkshire Knitting Mills. This spurred development, and soon there were many developers working to build Wyomissing. In 1904 and 1905, Thun and Janssen called town meetings to discuss setting up

2340-517: The Reading and ensured track rights over the Reading and Central New Jersey to Jersey City . To the north, the New York Short Line was completed in 1906, and was a cut-off for New York City-bound trains through freights and the Baltimore and Ohio's Royal Blue . The first locomotive and car repair shops were built in 1850 at Reading, Pennsylvania , consisting of two enclosed roundhouses and

2418-523: The Reading established a subsidiary, the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company , which set about buying anthracite coal mines throughout the Coal Region. This vertical expansion gave the P&R almost full control of the region's anthracite coal market, including both its mining and transport, allowing it to compete successfully with competitors such as the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company and

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2496-544: The Reading gained a controlling interest in the Central Railroad of New Jersey, allowing the Reading to offer seamless, one-seat rides from Reading Terminal in Philadelphia to the Central New Jersey's Jersey City Communipaw Terminal by way of Bound Brook onto the Central New Jersey mainline. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was also looking for access to the New York City market, and in 1903 it gained control over

2574-718: The Reading looked at dropping the mail and in 1961 notified the government that it intended to stop mail service on its passenger trains. On July 1, 1963, the post office let them out of the contracts, which were valued at $ 2,137,000, equal to $ 21,267,796 today, and the railroad switched to Budd RDC self-propelled cars, instead of locomotive hauled passenger trains, to save money. Camden-Atlantic City speed: On July 20, 1904, regularly-scheduled train no. 25, running from Kaighn's Point in Camden, New Jersey to Atlantic City with Philadelphia and Reading Railway class P-4c 4-4-2 (Atlantic class cab over boiler) locomotive No.334 and 5 passenger cars, set

2652-458: The Reading's motive power fleet. The M1s were the first Reading locomotives to include a trailing truck, and the first engine with the cab behind the Wootten firebox . Engines with the name "lessor" in its title meant some steam power was owned by a second party and leased to the P&R. The G1s were the first Reading passenger locomotives with three-coupled driving wheels . Between 1945 and 1947,

2730-530: The Schuylkill River Valley and extended westward and north along the Susquehanna River into the southern portion of the Coal Region. In Philadelphia, the Reading built Port Richmond , the self-proclaimed "largest privately-owned railroad tidewater terminal in the world", which burnished the P&R's bottom lines by allowing anthracite coal to be loaded onto ships and barges for export. In 1871,

2808-617: The Warren Street Bypass toward the northern part of Reading and Pricetown . U.S. Route 422 Business passes through the center of Wyomissing on Penn Avenue, beginning at US 222/US 422 before heading east to West Reading and the central part of Reading. Other notable local roads in Wyomissing include Park Road, Paper Mill Road, State Hill Road, and Wyomissing Boulevard. Wyomissing is served by multiple Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (BARTA) bus routes including 12, 14, 15, and 16, which serve residential and business areas in

2886-675: The Western Berks Water Authority. Wyomissing Hills receives water from Pennsylvania American Water , a subsidiary of American Water . Sewer service in Wyomissing is provided by the borough's Public Works Department. The borough provides trash and recycling collection for residences. Reading Company The Reading Company ( / ˈ r ɛ d ɪ ŋ / RED -ing ) was a Philadelphia -headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called

2964-654: The borough and connect the borough to the BARTA Transportation Center in Reading and other points in Berks County. Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) operates freight trains through Wyomissing. The borough is home to the Wyomissing Junction between the Harrisburg Line running from Harrisburg to Philadelphia and the Reading Line running from Wyomissing to Bethlehem . Wyomissing was proposed to be

3042-605: The borough is served by the Wilson School District . There are several Catholic schools just outside Wyomissing that serve area students. Among them are St. Ignatius Loyola (K–8) in Spring Township and Sacred Heart (K–8) in West Reading. As of the fall of 2011, the newly formed Berks Catholic High School at 955 E Wyomissing Blvd in Reading (formerly Holy Name High School) serves students in grades 9–12. Wyomissing

3120-635: The borough. Wyomissing is located at the junction of U.S. Route 222 and U.S. Route 422 , which pass concurrent through the borough on the Warren Street Bypass freeway. US 222 heads south as a freeway toward Lancaster and north as a freeway toward Allentown while US 422 heads west on Penn Avenue toward Lebanon and east on the West Shore Bypass freeway toward the central part of Reading and Pottstown . Pennsylvania Route 12 begins at US 222/US 422 in Wyomissing and continues northeast along

3198-761: The burgeoning steel industry in the Lehigh Valley . The Reading further expanded its coal empire into New York City by gaining control of the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad in 1879, and building the Port Reading Branch in 1892 with a line from Port Reading Junction to Port Reading, New Jersey on the Arthur Kill . This allowed direct delivery of coal to industries to the Port of New York and New Jersey in North Jersey and New York City by rail and barge instead of

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3276-424: The city. After the militia and Coal and Iron Police went to retrieve a train carrying coal that was blocked in a railroad cut, they fired on rioters and protesters, killing at least 10 and wounding more than 40. After the Panic of 1893, and the failure of Archibald A. McLeod's efforts to turn the Reading into a major trunk line , the Reading was forced to reorganize under suspicions of monopoly . The Reading Company

3354-529: The company took 30 class I-10 2-8-0 locomotives and rebuilt them at the 6th Street facility into the modern T1 class 4-8-4 locomotives for 6 million dollars. This was a move to offset the fact that EMD FT diesel locomotives (the first choice of Reading management) were very hard to obtain, but the Reading needed faster, up-to-date modern power. The steamers never ran long enough to pay back this major investment, and had some major problems, but it did keep men employed. As of 2023, four examples have survived, and

3432-569: The company's headquarters. On July 22, 1877, after the crushing of strikes and unions by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway , and following in the path of the Great Railroad Strikes of 1877 , vandalism of the Reading's financial interests in Reading, Pennsylvania began. The subsidiary that owned mining interests in the area, the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, not the government, called up militia and Coal and Iron Police to put down riots and protests that had broken out in

3510-585: The construction of new cut-offs, bypasses and connections, much like the Pennsylvania Railroad's low-grade lines and the Lackawanna Cut-off . The completion of the Reading belt line in 1902, a 7.2-mile westerly bypass of downtown Reading, alleviated the heavy rail congestion in the busy city. In Bridgeport, a new bridge was constructed over the Schuylkill River in 1903. The bridge connected

3588-454: The early 1990s. This includes the area now called "Woodmill Commons". In 2002, Wyomissing merged with its smaller neighbor, Wyomissing Hills. Wyomissing is a thriving commercial office and retail center, in large part due to its proximity to Reading and its highway access. The Berkshire Mall is located in Wyomissing along with several other large shopping centers with their retail giants and restaurants. As crime soared in Reading throughout

3666-850: The east bank of the Schuylkill from Philadelphia to Norristown , as well as its branch to Chestnut Hill. In 1873, the P&R extended its reach southward by leasing 10.2 miles of track from the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad . Dubbed the Philadelphia & Chester Branch, the line extended from the Gray's Ferry Bridge across the Schuylkill River in West Philadelphia to Ridley Creek in Ridley Park in Delaware County . The segment included 4.9 miles of double track and 16.7 miles of single track, including sidings and turnouts. The segment

3744-457: The east, by the borough of Shillington and Cumru Township to the south, by Spring Township to the west and northwest, and by Bern Township to the north. From south to north, the west side of Wyomissing is bordered by the unincorporated communities of Montrose Manor , Lincoln Park , West Wyomissing , West Lawn , Whitfield , and Colony Park . Directly to the north, in Bern Township, is

3822-614: The existing NS line, with service terminating either at the Franklin Street Station in Reading or in Wyomissing. Electricity to most of Wyomissing is provided by PPL Corporation in Allentown ; with the Berkshire Heights portion of the borough receiving electricity from Met-Ed , a subsidiary of FirstEnergy . Natural gas service in Wyomissing is provided by UGI Utilities . The borough's Public Works Department provides water service to most of Wyomisisng, purchasing water from

3900-673: The expanding role of the Reading as a bridge route. This included its important role on the Alphabet Route , from Boston and New York City to Chicago with traffic from the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Central Railroad of New Jersey entering the Reading System in Allentown , traveling over the East Penn Branch to Reading , where trains then traveled west over the Lebanon Valley Branch to Harrisburg and then onward over

3978-471: The first time to compete directly with the Pennsylvania Railroad , which became its major rival. In 1859, the Reading leased the Chester Valley Railroad, providing a branch from Bridgeport west to Downingtown . It had formerly been operated by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad. A new Philadelphia terminal opened on December 24, 1859, at Broad and Callowhill Streets, north of

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4056-555: The fleet included the Harrisburg Special (between Jersey City and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ), King Coal (between Philadelphia and Shamokin, Pennsylvania ), North Penn (between Philadelphia and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania ), Queen of the Valley (between Jersey City and Harrisburg), Schuylkill (between Philadelphia and Pottsville, Pennsylvania ), and Wall Street (between Philadelphia and Jersey City). The Reading participated in

4134-650: The former Reading shops still stand today in non-railroad use. Larger steam locomotives were introduced to haul the increasing traffic, including the massive N1 class 2-8-8-2 (Chesapeake) Mallet , and Reading made one M1 class 2-8-2 freight hauler; Baldwin Locomotive Works built the rest. Big freight haulers were the massive K-1 2-10-2 locomotives; some were built in Reading from the Mallets; others were built by Baldwin. The G1 class 4-6-2 were passenger locomotives. These classes were an important break of tradition of

4212-462: The joint operation of The Interstate Express with the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, with service between Philadelphia and Syracuse, New York . Reading also offered through passenger car service with the Lehigh Valley Railroad via their connection at Bethlehem . Like most railroads, the Reading had contracts with the U.S. Post Office to haul and sort mail en route. After World War II ,

4290-428: The largest annexation, with the addition of the area north of the railroad tracts known as Berkshire Heights. This drastically changed the borough map. The borough evolved during this period from farmland to a large residential and commercial community. The last farmland worked in the borough was part of the Hartman Farm at the intersection of Woodland and Papermill roads. This land was sold into commercial development in

4368-552: The late 1920s, most of the suburban system was electrified (the first lines electrified were the Ninth Street Branch , New Hope Branch as far as the Hatboro station and extended to Warminster station in 1974, the Bethlehem Branch as far as Lansdale , the Doylestown Branch , and the New York Branch to West Trenton ). Reading ordered 150 electric multiple units from Bethlehem Steel which were supplemented by twenty unpowered coach trailers converted from existing coaches and electrified services began on July 26, 1931. After

4446-489: The line, along with some connecting track, its Philadelphia and Chester Branch; southbound trains reached it via the Junction Railroad , jointly controlled by PW&B, Reading, and PRR, and continued on to the connecting Chester and Delaware River Railroad. During 1875, four members of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad board of directors resigned to build a second railroad from Camden, New Jersey , to Atlantic City by way of Clementon . Led by Samuel Richards, an officer of

4524-526: The longer trip by ships from Port Richmond around Cape May . Instead of broadening its rail network, the Reading invested its vast wealth in anthracite and its transportation in the mid-19th century. In 1890, however, Reading president Archibald A. McLeod concluded that expanding the company's rail network and becoming a trunk railroad would prove more lucrative than anthracite mining. The following year, in 1891, McLeod began attempting to seize control of neighboring railroads and successfully gained control of

4602-399: The mines of the Coal Region in Northeastern Pennsylvania to Philadelphia . The original P&R mainline extended south from the mining town of Pottsville to Reading and then to Philadelphia. The right of way needed only gentle grading to follow the banks of the Schuylkill River for nearly all of the 93-mile (150-km) journey. From its founding in 1843, the original Reading mainline

4680-445: The old one at Cherry Street. The Reading and Columbia Railroad was chartered in 1857 to build from Reading southwest to Columbia on the Susquehanna River . It opened in 1864, using the Lebanon Valley Railroad from Sinking Spring east to Reading. The Reading leased it in 1870. The early Philadelphia and Reading Railroad named all of its locomotives with names such as Winona or Jefferson , as did most American railroads following in

4758-408: The only company that continued using the old route. The Lebanon Valley Railroad was chartered in 1836 to build from Reading west to Harrisburg . Reading financed the construction of the Rutherford Yard to compete with the PRR's nearby Enola Yard . The Reading took it over and began construction in 1854, opening the line in 1856. This gave the Reading a route from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, for

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4836-423: The population were below the poverty line , including 2.9 percent of those under age 18 and 5.9 percent of those age 65 or over. The borough is served by the Wyomissing Area School District , which includes Wyomissing Hills Elementary Center, serving grades K–4, West Reading Elementary Center, serving grades 5–6, and Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School , serving grades 7–12. The Berkshire Heights portion of

4914-405: The remainder of the corporation was renamed Reading International . The Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road (P&R) was one of the first railroads in the United States. Along with the Little Schuylkill , a horse-drawn railroad in the Schuylkill River Valley, it formed the earliest components of what became the Reading Company. The P&R was constructed initially to haul anthracite coal from

4992-414: The rest of the Southeastern Pennsylvania region in job growth, registering an average job growth of 13.3% per year from 2000 to 2006. Financial giants Merrill Lynch , Goldman Sachs , and Citibank are developing data backup centers using the region's close proximity to major fiber optic lines running down the East Coast . In 2024, Macy's opened a new store in Wyomissing at Broadcasting Square replacing

5070-427: The second-largest gaming company in the U.S., Boscov's , one of the last family-owned department store chains in the nation, and Carpenter Technology Corporation . UGI and VF Corporation have major operations in the borough. Sovereign Bank was previously headquartered here. Sovereign was acquired by Santander Group , which maintains its regional office at the same location in the borough. Wyomissing has outpaced

5148-403: The summer tourism season. However, on July 12, 1878, the P&AC Railway slipped into bankruptcy; on September 20, 1883, it was jointly acquired by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and the Philadelphia and Reading Railway for $ 1 million. The name was changed to Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railroad on December 4, 1883. The first major task was to convert all track to standard gauge, which

5226-453: The unincorporated community of Greenfields . The northeastern boundary of Wyomissing with Reading is formed by Tulpehocken Creek and a small portion of the Schuylkill River . Wyomissing Creek flows from southwest to northeast towards the Schuylkill, through the southern part of the borough. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the borough has a total area of 4.50 square miles (11.65 km ), of which 4.48 square miles (11.60 km )

5304-483: The western terminus of a section of the Schuylkill Valley Metro (SVM) passenger rail service. The SVM project would have extended both ends of SEPTA 's Manayunk/Norristown Line , with one end extended from the Philadelphia area to Berks County. The project was ultimately rejected by the Federal Transit Administration New Starts program. In 2018, a panel led by the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance pushed for an extension of SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown Line to Reading along

5382-399: Was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $ 54,681, and the median income for a family was $ 78,112. Males had a median income of $ 54,167 versus $ 34,815 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $ 37,313. About 1.4 percent of families and 3.4 percent of

5460-460: Was 94.76% White , 1.50 percent African American , 0.07 percent Native American , 1.90 percent Asian , 0.02 percent Pacific Islander , 0.89 percent from other races , and 0.86 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.83 percent of the population. There were 3,359 households, out of which 23.7 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1 percent were married couples living together, 5.9 percent had

5538-413: Was a double track line. The P&R became profitable almost immediately. Energy-dense coal, known as anthracite , had been replacing increasingly scarce wood as fuel in businesses and homes since the 1810s, and P&R-delivered coal was one of the first alternatives to the near monopoly held by Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company since the 1820s. The P&R bought or leased many of the railroads in

5616-615: Was chartered in 1890 and opened in 1892, running east from a junction from the New York main line near Bound Brook to the Port Reading on the Arthur Kill near Perth Amboy . The Lehigh Valley Railroad was leased on December 1, 1891, under the presidency of Archibald A. McLeod, but that lease was canceled on August 8, 1893, when the Reading went into receivership , an event associated with the Panic of 1893 . The Reading also relinquished control of

5694-400: Was chartered on April 4, 1833, to build a line along the Schuylkill River between Philadelphia and Reading . The portion from Reading to Norristown opened July 16, 1838, and the full line opened December 9, 1839. Its Philadelphia terminus was at the state-owned Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad (P&C) on the west side of the Schuylkill River from where it ran east on the P&C over

5772-540: Was completed on October 5, 1884. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway acquired full control on December 4, 1885. The Reading leased the North Pennsylvania Railroad on May 14, 1879. This gave it a line from Philadelphia north to Bethlehem , and also the valuable Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad, the descendant of the National Railway project, providing a route to New York City in direct competition with

5850-534: Was created to serve as a holding company for the Reading's rail and coal subsidiaries: the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, and the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, respectively. However, in 1906, with the support of the Roosevelt Administration, the Hepburn Act was passed. This required all railroads to disinvest themselves of all mining properties and operations, and so the Reading Company

5928-544: Was forced to sell the P&R Coal and Iron Company. Whether an actual monopoly or not, the company's history as the Reading Railroad over a century ultimately became immortalized as a featured property on the original Monopoly game board. Even though moving and mining of coal was its primary business, the P&R eventually became more diversified through the development of many on-line industries, averaging almost five industries per mile of main line at one point, and

6006-534: Was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States. Enactment of the federally -funded Interstate Highway System in 1956 led to competition from the modern trucking industry. They used the Interstates for short-distance transportation of goods, which compounded the company's competition for freight business, forcing it into bankruptcy in 1971. In 1976, its railroad operations merged into Conrail, and

6084-474: Was part of the original 1838 line of the PW&;B, which in 1872 opened a new stretch of track further inland to serve more populated areas and reduce flooding. On July 1, 1873, the PW&B agreed to lease the freight rights to the P&R for "$ 350,000 payable at the time the lease was made and $ 1 a year thereafter" for a term of 999 years with the stipulation that no passenger trains would use it. The Reading dubbed

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