The Colebrookdale Railroad, also known as the Secret Valley line, is a Civil War-era railroad turned tourist attraction operating between Boyertown (where the station is) and Pottstown in Southeast Pennsylvania. Boyertown is a borough located in Berks County, a little over an hour drive from Philadelphia. The original Colebrookdale Railroad started running trains back in 1869 to serve the local iron ore industry. It was sold a handful of times over the years, before the line was eventually abandoned in 2008. The current iteration began its tourism-centric rides in 2014.

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Things to Know Before You Go

You need to arrive 30 minutes early so you can pick up your physical tickets. About 15 minutes before departure the loading process begins. They are on a pretty strict schedule, so they don’t wait long for stragglers. The trains are loaded like a plane, starting with the first class passengers.
It’s best to buy tickets online in advance, especially for the more popular excursions as they tend to sell out. Seating is assigned and you choose your seats when purchasing your tickets.
There are limited restrooms available on board, one in Deluxe Coach for the majority of passengers as well as a private one in the front for Parlor Car guests. Be advised that there is no running water in the restrooms, just hand sanitizer.
All trains depart from the Boyertown Station unless otherwise stated – but those exceptions are rare.
If you’re booking one of the summer excursions in the Deluxe Coach or Diplomat cars, be aware they do not have air conditioning. During the winter every car is heated with wood pellet stoves.
There are a few food and drink options nearby, including the Colebrookdale Creamery and Ridgewood Winery by the Colebrookdale patio, plus Brakeman’s Café across the street.

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Train Car Overview

Each of the beautifully restored Colebrookdale Railroad passenger cars are about a century old. Most (if not all) of the cars were built by the Pullman Company in the early 1900’s. Pullman was a railroad car manufacturer based out of Chicago that basically had a monopoly on sleeper cars at the time.

First Class Parlor Car

The Parlor Car, or “Storm King” as its also known, is the most elegant looking of all the cars. It is almost exclusively an adults-only car, except for some of the more popular Christmas excursions. As a special treat, during some excursions a musician will even play the piano or another instrument!

Lounge Car

Also known as the “Maine Central”. Depending on the excursion this car is either an additional first class car or a dining car. The seats are slightly smaller, and in my opinion look much less comfortable, than the ones you’ll find in the Parlor Car.

The Rest

Unfortunately most of the other cars were PACKED so we didn’t get many great pictures on our walkthrough. After the first class and lounge cars is a dining car known as the “Lion Gardiner”. The Deluxe Coach, aka the “Dawn Treader”, has seat backs that are reversible so you can sit with a group. Their newest car, the Beaver Car, is used as either a family class or dining car depending on the excursion. If you’re looking for a seat that is a little more comfortable than in the Deluxe Coach, this would be a good option.

The Observation Car, also known as “The Diplomat”, has stadium/theater style seats and honestly looks a little run down compared to the rest of the train cars. Last but not least is the Open Car at the end of the train, which is also known as the “Secret Valley Explorer”. Unlike some of the other cars (like the Parlor Car), access to this open air car is included with all tickets.

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Excursion Highlight

The Colebookdale Railroad has different excursions throughout the year based on the seasons and holidays. Some of the more popular excursions include the Santa Claus train, Easter Bunny Express, wine tasting, and fall foliage. In the warmer months, they have rail bikes for rent through Secret Valley Excursions that can fit up to 4 people. Train enthusiasts can also book special excursions for the caboose and the cab, but be warned they are a little pricey!

Autumn Cider and Donuts Express

This particular excursion is an hour long and generally runs from late September through late November. We opted for the 11am ride, but they also sometimes have one at 3:30pm as well. Each passenger receives a glass of apple cider and a donut to enjoy during the ride. An upgrade to the First Class Parlor Car was only $10 more per person, so we figured we might as well! The upgrade comes with a complimentary cocktail as well as a glass of champagne. There was a violinist on board who was very good, especially considering how young he was! You can check him out on his YouTube channel.

Jasper and I finished our cider and donut pretty quickly, practically before the ride had even really started. I guess that’s what we get for not eating breakfast beforehand. The hour long ride is split into two parts: 30 minutes towards Pottstown and then back to the station the way we came. We got our cocktails during the first half – a Pomegranate Cosmo for me and a Passionfruit Rum Punch for Jasper. I’m not sure what color I expected his drink to be, but clear definitely was not it. On the way back to the station we sipped on our glasses of champagne. I’m generally more of a prosecco girl, but the champagne they had was pretty good!

The Negatives

There honestly were only a couple small negatives. The first – we went a few weeks too late to really see any fall foliage, most of the trees were fully bare. Obviously not anyone’s fault but ours! The one thing I didn’t really like was that the apple cider was already in cups on the table when we sat down. Drinking something that I didn’t see get poured makes me a little nervous, and I usually don’t do it.

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What’s your favorite excursion on the Colebrookdale Railroad? Let me know in the comments!