2019 in Review: Train pulls out of Thorpe station

Editor’s note: We will continue with our review of 2019 stories through Dec. 31.

By Jarrad Hedes

jmhedes@tnonline.com

The scenic train rides have screeched to a halt in Jim Thorpe, but the question looms heading into 2020, will the whistle blow again?

Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway stopped its rides out of Jim Thorpe in late November, as it went back-and-forth with Jim Thorpe Borough over amusement tax money the municipality felt the train company owed it.

Berkheimer, the tax collection agency representing Jim Thorpe borough, filed a suit against the railway for nearly $100,000 in unpaid amusement taxes for the past three years, leading to train’s decision to stop the rides including the always popular Santa trains in December.

LGSR officials said they “made it clear to the borough council that it is not an amusement and it will not pay any so-called amusement tax.”

Soon after the train made its announcement, the two sides met on multiple occasions, with the borough eventually agreeing to drop the lawsuit as a show of good faith to keep Lehigh Gorge at the table and working toward a resolution.

Jim Thorpe Borough Council President Greg Strubinger said the action would be without prejudice, meaning if talks between the two sides don’t progress in 2020, the borough has the option to refile the lawsuit.

“We want to come up with a solution that works for everyone,” Strubinger said.

Strubinger said the borough will wait for the train station to contact them about the next meeting in 2020.

LGSR began operating excursion rides out of Jim Thorpe 15 years ago and tourists, business owners and lawmakers took to social media to post their disappointment to the news that the train rides would be ending.

“The closure of the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway in Jim Thorpe is a terrible blow for the merchants and taxpayers of Carbon County, who have witnessed an extraordinary growth in the tourism industry as a result of the substantial personal investment Andy Muller and the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad made in the region,” state Sen. John Yudichak said.

The Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau leases space inside the Jim Thorpe Train Station and PMVB President Chris Barrett said he’s had a firsthand look at the impact of the train rides.

“This is a very unfortunate development,” Barrett said of the news. “I’m hopeful discussion will continue to take place. We’re very supportive of that process. The trains have an incredible impact on not only the county, but the Pocono Mountains as a whole.”

Molly Maguires Pub owner Darren Behan among them told council in November that the train’s departure is one with national ramifications.

“This goes way beyond Jim Thorpe,” Behan said. “I know people who were recently in Philadelphia and were asked about it there. I was recently in Long Island and asked about it there. This is growing so big and so fast, I fear we’re going to look pathetic as a town if we don’t do something.”

Behan said Muller told him he has no problem donating to the municipality to help alleviate the cost of different events and the cost of police.

“He doesn’t want to concede to it being called a tax, because then every municipality he runs a train ride through will tax him out of business,” Behan said.

Strubinger said after the borough and the train station agreed to meet, the parties signed a nondisclosure agreement preventing any details of the talks from getting out.