he recent announcement that a local attraction had its most successful week ever comes as good news for the local tourism-driven economy.

That’s because passengers turned out in droves as the Reading and Northern Railroad passenger department chugged its way to a record-setting 25,000 riders during the week that ended Oct. 19.

After a landmark 20,000 fares in the previous week, railroad officials looked to the peaking fall foliage and thought maybe — just maybe — that number could fall.

And fall it did.

With monumental numbers of 7,500 passengers on each of a two-day weekend, the railroad flattened its previous passenger counts like a penny on the tracks.

Owners said the milestone was more ridership than most tourist railroads in the nation see in an entire year, and definitely more than the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway experienced in an entire season just 10 years ago.

With 2,100 other riders enjoying excursions from Reading, Pottsville and Pittston, fall foliage proved profitable for the railroad to claim its most successful week in its passenger department’s history.

As the schedule winds its way through November, the railroad expects to see its numbers climb as the leaves fall.

And soon Santa Claus excursions will be filling the sack toward a second consecutive record breaking year.

With all the celebration, it might be worth asking how the gravy train might be able to better deal with the pressure it creates — especially in Jim Thorpe — which absorbs the leaf-peepers before, after and during the rail excursions.

For more than a century, railroads have been part of Jim Thorpe’s existence. Rails that snaked along the Lehigh carried coal from regional mines to cities where factories built our nation. As coal declined and automobiles became popular, once powerful railroads rusted into a shadow of their heyday.

Today, the nation’s leaders are realizing the value that railroads can offer, moving freight from place to place spurring and helping sustain their resurgence.

The romance of the rails keeps ticket prices steady and passenger service moving. Excursions get longer as the number of rail cars increase to accommodate riders’ demand.

And the bulk of those trains run through Jim Thorpe — in a sense delivering valuable cargo that fuels the borough economy — not to mention an increasingly unmanageable influx of tourists.

While the borough absorbs the crowds, the railroad has made some notable contributions in places it serves more inland. Mahanoy City and Tamaqua come to mind.

The presentations in those places signaled the railroad’s intentions to help breathe life in towns where it once prospered.

But those acts of kindness and philanthropy can’t fully replace helping the towns adapt.

If excursions can bring hundreds to places like Mahanoy City and Tamaqua, its provider can work hand in hand with municipalities along the route to help manage things like parking, trash disposal and emergency access, which may help as the rails head northward.

R&N’s success is pushing it toward Wilkes-Barre. The railroad has offered $10 million to buy about 60 miles of track owned by neighboring Luzerne County.

In addition to freight service, the tracks will link passenger excursions to and from Wilkes-Barre, Pittston and — of course — Jim Thorpe.

The railroad’s chairman has pledged a new downtown Wilkes-Barre station with free parking for ticket buyers and line upgrades paid for with its own money and even reciprocal trips southward to where else? Jim Thorpe!

In newspaper ads, the railroad — if the purchase were approved — promised that the success of Jim Thorpe could come to Wilkes-Barre.

But a new station to the north could also bring even more riders to Jim Thorpe. It’ll also bring more frustrations to Jim Thorpe without any added support to accommodate those folks.

Those added rail cars would bring even more crowds that strain narrow streets and a limited downtown historic area. Thorpe residents already have voiced concerns about overwhelmed parking lots and long waits at restaurants. Now, the tiny borough is considering a plan to license those who offer off-street parking, conjuring images of Bloomsburg during fair week and siphoning cash away from residents trying to benefit from the onslaught of tourism.

With its promises in Wilkes-Barre, the railroad has shown it can invest in track, rail cars and stations.

But can it adopt such an ambitious approach to possibly co-funding amenities like public restrooms, pedestrian improvements or shuttle systems in Jim Thorpe?

Working with local officials might turn the tide from one that’s reactive into something that could be a sustainable, pleasant experience for everyone.

As the railroad might stretch from the Lehigh Valley into the Wyoming Valley, there’s a potential to cobble together some type of regional tourism corridor where each stop is a partner in an economic journey.

To be sure, Reading and Northern has earned its place, rebuilding interest in railroads with limited taxpayer help. It has positioned itself for growth and offered glimpses of civic generosity.

Down the tracks, its continued success will hinge on whether it can strengthen the communities where it sells tickets. Any train can connect destinations.

Connecting people and communities takes special effort.

Reading and Northern has that opportunity.

And there’s no better place than Jim Thorpe to start.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.