Passenger trains will return to Tamaqua, even if just for a day.

The Tamaqua Historical Society announced that three diesel train excursions are scheduled for Father's Day Sunday, June 21.The trips are part of the society's 25th Annual Tamaqua Summerfest.Excursions will depart the 1874 Tamaqua train depot at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m.The first trip will head south to New Ringgold and back, traveling on the original route of the 1831 Little Schuylkill Navigation Railroad and Coal Company.The Little Schuylkill Railroad was the first in the nation to use steam power to haul coal and is recognized as the third oldest railroad route in the United States.The original line was only 21 miles long and connected the coal mines of Tamaqua area to the Schuylkill Canal at Port Clinton, where coal could then be loaded onto canal boats and shipped to major ports such as Philadelphia.Afternoon train trips will head north to the Hometown High Bridge and back.As the train heads north, it'll pass the remnants of the historic H.A. Weldy Gun Powder Works, Taggartsville, which operated from the mid-1800s through the early part of the 1900s.The train will then pass through the 1854 Tamaqua Tunnel, carved using explosives from the adjacent H.A. Weldy Powder Works.The Tamaqua tunnel was chiseled out of solid rock and is 926 feet long. It was constructed to transport anthracite coal, one of seven tunnels of the Reading System.From there, the train will journey past the former Mintzers Station on its way to the Barnesville area of Rush Township.At East Mahanoy Junction, the train will cut northbound on the former Catawissa Branch, passing the former Lakeside and Lakewood Parks, popularly summertime destinations during the early 20th century.At the former Haucks Junction, the train will switch to the Nesquehoning Branch, where the train will pass farms and woodlands and eventually cross the historic Hometown Trestle, also known as the High Bridge, soaring 185 feet high. The train will then return to Tamaqua.The society noted that the engine will be diesel as the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad's steam engine is currently being repaired and is unavailable for use.More information: 570-668-5722.