Reading & Northern Railroad announces promotion within its passenger department.

Jeff Knadler, who started his career with the railroad as a freight operations conductor in 2007 and worked his way up to designated supervisor of locomotive engineers, has been promoted to assistant vice president — passenger.

He will continue to report to Matt Fisher, senior vice president/general manager — passenger.

Knadler’s most recent role with the company was that of the senior director of the passenger department.

In that capacity, he oversaw (and still oversees) the operation of the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway in Jim Thorpe, as well as the Reading & Northern’s regional passenger directors Tim Wright on the Lehigh Division, and Sabrina Kennedy on the Reading Division.

Having celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, LGSR has come a long way from its beginnings as a Standard Coach-only train.

Knadler has played a major role in the evolution and enhancement of the guest experience at LGSR. From helping to locate new rolling stock to the inception of the King Coal Café, his impact can be seen everywhere on the railroad, particularly in Jim Thorpe.

As passenger is literally one of the only departments at the railroad that interacts with all other departments, Knadler’s background in operations has proved indispensable.

The diverse and ever-expanding array of equipment used on both the LGSR and Reading & Northern passenger excursions is well cared for and moves around the system to where it is needed expeditiously. Knadler can sometimes be seen at the throttle of passenger equipment moves. During his career in Operations, he was often at the throttle of the LGSR trains, giving him valuable and arguably esoteric insight.

Another hallmark of Knadler’s leadership is communication. Most of that goes unseen by the public but nonetheless trickles down to the guest experience, the highest priority on equal footing with safety.

All passenger crews receive detailed and well-written instructions in advance of every operating day.

Safety is a recurring and daily topic when it comes to hosting hundreds of thousands of riders each year. With as many as four passenger trains funneling through Jim Thorpe on a given weekend — and sometimes, as many as five out on the railroad in total — communication is key.

The Reading & Northern Railroad is proud of Knadler and his accomplishments.

CEO Andy Muller Jr. and his family will continue to provide Knadler and his fellow managers with the tools to ensure that Reading & Northern passenger trains continue to delight riders of all ages for many years to come. Reading & Northern Railroad, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, is a privately held railroad company serving over 80 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill and Wyoming).

It has expanded its operations over the last 40 years and now handles nearly 40,000 carloads of freight (which removes over 200,000 trucks from the highway), while its Passenger Department handles over 300,000 riders annually. Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns over 2,000 freight cars and employs over 350 dedicated people. Reading & Northern has been repeatedly honored as one of the premier railroads in the nation, including being named Regional Railroad of the Year in 2020 by Railway Age magazine.