The Reading Company, chartered in 1871 as the Excelsior Enterprise Company, became the holding company for the system of railroads, canals, and coal mines assembled by its predecessor, Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, between 1833 and 1896. The records are a fragmentary group from the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company; its successor, the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company; and its subsidiary, the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company. They are primarily registers of employees and wage rates for employees in the Reading, Pennsylvania, repair shops of all three companies.