The Wilbur Chocolate Company, less well-known nationally than its competitor about 25 miles away in Hershey, produced chocolate in the large building seen here for 125 years. In 2016, parent Cargill closed it and moved operations to five North American locations, including one in Lititz. For years, the atmosphere in Lititz carried the same sweet chocolate scent that was associated with Hershey, and the town still has a large outlet store. One of Wilbur’s staples is the Wilbur Bud, an unwrapped piece of chocolate that bears a striking similarity to a Hershey’s Kiss, which was introduced fourteen years after the Wilbur Bud debuted. Today, the factory building houses a restaurant and market, upscale condos, and a Hilton Tapestry Collection hotel.
Norfolk Southern’s Lititz Secondary local, train H23, approaches the effective end of the line in Lititz, Pennsylvania. The Lititz Secondary is the portion of the former RDG Reading & Columbia branch between Lancaster and Lititz. Although the tracks extend about a half-mile past the grade crossing in the foreground, the crew usually stops in the grade crossing just clear of the switch points to run around their cars and begin the return to Lancaster.
