LEHIGH VALLEY

This page will cover the railroad from Allentown to the Wilkes-Barre, PA area.  For those not familiar with the area, the LV and the Jersey Central were fierce competitors for many years bringing trainloads of anthracite coal to the New York market.  As the coal business began to wane after World War 2, the need for so much duplicate track became a problem.  By 1965, the CNJ and the LV began a program of consolidation.  Several paralleling tracks were removed through the mountains and the Lehighton area.  In 1972 the CNJ simply gave up their trackage in Pennsylvania as part of major restructuring to stay in business.  On April 1, 1972, the LV assumed operations of most of the CNJ track west of Bethlehem.  From Easton, PA to Lehighton the old CNJ was on the east bank of the Lehigh River and the LV on the west bank.  Reference to the CNJ or LV side will be made with photos below.

  This crossing shanty is on the LV main in Allentown.  The LV had the advantage of passing through the city while the CNJ had to bridge the river to reach their passenger station.  The LV quit the passenger business rather early in 1961.  Their old station Allentown was torn down shortly after service ended.

    After the CNJ lines takeover, most of the manifest freights used the old CNJ Allentown yard as the LV closed their smaller yards in Easton, Richards, Calypso (Bethlehem), Catasaqua and Lehighton.  The primary trains to continue to use the original LV main were those not needing to stop in Allentown.  These included the 'Apollo' and 'Mercury' trains and some special movements, such as above.  This thing is a fractioning tower used in oil refining.  It is manufactured near Wilkes-Barre and obviously the railroad is the best way to move it to the port for shipment overseas.

  One unfortunate aspect of the CNJ takeover was the lack of trains on the LV side.  I was never fortunate to get pictures at several good locations while the LV was still around.  This is shot of the now unused LV main and abandoned yard at West Catasaqua.  Interchange with the Reading and the Lehigh & New England was done here.  Today this area is full of tall trees.  Photo is from 1988.

  A few miles north of Allentown, the main road in the area, Route 148, crosses the Lehigh River at a small town called Treichlers.  This was a favorite railfan spot.  This train is eastbound on the old CNJ side.  The new crossover track is being put place to eliminate the double track west from here to Lehighton.  1974.

  This is the Apollo, or AP-2, using the CNJ side for whatever reason and is rather late.

    There was a milling plant here called Mausers Mill.  Several LV boxcars could always be found here.  Here in the rain are some of the LV's last new power.  Twelve GE U23B's were delivered in late 1974 and although owned by the USRA, a predecessor to Conrail, they were painted in full LV colors.  501 is on train JB-3 and paused briefly at Treichlers.

  The wait was to allow this train to head east.  404 was in nice new red paint.  While most the LV's Alco C420's have survived, the 404 was not one of them.

  In a photo taken in the fall of 1974, the 404 is still in the original yellow and gray colors.

             This is train NE-1 with 305 and six other units at Treichlers.  November 23, 1975.

  West of Treichlers.  That dog didn't like my visit to his turf.

  The river, the railroad and the highway run north-south in this area.  The old LV is on the other side of the river.

  The 305 and NE-1 entering Walnutport.

  634 is on an eastbound passing through Walnutport.

    Despite the minimal number of trains, the track on the LV side was still good for 50 mph.  Here a three unit set of GP38's have a good roll on an eastbound on the LV side below Lehigh Gap.

    Despite the good track condition, Conrail deemed the old LV main superfluous and it was removed by the early 1980's.  Theses are two images of the LV Lehigh Gap station.

  Here is the 404 again, passing the old Lehigh Canal  lock tenders house below the gap.  This is the CNJ side.  A highway bridge here makes the views possible.

  323 on the Apollo passing through the gap.  Sorry it's black and white, but the exposure was too dark to work with.

    After passing through Palmerton and Hazards, the CNJ swung around the mountain along the river.

    In photos dated July 1970, two trains meet at Lizard Creek Jct.  Photographer unknown.

  It is May 1974 and the tower at Lehighton is about to close.  The LV main passes in front of the picture from right to left.  We are looking straight down the ramp track that was built to allow the CNJ to abandon their own line around the LV's Lehighton Terminal and Packerton Yard.  The fill to the left is the original CNJ line.  

    305 and friends come down the ramp track and swing onto the original LV main.  11-23-75.

  Snowbird 636 swings off the LV and onto the CNJ ramp track enroute toward Allentown.

  With the CNJ takeover, the LV shut down most of its yards and everything was consolidated at Allentown.  The yard at Lehighton was included in this.  Its importance had declined with the loss of coal traffic anyway.  This view looks west (geographically north).

    314 on the train seen above at Lehigh Gap is departing the sad remains of Lehighton Yard.  One of the railroads superintendent's was next to me also taking the shot.

  Any train by-passing Allentown stopped here for a crew change.  This train with the 321 is doing just that.

  From an original slide, is 313 at the modest Lehighton Engine house.  These were GP38AC's numbered 310 to 313.  Unlike the later GP-38-2's 314 to 325, these four units were transferred to Conrail and are probably still in service for either CSX or NS.  Photographer unknown.

  In a drenching rain, 404 is on an eastbound crossing the Lehigh River and is entering the west end of the Packerton yards.  Not visible here is the junction where the old CNJ mainline stayed on the west bank of the river to reach Jim Thorpe.  The LV crossed over to the east side here and pretty much stayed on that side for much of the time through the Lehigh Gorge.

  The old depot at White Haven.

  Ashmore was a major terminal back in busy days of steam and scores of trains of anthracite coal came out of the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania.  Ashmore is on one of the branches that radiated out into the coalfields.

  This old depot is in the town of Mt. Carmel.  The LV and the Pennsylvania Railroad maintained a rather busy interchange here despite its very off the mainline location.

  This unusual looking station is in the small town of Delano, PA on the branch to Mt. Carmel.

To continues west on the mainline, click here.