The Lehigh Valley Railroad began as an carrier of anthracite coal in 1846. At it's peak, it stretched from the docks of New York harbor to Lake Erie. Although mostly a freight carrier serving the hearths of Bethlehem Steel, it operated a well known passenger line from New York City to Buffalo, The Black Diamond.
As a child in the 1950's, I would sit in the car with my father waiting for the long freight trains to cross Union Street. A train watch tower stood over the busy crossing. By 1976, remnants of the railroad were absorbed by Conrail. Shown above, from the late 1930's, is the streamlined engine of the Black Diamond.reprinted from January 2011
UPDATE: The track running along Allentown's new proposed riverfront development is the "Old" main line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
thank you for the local history lesson
ReplyDeleteFor local rail enthusiasts and/or model railroaders: Weaver Models of Northumberland, PA recenlty produced a beautiful O-gauge electric model of the Black Diamond, with passenger cars to follow. It's easy to choke on the price of over $1,000 but this brass model is just gorgeous.
ReplyDeletehttp://weavermodels.com/catpg1.html