The train tower on Union Street was demolished in 1971. It survived years beyond need because the gates were never automated, and the remaining track was used for switching freight cars. The junction yard behind the State Hospital property, near the border with Bethlehem, is still active. The freight trains travel south Allentown toward Emmaus several times a day. In the quiet of early morning, you can still hear that whistle almost everywhere in the city.
photograph by Dave Latshaw is part of the Mark Rabenold Collection
reprinted from July 2011
Along with the whistle is the banging of the coupling of freight cars too.
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