Trains and Trolleys
Railroads
Railroads came early to the Lehigh Valley for only one reason: anthracite coal. For iron to be smelted productively in the modern furnaces of the 1840s on, enormous amounts of coal needed to be brought to the furnaces. The iron ore was found throughout this area. Coal was carried in canal boats at first, but much greater quantities could be carried year-round and more reliably on railways.
The Lehigh Valley’s first railroads were “anthracite railways,” built primarily to carry anthracite, but also passengers and other freight. Some were chartered but never completed. One of these was the Allentown Railroad; it would have come directly through the tract now occupied by Hamilton Crossings on its route from Auburn to Allentown. It was sponsored by the Philadelphia and Reading RR, with the purpose of carrying Schuylkill County anthracite to the east. The grading was completed and some bridge piers and abutments built when work stopped after the Panic of 1857.
The Allentown Railroad was to compete with the East Pennsylvania Railroad, which was completed in 1859. Instead of resuming work on the Allentown RR when economic conditions improved, in 1869 the P&R leased the East Pennsylvania for 999 years. Iron furnaces were built in the communities of Topton, Alburtis, Macungie, and Emmaus along the tracks of the East Pennsylvania branch, using anthracite from the Schuylkill mines, and iron ore and limestone from local mines and quarries. The tracks remain a significant railroad corridor, now operated by Norfolk Southern.
The Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad, of which some remnants remain in operation, was constructed to bring raw materials to furnaces in Lehigh County. The section that connected to the East Pennsylvania line in Alburtis was completed in 1864. Passenger trains ran between Alburtis and Catasauqua until as late as 1935.
Trolleys
The Allentown and Reading Traction Company was known as “the Dorney Park Line.” Service began in 1899 from Center Square, Allentown, to Dorney Park then through Wescosville, East Texas and Trexlertown and into Berks County. It was heavily patronized, especially between Allentown and Dorney Park. The trolley company purchased the amusement park in 1901. Buses replaced trolleys in 1936.
The largest trolley system in the Lehigh Valley was the Lehigh Valley Transit Company. In 1899 service was extended from Emmaus through East Macungie and into the borough of Macungie, where it ended at the Continental Hotel near the railroad station. The line to Macungie was closed in 1929, and the company ended all service in 1953.
Railroads
Railroads came early to the Lehigh Valley for only one reason: anthracite coal. For iron to be smelted productively in the modern furnaces of the 1840s on, enormous amounts of coal needed to be brought to the furnaces. The iron ore was found throughout this area. Coal was carried in canal boats at first, but much greater quantities could be carried year-round and more reliably on railways.
The Lehigh Valley’s first railroads were “anthracite railways,” built primarily to carry anthracite, but also passengers and other freight. Some were chartered but never completed. One of these was the Allentown Railroad; it would have come directly through the tract now occupied by Hamilton Crossings on its route from Auburn to Allentown. It was sponsored by the Philadelphia and Reading RR, with the purpose of carrying Schuylkill County anthracite to the east. The grading was completed and some bridge piers and abutments built when work stopped after the Panic of 1857.
The Allentown Railroad was to compete with the East Pennsylvania Railroad, which was completed in 1859. Instead of resuming work on the Allentown RR when economic conditions improved, in 1869 the P&R leased the East Pennsylvania for 999 years. Iron furnaces were built in the communities of Topton, Alburtis, Macungie, and Emmaus along the tracks of the East Pennsylvania branch, using anthracite from the Schuylkill mines, and iron ore and limestone from local mines and quarries. The tracks remain a significant railroad corridor, now operated by Norfolk Southern.
The Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad, of which some remnants remain in operation, was constructed to bring raw materials to furnaces in Lehigh County. The section that connected to the East Pennsylvania line in Alburtis was completed in 1864. Passenger trains ran between Alburtis and Catasauqua until as late as 1935.
Trolleys
The Allentown and Reading Traction Company was known as “the Dorney Park Line.” Service began in 1899 from Center Square, Allentown, to Dorney Park then through Wescosville, East Texas and Trexlertown and into Berks County. It was heavily patronized, especially between Allentown and Dorney Park. The trolley company purchased the amusement park in 1901. Buses replaced trolleys in 1936.
The largest trolley system in the Lehigh Valley was the Lehigh Valley Transit Company. In 1899 service was extended from Emmaus through East Macungie and into the borough of Macungie, where it ended at the Continental Hotel near the railroad station. The line to Macungie was closed in 1929, and the company ended all service in 1953.
