Just out of curiosity... what was the big zinc plant in western Palmerton? The one that is now demolished? Why was that one tore down and when did it get taken offline? I know the CNJ had one heck of an operation there and even had the tower on their mainline manned 24/7 located behind the plant.
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If you come back to Palmerton on the Bing Map, both the Alco and the Geep are clearly visible, as well as the power for the NS local.
The ALCo has a cracked block, courtesy of forgetting to dump the water one cold night.
Zinc smelting at the west plant was over by 1986, with a gradual shutdown in effect starting in roughly 1980. The real kicker was one particular day in 1986 when natural gas prices tripled. The use of anthracite at Palmerton was long-over by then, and with another, quite new plant opened in Tennessee already, the 300% increase in furnace food brought about the demise of zinc smelting in Palmerton. It stood mostly intact until 1991 or so when a large portion of it was brought down (the smelter itself, the ore/coal trestle-which stood along 248 and was about a half mile long, various other buildings). A good number of the remeaning buildings were full of zinc chloride and were left in limbo, being easier to just let that stuff be than deal with it.
Recently a few individuals purchased the west plant property, took care of whatever they had to, and demolished nearly all of the remaining buildings. The plan is to bring in fairly clean fill, add height to the property, cap it, and market it as a business and technology park. I wish them the best in their endeavors.
-Micah
Zinc smelting at the west plant was over by 1986, with a gradual shutdown in effect starting in roughly 1980. The real kicker was one particular day in 1986 when natural gas prices tripled. The use of anthracite at Palmerton was long-over by then, and with another, quite new plant opened in Tennessee already, the 300% increase in furnace food brought about the demise of zinc smelting in Palmerton. It stood mostly intact until 1991 or so when a large portion of it was brought down (the smelter itself, the ore/coal trestle-which stood along 248 and was about a half mile long, various other buildings). A good number of the remeaning buildings were full of zinc chloride and were left in limbo, being easier to just let that stuff be than deal with it.
Recently a few individuals purchased the west plant property, took care of whatever they had to, and demolished nearly all of the remaining buildings. The plan is to bring in fairly clean fill, add height to the property, cap it, and market it as a business and technology park. I wish them the best in their endeavors.
-Micah
telephone, telegraph, and tell a railroader
-S.E. Miller
-S.E. Miller
I'm a former RESIDENT of Palmerton, Jim Schneck.
We lived at 3rd and Lehigh, RIGHT by the overpass.
I'm now up here in Monroe County and we have put together a Facebook page to commemorate, honor and preserve for history, the various rail services that operated and contributed to the growth of our area. --- Chestnut Ridge was ONE of those Companies as was the Lehigh and New England (LNE).
We are looking for ANY/ALL information we can get on these lines. (Maps, stories, geographic locations of OLD ROW's - ANYTHING! ... our generation is SADLY LACKING in any of this, as we can't find ANY of it in libraries.)
ALL are FREE to stop by, and check our page out. Feel FREE to join and contribute. (ONLY requirements; 1. MUST have some rail service in your families backround: 2. MUST be a Groups member to post/contribute - Keeps the riff/raff and SPAMMERS out!)
Use my name as a 'referal' for entry... Thanks in advance.
Jim Schneck
[LINK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2170884 ... 427054281/ ]
We lived at 3rd and Lehigh, RIGHT by the overpass.
I'm now up here in Monroe County and we have put together a Facebook page to commemorate, honor and preserve for history, the various rail services that operated and contributed to the growth of our area. --- Chestnut Ridge was ONE of those Companies as was the Lehigh and New England (LNE).
We are looking for ANY/ALL information we can get on these lines. (Maps, stories, geographic locations of OLD ROW's - ANYTHING! ... our generation is SADLY LACKING in any of this, as we can't find ANY of it in libraries.)
ALL are FREE to stop by, and check our page out. Feel FREE to join and contribute. (ONLY requirements; 1. MUST have some rail service in your families backround: 2. MUST be a Groups member to post/contribute - Keeps the riff/raff and SPAMMERS out!)
Use my name as a 'referal' for entry... Thanks in advance.
Jim Schneck
[LINK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2170884 ... 427054281/ ]