Abandoned railroad bridge between Northampton and Coplay, PA

[Bethlehem Jct.]

I was perusing Microsoft's Virtual Earth the other night and was following the former LVRR ROW north of Allentown. I noticed a railroad bridge across the Lehigh River between Northampton and Coplay boroughs. The bridge is couple of hundred yards south of 9th St. in Northampton. Starting on the Northampton side of the river (east), it goes in a southwesterly direction across the river. The former ROW continues across the former LV main on a through-truss bridge, which was still remaining when the aerial photos were taken. The line has clearly been abandoned for yearsm but I don't know who owned it.
There doesn't seem to have been an interchange with the Lehigh Valley. I know the Ironton served Coplay, but I'm not aware of it having been extended across the Lehigh River to Northampton. Acording to a 1941 map of Lehigh County, the bridge and rail line belonged to the Jersey Central. However, it's been my experience that often times, cartographers were lazy when it came to identifying the owners of rail lines.

Does anyone know about this bridge? Was it a short spur for the Jersey Central to interchange with, presumably, the Ironton RR in Coplay?

[carajul]

That was the CNJ interchange with the Ironton RR at Coply. There is a bridge over the river (still there with tracks still on it), then the truss bridge over the LVRR row.

A visit to the area today is enough to break the heart of any railfan. Look at the few photos from the 1940s-1950s you'd be amazed. The LVRR, LNE, and RDG's C&F branch interchanged at a large yard in Catasaqua. Here is what the yard looked like in 1984 http://www.thebluecomet.com/lvWestCatasaqua1988.jpg
and in 1940s http://www.gingerb.com/CNJ%20Catasauqua ... 20View.jpg

These photos are looking north along the LVRR main. Just past the curve ahead north is the bridge you see. That was the CNJ connection to the Ironton.

Out of sight behind the blue building in the first photo was Biery Yard. It was 14 tracks and the LVRR used it to interchange with the Ironton.

You can literally say that 99.9% of the railroad infrastructure in the area was removed by CR. Today, only the 1 track CNJ remains on the east bank of the river.

The area is, however, a museum today. All the telegraph poles (complete with 5,000 wires), signals with lenses, relay boxes, bridges, etc. are still there. Only thing gone is trains and tracks.

Can anyone confirm if any of the customers the Ironton served are still in biz? I followed the row on google maps and it just looks like a loop track in the woods.

[carajul]

One more tid bit... did the Ironton do anything except make a horse shoe loop around Coply with both ends connecting at the LVRR? It appears as though there are a lot of abandoned building structures along the ROW, quite a few actually. The roofs are gone, but the walls are there. Lots of them all along the row.

[56-57]

The Ironton went as far west as Ironton, Pa, at least. One portion of the line was abandoned in the 1950's when the Pa Turnpike was constructed. Easier to cover over the line than build an overpass.

Micah

[gamebirdy]

The Ironton railroad was built to run between the Crane Iron Works in Catasauqa and Lock Ridge Furnace in Alburtis, which is in southern Lehigh county. The railroad was built circa 1882. The line not being active since the 1950's is about right. I have fished along stretches of the tracks in Whitehall and Ormrod since early 1970's, and no trains were running on it then. Most of the tracks have been removed and hiking trails created.

[NE2]

From the ICC valuation report (ca. 1917):

The railroad of The Ironton Railroad Company, herein called the Ironton Railroad, is a single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, located in the State of Pennsylvania. The owned mileage consists of a main line extending from Ironton to Coplay, with branches extending to Siegersville, Catasauqua, and Eberharts.
The railroad owned by the Thomas Railroad Company, hereinafter called the Thomas Railroad, is a single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, extending from West Catasauqua to Hokendauqua, Pa., a distance of 1.272 miles.

The Ironton leased the Thomas until they merged in 1917.

[one87th]

The Ironton Railroad opened from a junction with the LVRR at Coplay to Ironton in 1860. A branch was added to iron mines at Siegersville and Orefield in 1862. Trackage rights over the LVRR from Coplay to Hokendauqua gave the Ironton access to the Thomas Iron works.
A branch from Egypt (where Rt. 145 presently crosses) to a cement mill in West Coplay (present site of the Weis market on Rt. 145) was eventually extended to West Catasauqua to connect with the LVRR, Reading, and the "Thomas Railroad" (owned by the iron company). The Ironton's lease and eventual purchase of the Thomas Railroad, which ran from West Catasauqua to Hokendauqua, completed the "loop".

The bridge you are referring to was built by the CNJ in 1884 to connect with the Ironton. Part of it was heavily damaged by a flood in the 1940's. It was rebuilt and in latter years the CNJ used switchers (NW2s) to cross and carry out interchange.

Trackage below Siegersville to Orefield (which ended just past Lime Kiln Road behind the present Burger King on Rt. 309) was removed before 1900. The line to Siegersville was abandoned/removed in 1955-56. A mile of line in Ironton was abandoned in the 1960s. The line beyond Ormrod was abandoned prior to Conrail, and the remainder abandoned by Conrail in 1984.

A 1954 Shippers Guide lists the following industries served by the Ironton:
Coplay Cement @ Saylor (Coplay)
Kohlers Bros. Coal @ Kohler (Egypt)
Giant Cement @ Lesley (Egypt)
Lehigh Portland Cement and Lehigh Stone @ Ormrod
Eastern States Farmers Exchange (later Agway) @ Ironton
ADL Block Company, Grammes Building Materials, W.Shoemaker (feed), Trexler Farm, and W. Unangst (feed) @ Siegersville

The only industry listed above still in operation is the Kohler Bros. coal yard. The railroad's "loop" and line out to Ormrod has been converted into a rail trail. The ruins of the iron company, the cement plants listed above, and at least 6 other smaller cement plants are still visible, along with a derelict former passenger coach (Rt. 145) and boxcar (Coplay). Another old boxcar is part of the Kohler property, but was recently re-sheathed and no longer looks like a boxcar. A former Ironton caboose (partially restored) rests in a park on South Church Street in Whitehall. (And don't forget another Ironton coach is on the WK&S railroad in Kempton).

Attached is an Ironton mileage chart and an 1899 timetable for passenger service

ironton mileage 1899.jpg (78.29 KiB) Viewed 18098 times

Ironton timetable 1899.jpg (96.55 KiB) Viewed 18094 times

[carajul]

I just followed the branch line away from the Loop west of Egypt, PA.

Wow, look at all those online customers! Well, they're all burn out factory shells now. Even past the paved bike trail you can easily follow the row since there are bridges. There is a 5 track yard with tracks still in place too.

And what's the story with that mid-1800s passenger coash under Rt 145????!!!

[lvrr325]

A mid-1800s coach out in the weather would rot to nothing in a hurry, it wouldn't be much fancier than a box on wheels with windows either. Post a photo and perhaps someone can ID it.

[56-57]

A mid-1800s coach out in the weather would rot to nothing in a hurry, it wouldn't be much fancier than a box on wheels with windows either. Post a photo and perhaps someone can ID it.

According to Tom Biery in 'Alco's to Allentown' it was used as an MOW office after 1921. If we can get one of the Ironton Rail-Trail Volunteers on here we can get some more info on its' current state. Also, it was a combine.

Micah

[2nd trick op]

gamebirdy wrote:

The Ironton railroad was built to run between the Crane Iron Works in Catasauqa and Lock Ridge Furnace in Alburtis, which is in southern Lehigh county. The railroad was built circa 1882.

Not exactly: according to the Wikipedia link posted below, the line in question was developed as the Catasaqua and Fogelsville, a name which survived both the absorbtion of the tackage in question by the Reading, and the subsequent transfer of those assets to both Conrail and Norfolk Southern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catasauqua ... e_Railroad

The Ironton itself appears to have been developed as somewhat of an afterthought, the promoters having been closely linked to the local iron industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironton_Railroad

Given the technological and economic limitations of the day, rail transport was necessary for the mining and smelting of iron ore moving over even a very short distance. But according to the links, the area allso supported several other sources of revenue at one time or another, and the Catasaqua and Fogelsville provided the Reading with a direct connection to the heart of Pennsylvania's "cement belt" at Catasaqua, plus a connection to the Lehigh and New England.

The "C&F" has witnessed a growth in traffic over the past several years as several large warehouses have located in the area formerly known as Chapman, and the continued upward pressure on fuel prices will likely inveigh in favor of this trend. Reading employee timetables of the 1950's and 60's listed a daily freight between Reading and Catasaqua, and the line continues to be serviced by a nightly (except Friday and Saturday) local originating in Reading.

[carajul]

Why was it called the "Catasaqua &F" and why was the interchange yard called "Catty Yard" when they're not in Catasaqua...they're in Hokendaqua. Catty is a town few miles south on the other side of the river. And why are these old Indian names so hard to spell?

[Bethlehem Jct.]

Why was it called the "Catasaqua &F" and why was the interchange yard called "Catty Yard" when they're not in Catasaqua...they're in Hokendaqua. Catty is a town few miles south on the other side of the river. And why are these old Indian names so hard to spell?

I don't know precisely why. Maybe because Catasaqua was the closest sizable town, hence they wanted to associate with it? The Lehigh Valley's Freemansburg and Catasaqua and Mauch Chunk stations were not in their namesake boroughs, although they were just across the river in all 3 cases.

I can't help you with the Indian name spellings. Although, that reminds me of the time, about 20 years ago, that my cousins, who grew up in Southern California, visited the rest of the family in PA. We were driving down to a Phillies game, taking the NE Extension of the Turnpike to the Schuylkill Expressway. One of my cousins saw a sign for the Conshohocken exit. He tried to pronounce it:
"Conch-hoe... Consh-hoe... Consh-hoe-hoe-ken?" We told him how to pronounce it and suggested he not bother attempting any more such as Manayunk.

[one87th]

A mid-1800s coach out in the weather would rot to nothing in a hurry, it wouldn't be much fancier than a box on wheels with windows either. Post a photo and perhaps someone can ID it.

Here are some photos of the former Ironton Railroad combine in Egypt, PA taken in 1985. Incredibly it is still there in 2010, much worse for wear.
It was placed here in the 1920's shortly after the cessation of passenger service to serve as an office. Directly across from it was a water tank (base of which can still be seen) and a track scale (since demolished and pit filled in).
After Whitehall township took over the right-of-way and converted it to a rail trail, it sent out a notice to several historical societies inquiring if anyone would be interested in restoring the combine. No offers came forward, and the relic continues its slow journey to oblivion.

[one87th]

Below are photos from 1984 of the Kohler coal yard in Egypt, PA along the Ironton Railroad. The boxcar, utilized as a storage shed, is still there in 2010. It has been re-sheathed and no longer resembles a boxcar.
Records show that the Ironton owned some gondolas and hopper cars in the 1910's and 20's, but I could find no records of box cars. This was probably an ex-Reading or Lehigh Valley car, as they jointly owned the line beginning in 1925.