Rail activity in the cement region

I visited the region today. I caught the train coming out of Bethlehem where I could hear chatter on the scanner where the route was referred to as the cement secondary. The train left JU at 9:10 Am . I photographed it from ther Broad St bridge as it went up the Monocacy Creek valley and then went on up to Nazareth and caught it again as it moved some covered hoppers onto a siding which I think was Esroc. Later it went on east to Stockertown and I got some pix by "chasing" it on the Pa. highway that runs through Nazareth. While in the area I also went to Martin's Creek to Conagra (Alpha Cement) but there were no trains or rail cars at that location. That's an interesting area and it must have been a sight to behold circa 1950's.

I was at Alpha Cement in the mid-90s and it was full of hoppers and there was a blue CR loco parked there.

There are still 3 spurs into the place.

The pics I've seen of the 1950s... front of the place was jammed with cement hoppers, the rear by the river had spurs for boxcars where bagged cement was loaded.

carajul wrote:I was at Alpha Cement in the mid-90s and it was full of hoppers and there was a blue CR loco parked there.

There are still 3 spurs into the place.

The pics I've seen of the 1950s... front of the place was jammed with cement hoppers, the rear by the river had spurs for boxcars where bagged cement was loaded.

I grew up riding past Lehigh & Alpha going to the Poconos [Rt 611 was the only way then!] and I remember Lehigh installing the current truck loading shed in the 60's, Alpha shipped mostly by rail the whole time, I remember seeing trucks backed along the silos being loaded w/ the railcar equipment. That plant was always busy.