RDG Co. Bethlehem Branch

[glennk419]

Back when EPRY was storing cars on the north end of in-service portion of the line, they were spotted to within 20-30 feet of California Road. This point marks the current northern limits of operation with the crossing being paved over.

[Pacobell73]

You can see in this picture that California Road is paved over, and there are cars parked just past the crossing. Essentially, the cars are up as far north as they can go.


Interestingly enough, the first crossing in Shelly proper is the only one not paved over. This is Cherry Road. Hard to believe SEPTA proposed building a parking lot in this tight area.


Or then we have Station Avenue in Coopersburg. Most grade crossings look like this. Hard to believe there was a train station here approximately 25 years ago.

[Pacobell73]

Here is a little THEN and NOW. Here are two photos from 1970 and 3/2002. The location is Coopersburg.

1970


2002

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1970


2002

[Franklin Gowen]

C'mon guys, this feels like a funeral. The facts certainly support the gloomy mood, but it's depressing as Hell to read. I quit reading and posting for a long while for that very reason.

Even though there *is* plenty of decay and blame to go around with NS, Septa, the city of Bethlehem, etc., there's more to be proud of than most of you realize. This year is the sesquicentennial - the 150th birthday - of trains running on the Bethlehem Branch. 1855 saw service begin from Philly to Gwynedd Valley. This got me thinking about marking the occasion. But how?

Imagine with me for a moment. What if the Reading didn't sink into its final bankruptcy, and was still with us as a private rr with its own passenger service? (Yes, unrealistic, but that's not the point here.) Imagine if the RDG printed up a series of posters to trumpet their sucesses in carrying folks by rail along the old "North Penn" route. Bold, dramatic, to-the-point, memorable...like any good ad should be!

What would one of those look like? Like THIS:





The Reading is gone, and Septa is a bunch of clueless nitwits, but a century and a half of service is historic. The next time you ride an R5 Lansdale/Doylestown train, remember that. It may not be much consolation for "Hilltop Swamp" in the cut near Coopersburg, and losing the route thru south-side Bethlehem, but at least it's something positive! Yes, the positives do exist. There's just so much official neglect and waste that we've forgotten them. I will look harder for more of them.

A lot of them are tied up in personal memories of what the branch meant to various folks who used it during the decades. Freight trains hauling goods, psgr locals running like clockwork, the 1931 electrification, thru cars to & from the LV and the CNJ -- all of that was for the benefit of people. I aim to shine a light on that...somehow...

[trackhiker]

Thanks Pacobell for the photo's and Franklin Gowen for the poster. Is the poster photo actually from the Gwynedd Valley Station looking north?
I agree that the "North Penn" lines 150 yrs. of service is an anniversary worth noting. This would be something for SEPTA and the City of Phila. to promote (like them or not, they are the current operators of the line.) They could use it to promote off-peak usage of the line for things like Phillies games, the museums on the Parkway, the new Constitution Center (worth a visit by the way) and other cultural events. Sort of like the airlines use the weekend stayover, they could have a special package to include a train ride and a Phillies game or museum admission.
But then again, like it was said before, SEPTA is run by a bunch of dolts who wouldn't think of such a thing. They had the opportunity with the "Stay Overnight" thing after 9/11. All they had to add to the commercials with the people in their pajamas was, "Oh, and by the way, take the train for half price." It's already 2005 and they didn't think of running any joint campaigns to promote the anniversary. I guess that they are just a bunch of bureaucrats who are so used to running to Washington for money that they would never think of contacting the tourism board to generate some more of their own! There is a large percentage of the population of the suburbs who never venture into the city because they are afraid of the traffic and parking hassles. What about a joint campaign with the renovated NJ Aquarium? They could have a package deal; train, shuttle/bus to the ferry, admission ticket. And maybe include a DUCKS ride. Those guys are independent businessmen. They would understand what I am talking about here. Hell, they would probably be the guys to set the whole thing up! Even if they made the train ride the same price for a family of four equal to the parking at the Park, they would get incremental income just from filling the empty seats on the trains already running.

[SteelWheels21]

From Railpace 8/04, looks like EPRY got a little piece of the pie from the state of PA along with the Roofing company it serves in Richland Township

---- Building Materials Corp. of America, Richland Township, $100,000, for the construction of track and six turnouts to enhance loading and unloading operations at the renovated roofing manufacturing facility. -- East Penn Railways, Inc., Perkasie Borough and East Rockhill
Township, $100,100, to continue maintenance of a 16-mile section of railroad that serves Shelly Enterprises---

How has the traffic been lately on the line? Any maintenance projects going on?

[glennk419]

More from the press release...

Looks like our area is getting some funds:

-- Bucks County Railroad Preservation and Restoration Corp., Buckingham,
Wrightstown, Northampton and Warwick townships, $250,000, for track
maintenance to improve quality of rail service to three new
customers.

-- Building Materials Corp. of America, Richland Township, $100,000, for
the construction of track and six turnouts to enhance loading and
unloading operations at the renovated roofing manufacturing facility.

-- East Penn Railways, Inc., Perkasie Borough and East Rockhill
Township, $100,100, to continue maintenance of a 16-mile section of
railroad that serves Shelly Enterprises.

-- Lansdale Warehouse Co., Inc., Hatfield, $40,000, for track
rehabilitation and building modifications to allow for 90' railcars at
the warehouse.

-- Penn Eastern Rail Lines, Inc., $143,000, for maintenance work over 27
miles of track to handle anticipated increases in freight traffic.

Not sure who the new customers are along the New Hope & Ivyland (top bullet) but it's great to see the investment being made and it should mean even more traffic for Lansdale.

[Pacobell73]

Do we have any photos of the recent carnage?

[glennk419]

Do we have any photos of the recent carnage?

What carnage are you referring to? Other than the removal of the South Bethlehem trackage, I wasn't aware of anything else going on along the branch.

[Pacobell73]

What carnage are you referring to? Other than the removal of the South Bethlehem trackage, I wasn't aware of anything else going on along the branch.

Yes, I am referring to the South Bethlehem bombing.

[jrevans]

I don't have any pictures of the carnage up in Bethlehem, but I took some new pictures of Quakertown back on July 25, 2005 (shortly after returning from my Honeymoon).

The former SP 5114 is going to be new motive power on the line and was parked in Quakertown awaiting a return to service. I also got some pictures of the nicely restored passenger station.

Here are the pictures

Jim (now living in Berks county) Evans

[glennk419]

Bethlehem City Council passed a resolution last night that will allow slot parlors as part of the Bethlehem Steel site redevelopment.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?secti ... id=3461863

Sure would be nice to have passenger service to alleviate some of that feared traffic...

[jrevans]

There's a new article in the Morning Call today:

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3_ ... slocal-hed

City officials update South Side on Greenway, Rt. 412 projects
Bethlehem still acquiring land for plan nearing full funding.

By Bill Tattersall
Of The Morning Call

About a dozen Bethlehem residents gathered Monday at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity on the South Side to hear about the proposed Greenway and Route 412 expansion in the city.

Darlene Heller, city planning and zoning director, brought residents up to date on the Greenway the city wants to build through the heart of the South Side using the abandoned Norfolk Southern rail bed.

''We are still in the process of acquiring the land, and just last week we applied for some grants to pay for the grading, seeding and installing the macadam path,'' Heller said. ''That work alone amounts to $1 million, but we are not sure how much, if any, we will get from the grants.''

The proposed Greenway will stretch from Union Station next to the Hill-to-Hill Bridge on the west side to Lynn Avenue on the east. The city is proposing the combination walking-biking path to have benches and other lay-bys.

''We are also proposing a parking garage and transportation hub, with a possible bus depot, on the western end of the Greenway, and a skate park under the Daly Avenue bridge on the east,'' Heller said. ''But those are long-term projects that will be done if there is a demand for them.''

Mike Alkhal, city director of public works, said the Route 412 widening is progressing and the state Transportation Department is working on a contract for the final project design.

''They are expecting to sign a contract in the next couple of months and then the final design will take about 24 months to be completed,'' Alkhal said. ''We are looking at construction starting in 2008.''

He said the $15 million from the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act that Congress passed in July means the $55 million project is almost fully funded.

''Between what PennDOT has earmarked, that federal money and other sources, we either have it all or are very close,'' Alkhal said. ''Some of the estimated cost is land acquisition, but we are getting a lot of that donated, so the actual cost will be lower than the estimated $55 million.''

They probably could have refurbed the tracks for cheaper....

[glennk419]

What a WASTE.......

[glennk419]

I was in South Bethlehem today and besides the rails being gone, it looks like C&S finally made their way up there as well. For the most part, between 3rd Street and the PBNE yard, the only evidence that a railroad ever existed there are the rails in the street at the grade crossings and the relay cases. All of the crossing apparatus has been removed with the exception of one crossbuck near Daly Avenue. Amazingly though, the HEM approach signal still stands, along with the three head home signal at St. Lukes, both finally dark. I took a few pictures but can't post them, I guess there's no need to add to the gloom anyway.