Allentown station (Lehigh Valley Railroad)

Allentown
The station in 1912, looking from the southeast.
Location 4th and Hamilton
Coordinates 40°36′14″N 075°27′51″W / 40.60389°N 75.46417°W / 40.60389; -75.46417 (LVRR Station)
Line(s) Lehigh Valley Railroad
History
Opened 1890
Closed 1961
Former lines & services
Preceding station   Lehigh Valley Railroad   Following station
toward Buffalo
Main Line
toward Jersey City
SEPTA
Bethlehem LineTerminus
Lehigh Valley Transit Company
TerminusLiberty Bell High Speed Line
Until 1951
toward 69th Street

Allentown was a train station in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was opened by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1890 and closed in 1961. The building was demolished in 1972. The station was located one block west of the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Allentown station.

History

The Lehigh Valley Railroad opened its original line between Allentown and Easton, Pennsylvania in 1855; the first passenger train ran between the two cities on June 11.[1] In 1890 the Lehigh Valley relocated its station to downtown Allentown, just off its main line. The station stood near the intersection of Hamilton and 4th Street, adjacent to Jordan Creek.[2] The railroad abandoned its remaining passenger trains on February 4, 1961, after years of financial losses and declining patronage.[3] Allentown was one of several passenger-only stations which was closed as a result.[4] The abandoned station was demolished in 1972 to permit the construction of an enlarged road bridge over Jordan Creek.[5]

Service along the former Lehigh Valley route to Allentown resumed in 1978. Conrail, which had taken over the Lehigh Valley's lines in 1976, began operating commuter trains from Allentown to Philadelphia. The service was funded by the federal government and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Trains stopped at a platform at 3rd and Union, approximately a block south of where the Lehigh Valley's station had stood. Service began on July 31, 1978, with four round-trips to Philadelphia. The service was an extension of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's existing Bethlehem Line trains.[6] The station consisted of a platform, small shelter, and an unpaved parking lot. Service between Allentown and Bethlehem ended on August 20, 1979, amid low patronage and a dispute over the subsidy for the service.[7][8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Archer 1977, p. 32
  2. ↑ Archer 1977, p. 174
  3. ↑ Archer 1977, p. 275
  4. ↑ "LVRR To Close Six Passenger Depots Monday". Jim Thorpe Times-News. February 7, 1961. p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Storch, Phil H. (June 18, 1973). "Hamilton Span Opening Set For Tomorrow". The Morning Call. p. 6. Retrieved April 14, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Conrail adds trains today to-from Lehigh Valley". The Morning Call. July 31, 1978. p. 13. Retrieved April 14, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Clark, John (June 15, 1979). "Lack of commuters danger signal for route". The Morning Call. p. 9. Retrieved April 14, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Coyle, Marcia (August 3, 1979). "Conrail cancels Allentown train". The Morning Call. p. 5. Retrieved April 14, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

References

  • Archer, Robert F. (1977). The History of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Berkeley: Howell-North Books. ISBN 978-0-8310-7113-4.
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