Allentown Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Allentown Railroad was a rail line proposed in the 1850s to connect the Central Railroad of New Jersey
at Allentown
with the Pennsylvania Railroad
's main line across the Allegheny Mountains
. Though grading was almost entirely finished, the project was halted by the Panic of 1857
, and the completion of the East Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859 made the Allentown Railroad's proposed line largely redundant. As a result, track was never laid on most of the line. The small portion that did became a branchline of the Reading Company
from Topton
to Kutztown
, and was nominally owned by the Allentown Railroad until the Reading dissolved it in 1945 to simplify corporate bookkeeping. Other Reading subsidiaries also laid track on parts of the right-of-way elsewhere along the route.
in 1852, on the outskirts of the Lehigh Valley
, and anticipated extension to Allentown. If a direct route could be built from Allentown to the Susquehanna
, western traffic could reach New York faster by this route than by detouring through Philadelphia
and coming north over the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
Such a route would run parallel to the mountains in the region, and a lateral coal railroad already extended west from the Susquehanna. The Dauphin and Susquehanna Coal Company connected with the PRR at Rockville
(where their main line crossed the Susquehanna), ran north along the river to Dauphin
, and turned northeast to run up Stony Valley to the Rausch Gap
coal mines. It proved to be a willing partner in the plan.
and Port Clinton
, with a branch into Kutztown. The Dauphin and Susquehanna Coal Company had charter rights to connect with any rail line in Schuylkill County, and it began building an extension of its line, starting from the Reading at Auburn and driving westward. By November 4, 1853, the new line of the D&S was open from Auburn to Pine Grove
, following Bear Creek to its headwaters and then dropping down Lower Little Swatara Creek. Work continued on the more difficult middle segment, which required heavier grading to climb along the slopes of Second Mountain and enter Stony Valley at Fishing Creek Gap.
On March 13, 1854, a second railroad, the Auburn and Port Clinton Railroad, was chartered for the project. This would connect the D&S at Auburn with the Allentown RR at Port Clinton, running parallel to the Reading main line along the Schuylkill River
. The combined railroads were sometimes unofficially referred to as the Auburn and Allentown Railroad. On April 13, 1854, the charters of both the Allentown and the A&PC railroads were amended to allow them to merge with the Lehigh Valley Railroad
, then building down through Allentown towards Easton
(across the river from Phillipsburg). The line from Pine Grove to Rausch Gap was completed in June, and the D&S ran its first through train.
In 1855, work began in earnest on the Allentown Railroad itself. The route chosen left Allentown in a southwesterly direction, passing through Dorneyville
, Wescosville
, Trexlertown, and Breinigsville. Ducking through Topton, it ran directly through Kutztown and followed Sacony Creek
through the hills to Virginville
. From thence it followed small streams west and north to Windsor Castle, site of the line's one tunnel. It was to be 1100 feet (335.3 m) long, with rubble masonry portals. Leaving the tunnel, it would skirt the edges of Hamburg
and push through the gorge of the Schuylkill to reach Port Clinton. By July 1856, the CNJ was prepared to abandon the project in favor of a rival route, via Reading
. However, the other investors pressed on. The Auburn & Port Clinton was merged into the Allentown Railroad on January 1, 1857. The Panic of 1857
, however, brought work to a halt. The D&S was foreclosed and reorganized on April 1, 1859 as the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad, under control of the Reading. On May 11, 1859, the East Pennsylvania Railroad opened, connecting Allentown and Reading. From Reading, traffic could either pass north to Auburn and thence over the Schuylkill and Susquehanna, or west over the Lebanon Valley Railroad
to Harrisburg
. The distance cut off by the direct route from Port Clinton to Allentown was minimal, so when the Reading gained control of the Allentown RR on July 12, 1860, it saw no reason to complete it.
A portion of the grade from Trexlertown to Breinigsville was used by the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad
to build a branch to local limonite
deposits. This line, too, eventually came under Reading control. Finally, the Reading used a short segment of the right-of-way in Allentown itself to reach a Mack Truck plant in 1917.
were dismantled by Works Project Administration crews in the 1930s. A portion of the grading can still be seen on the southeast side of the intersection of Cedar Crest Boulevard and Route 222
, near Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
, and on the north side of Route 222 between Grange and Krocks Roads. Turning Leaf Trail in Trexlertown and most of Wentz Road in Breinigsville were built on the part of the grade used by the Catasauqua & Fogelsville. Beyond the end of rail in Kutztown, the grade is intermittently intact along the Sacony, and almost continuous from Virginville to Hamburg.
Field Survey from March 2010 shows the graded ROW still very visible on the east side of Grange Road and on the west side of Krocks Road, as well as on the south side of Hamilton Boulevard just east of Cedar Crest Boulevard.
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
at Allentown
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
with the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's main line across the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
. Though grading was almost entirely finished, the project was halted by the Panic of 1857
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Indeed, because of the interconnectedness of the world economy by the time of the 1850s, the financial crisis which began in the autumn of 1857 was...
, and the completion of the East Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859 made the Allentown Railroad's proposed line largely redundant. As a result, track was never laid on most of the line. The small portion that did became a branchline of the Reading Company
Reading Company
The Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...
from Topton
Topton, Pennsylvania
Topton is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,948 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Topton is located at ....
to Kutztown
Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Kutztown is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Allentown and northeast of Reading. As of the 2000 census, the borough has a total population of 5,067. It is the site of Kutztown University.- History :...
, and was nominally owned by the Allentown Railroad until the Reading dissolved it in 1945 to simplify corporate bookkeeping. Other Reading subsidiaries also laid track on parts of the right-of-way elsewhere along the route.
Origins
The CNJ had reached PhillipsburgPhillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....
in 1852, on the outskirts of the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
, and anticipated extension to Allentown. If a direct route could be built from Allentown to the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
, western traffic could reach New York faster by this route than by detouring through Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and coming north over the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
Such a route would run parallel to the mountains in the region, and a lateral coal railroad already extended west from the Susquehanna. The Dauphin and Susquehanna Coal Company connected with the PRR at Rockville
Rockville, Pennsylvania
Rockville is an unincorporated community in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, at latitude 40.336 and longitude -76.905. The elevation is 328 feet...
(where their main line crossed the Susquehanna), ran north along the river to Dauphin
Dauphin, Pennsylvania
Dauphin is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 791 at the 2010 census. Dauphin's ZIP code is 17018. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Dauphin is located at...
, and turned northeast to run up Stony Valley to the Rausch Gap
Rausch Gap, Pennsylvania
The ghost town of Rausch Gap was the largest of several coal mining towns in St. Anthony's Wilderness that appeared, flourished, and died during the period between 1830 and 1910...
coal mines. It proved to be a willing partner in the plan.
Construction of route
The D&S and CNJ jointly procured a charter, issued April 19, 1853, for the Allentown Railroad, which would construct the first segment of the route. It would run from Allentown to the Reading main line between AuburnAuburn, Pennsylvania
There is also an Auburn Township in Pennsylvania.Auburn is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 839 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Auburn is located at ....
and Port Clinton
Port Clinton, Pennsylvania
Port Clinton is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 288 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Port Clinton is located at ....
, with a branch into Kutztown. The Dauphin and Susquehanna Coal Company had charter rights to connect with any rail line in Schuylkill County, and it began building an extension of its line, starting from the Reading at Auburn and driving westward. By November 4, 1853, the new line of the D&S was open from Auburn to Pine Grove
Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Pine Grove is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 2,154.-Geography:Pine Grove is located at ....
, following Bear Creek to its headwaters and then dropping down Lower Little Swatara Creek. Work continued on the more difficult middle segment, which required heavier grading to climb along the slopes of Second Mountain and enter Stony Valley at Fishing Creek Gap.
On March 13, 1854, a second railroad, the Auburn and Port Clinton Railroad, was chartered for the project. This would connect the D&S at Auburn with the Allentown RR at Port Clinton, running parallel to the Reading main line along the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
. The combined railroads were sometimes unofficially referred to as the Auburn and Allentown Railroad. On April 13, 1854, the charters of both the Allentown and the A&PC railroads were amended to allow them to merge with the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
, then building down through Allentown towards Easton
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
(across the river from Phillipsburg). The line from Pine Grove to Rausch Gap was completed in June, and the D&S ran its first through train.
In 1855, work began in earnest on the Allentown Railroad itself. The route chosen left Allentown in a southwesterly direction, passing through Dorneyville
Dorneyville, Pennsylvania
Dorneyville is an unincorporated town located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA. The town is located between Allentown, Pennsylvania and Trexlertown, Pennsylvania in South Whitehall Township. Dorneyville is located off Interstate 78 and is home to the northern terminus of U.S. Route 222. It is...
, Wescosville
Wescosville, Pennsylvania
Wescosville is an unincorporated town located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The town is located between Allentown, Pennsylvania and Trexlertown, Pennsylvania in Lower Macungie Township. It is split between the Allentown zip codes of 18103, 18104, and 18106...
, Trexlertown, and Breinigsville. Ducking through Topton, it ran directly through Kutztown and followed Sacony Creek
Sacony Creek
Sacony Creek is a tributary of Maiden Creek in Berks County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It flows through the borough of Kutztown, and is the main water source there....
through the hills to Virginville
Virginville, Pennsylvania
Virginville is an unincorporated community in Richmond Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located at the junction of Pennsylvania Route 143 and Crystal Ridge Road....
. From thence it followed small streams west and north to Windsor Castle, site of the line's one tunnel. It was to be 1100 feet (335.3 m) long, with rubble masonry portals. Leaving the tunnel, it would skirt the edges of Hamburg
Hamburg, Pennsylvania
Hamburg is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,114 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Hamburg, Germany.-Geography:Hamburg is located at ....
and push through the gorge of the Schuylkill to reach Port Clinton. By July 1856, the CNJ was prepared to abandon the project in favor of a rival route, via Reading
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
. However, the other investors pressed on. The Auburn & Port Clinton was merged into the Allentown Railroad on January 1, 1857. The Panic of 1857
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Indeed, because of the interconnectedness of the world economy by the time of the 1850s, the financial crisis which began in the autumn of 1857 was...
, however, brought work to a halt. The D&S was foreclosed and reorganized on April 1, 1859 as the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad, under control of the Reading. On May 11, 1859, the East Pennsylvania Railroad opened, connecting Allentown and Reading. From Reading, traffic could either pass north to Auburn and thence over the Schuylkill and Susquehanna, or west over the Lebanon Valley Railroad
Lebanon Valley Railroad
The Lebanon Valley Railroad is a railroad line between Harrisburg and Reading in Pennsylvania, USA. The line opened on 18 January 1858.The road was acquired by the Reading Railroad on 20 March 1858, which put them in direct competition with the Pennsylvania Railroad for the Philadelphia to...
to Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. The distance cut off by the direct route from Port Clinton to Allentown was minimal, so when the Reading gained control of the Allentown RR on July 12, 1860, it saw no reason to complete it.
Reading and later operation
The Reading briefly considered a revival of the project in 1869, but on May 1, 1869, it obtained a lease of the East Penn. This road would become a permanent part of the Reading system, and the Allentown Railroad's plants were negated forever. The Reading did lay rail on a small segment of the grade from the East Penn at Topton to reach Kutztown, a branch opened on January 10, 1870 or 1871. The Allentown Railroad remained a corporate entity in the Reading system until it was merged in on December 31, 1945 to simplify the corporate structure of that railroad and to save on taxes, as with a series of other mergers the next year. The line survived the bankruptcy and breakup of the Reading: it is now owned by the Kutztown Transportation Authority and operated by Penn Eastern Rail Lines, Inc.A portion of the grade from Trexlertown to Breinigsville was used by the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad
Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad
The Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad was built in the 1850s to transport iron ore from local mines in Lehigh and later Berks County to furnaces along the Lehigh River...
to build a branch to local limonite
Limonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
deposits. This line, too, eventually came under Reading control. Finally, the Reading used a short segment of the right-of-way in Allentown itself to reach a Mack Truck plant in 1917.
Relics
Grading of the line was nearly complete by 1857, and many traces still remain today. Bridge abutments for the crossing of the Little Lehigh CreekLittle Lehigh Creek
The Little Lehigh Creek is approximately long, in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is also sometimes referred to as the Little Lehigh River. It is called the Little Lehigh because it is the largest tributary of the Lehigh River....
were dismantled by Works Project Administration crews in the 1930s. A portion of the grading can still be seen on the southeast side of the intersection of Cedar Crest Boulevard and Route 222
Pennsylvania Route 222
Pennsylvania Route 222 is a -long state highway contained entirely in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and its immediate suburbs mostly along Hamilton Boulevard. The route, in center city Allentown, is aligned along West Hamilton, West Linden, and West Walnut Streets...
, near Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park features nine roller coasters, other adult and children's rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom....
, and on the north side of Route 222 between Grange and Krocks Roads. Turning Leaf Trail in Trexlertown and most of Wentz Road in Breinigsville were built on the part of the grade used by the Catasauqua & Fogelsville. Beyond the end of rail in Kutztown, the grade is intermittently intact along the Sacony, and almost continuous from Virginville to Hamburg.
Field Survey from March 2010 shows the graded ROW still very visible on the east side of Grange Road and on the west side of Krocks Road, as well as on the south side of Hamilton Boulevard just east of Cedar Crest Boulevard.