The Ironton Rail-trail is located in what is commonly called Whitehall, PA, not far from Allentown. For more info, including historic photos, visit www.irontonrailtrail.org Thanks to Donnie Collangello for a fantastic tour!
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| The Ironton at Coplay, PA | |||||||||||||
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| Ok, so its not really all that close to Scranton, but a tour of the Ironton Rail-Trail at Coplay, PA yeilded some forgotton pieces of the trail's namesake railroad. The Ironton Railroad was jointly owned by the Lehigh Valley and the Reading, and in its later years was well photographed mainly due to its use of Baldwin built switch engines. Primarily servicing the Coal, Iron and Lime industries, the Ironton became part of Conrail in 1976 and would be abandoned in the mid-1980's and become a walking/biking trail in the 1990's. The Ironton Rail-trail is located in what is commonly called Whitehall, PA, not far from Allentown. For more info, including historic photos, visit www.irontonrailtrail.org Thanks to Donnie Collangello for a fantastic tour! |
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The only remaining piece of Ironton rolling stock is viewed in the former "Egypt" yard. In later years the car saw use as a yard office before its abandonment. | ||||||||||||
| A look inside the combine reveals the poor old relic has been completely gutted, save for the steam heating elements at the baggage end of the car. | |||||||||||||
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| A short distance away inside a small concrete building lies this piece of steam machinery. What was it? A water pump? | |||||||||||||
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| Just down the road a mile or so, a genuine Ironton boxcar hides in the brush. Amazingly, this 40ft wooden still retains its original trucks! | |||||||||||||
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A closer look at the Car reveals a faded "Ironton" logo! | ||||||||||||
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About a half mile or so down the train we come across this former Central Railroad of New Jersey bridge. Like the Ironton, this bridge has sat unused for some time. | ||||||||||||
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| After a brisk hike up to the CNJ track level, we discover that track is actually still in place. Perhaps not all is lost? | |||||||||||||
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