This video contains scenes taken at the former Conrail and Central Railroad of New Jersey engine terminal in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on November 23, 1989.
This is where I started my railroad career in July of 1978 as a hostler for Conrail. Nights. I retired 34 1/2 years later as a locomotive engineer for NS. Lots of work when Conrail took over. Then the EPA came down hard on the railroad about all the pollution, fuel oil, asbestos contamination. Conrail shut down the engine terminal and shop because it was too expensive to rebuild following EPA standards. After that, locomotives would run out of fuel regularly. They hired a fuel truck to fuel all the local power but no sand and no maintenance. The turntable was pulled out and that left Allentown without a way to wye power. Near the end of Conrail they managed to construct a wye on the site of the old turntable. But unfortunately it was rarely used because #6 hump track was always fouling the house lead. The wye is there today, but the coal/sand tower and roundhouse is gone.
My one and only trip here was aug. 1979. was a very busy place. red SW8s ,,,about 4 of them running around. i notice 1 in the video here. in the roundhouse was a blue former LV ,,,RS11. they were hiding the RS11 delaying the inevitable one way trip out of here. about 20 engines were there. employees were very friendly.
Haven't seen this place in quite a while, Anon! As a railfan Bethlum boy in the '60s & early '70s I used to haunt the right-of-way & property of the Lehigh Valley, Reading, Jersey Central, Lehigh & New England (& even the PB&NE, the Beth Steel in-house line) hopping freights along the Lehigh River between the mighty metropolises of Easton and Allentown & Nazareth & Hellertown & generally infesting every RR nook & cranny, up to no good. (My longest hop was from the Altwn Yard a bit west of the enginehouse up the LV almost to Buffalo -- then east along the NYC cross-state to Albany & then I was caught by the RR bulls, alas.) Christ, I just realized how f-ing old I'm getting: as a kindergartner I watched what was the last Reading Ramble come blasting through with one of those massive T-1s back in '64! -- and later, in high school, I hopped the rear of the tender of the painted T-1 that pulled the Freedom Train out of its stint in Bethlehem one dark night -- I rode it for more than a mile & a half before it started speeding up past the Altwn Yard en route to Reading. That was my hobo high-water mark, for sure.) Those were wide-open times, and all kinds of buildings & facilities from bygone eras were still there to be explored! I used to wander all over this particular enginehouse area -- a buddy & I actually climbed up to the tip-top inside that giant coaling structure, wherein one false step off the rickety central catwalk & down you'd go to your doom a hundred feet or so into a vast concrete bin that funneled you to the gaping hole from which you'd drop the last few dozen feet to the track below where the crows would pick your bones. My pal even snitched one of the giant million-watt-or-so bulbs, about a foot long, from the light fixtures you can see up top. The railroad guys didn't really care what insane antics you got up to, if you did it discretely so they didn't have to take official notice. They'd give you little joy-rides in the cab when hostling the engines on & off the turntable! There was an ancient wooden L&NE 4-wheel bobtail caboose (like this one: www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1707618 ) set out to pasture along with other old work cars, etc. by the coaling tower, still pretty intact with all its interior fittings, including a pot-belly stove! Cheers.
I'm riding behind the T-1 #2102 for the fourth time on June 22 from Nesquehoning to Tunkhannock and return. That excursion sold out several days ago. There are other ones that don't go to Tunkhannock with tickets available. Reading and Northern is the owner and operator of the railroad and excursions. Norfolk Southern hosted steam excursions again from Sept. 2011 to May 2017 and there were a few in eastern-middle PA with the Fort Wayne 765 that I rode, but now NS wants nothing to do with excursions again. 765 was in Allentown Yard in August 2015 then pulled two excursions from west of Bethlehem to Pittston and return over NS and RBMN.
This is where I started my railroad career in July of 1978 as a hostler for Conrail. Nights. I retired 34 1/2
years later as a locomotive engineer for NS. Lots of work when Conrail took over. Then the EPA came down hard on the railroad about all the pollution, fuel oil, asbestos contamination. Conrail shut down the engine terminal and shop because it was too expensive to rebuild following EPA standards. After that, locomotives would run out of fuel regularly. They hired a fuel truck to fuel all the local power
but no sand and no maintenance. The turntable was pulled out and that left Allentown without a way to wye power. Near the end of Conrail they managed to construct a wye on the site of the old turntable. But unfortunately it was rarely used because #6 hump track was always fouling the house lead. The wye is there today, but the coal/sand tower and roundhouse is gone.
My one and only trip here was aug. 1979. was a very busy place. red SW8s ,,,about 4 of them running around.
i notice 1 in the video here. in the roundhouse was a blue former LV ,,,RS11. they were hiding the RS11 delaying the inevitable one way trip out of here. about 20 engines were there. employees were very friendly.
Haven't seen this place in quite a while, Anon! As a railfan Bethlum boy in the '60s & early '70s I used to haunt the right-of-way & property of the Lehigh Valley, Reading, Jersey Central, Lehigh & New England (& even the PB&NE, the Beth Steel in-house line) hopping freights along the Lehigh River between the mighty metropolises of Easton and Allentown & Nazareth & Hellertown & generally infesting every RR nook & cranny, up to no good. (My longest hop was from the Altwn Yard a bit west of the enginehouse up the LV almost to Buffalo -- then east along the NYC cross-state to Albany & then I was caught by the RR bulls, alas.) Christ, I just realized how f-ing old I'm getting: as a kindergartner I watched what was the last Reading Ramble come blasting through with one of those massive T-1s back in '64! -- and later, in high school, I hopped the rear of the tender of the painted T-1 that pulled the Freedom Train out of its stint in Bethlehem one dark night -- I rode it for more than a mile & a half before it started speeding up past the Altwn Yard en route to Reading. That was my hobo high-water mark, for sure.) Those were wide-open times, and all kinds of buildings & facilities from bygone eras were still there to be explored! I used to wander all over this particular enginehouse area -- a buddy & I actually climbed up to the tip-top inside that giant coaling structure, wherein one false step off the rickety central catwalk & down you'd go to your doom a hundred feet or so into a vast concrete bin that funneled you to the gaping hole from which you'd drop the last few dozen feet to the track below where the crows would pick your bones. My pal even snitched one of the giant million-watt-or-so bulbs, about a foot long, from the light fixtures you can see up top. The railroad guys didn't really care what insane antics you got up to, if you did it discretely so they didn't have to take official notice. They'd give you little joy-rides in the cab when hostling the engines on & off the turntable! There was an ancient wooden L&NE 4-wheel bobtail caboose (like this one: www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1707618 ) set out to pasture along with other old work cars, etc. by the coaling tower, still pretty intact with all its interior fittings, including a pot-belly stove! Cheers.
I'm riding behind the T-1 #2102 for the fourth time on June 22 from Nesquehoning to Tunkhannock and return. That excursion sold out several days ago. There are other ones that don't go to Tunkhannock with tickets available. Reading and Northern is the owner and operator of the railroad and excursions. Norfolk Southern hosted steam excursions again from Sept. 2011 to May 2017 and there were a few in eastern-middle PA with the Fort Wayne 765 that I rode, but now NS wants nothing to do with excursions again. 765 was in Allentown Yard in August 2015 then pulled two excursions from west of Bethlehem to Pittston and return over NS and RBMN.
BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF MY CNJ DAYS CONDUCTING AND GYM @A'TOWN-CONDUCTING @YM AT BETHLEHEM JCT 1948-54ED O'DONNELL
This is 1989 and it looks like a futuristic wasteland. Wow!!
This place is an environmental nightmare.
Interesting video. Thanks.
Does anyone know if there's anything left up there today 2019?
Nothing but the Brick building. All traces of the BET are gone.
is this the round house by rt 33?
No that is the Reading roundhouse at the former Saucon Yard. This is in Bethlehem. Former CNJ and Lehigh Valley RR.
Nothing but ghosts 👻
Is this place still standing?
Gone, but not forgotten.
This place is an environmental nightmare.
Interesting video. Thanks.