Catasauqua Railroads
Beginning with the Crane Iron Works Railroad in the early 1850s, many railroads were built in the Catasauqua area to supplement the two main through lines that that passed along the north-east (The Central Railroad of New Jersey) and south-west (The Lehigh Valley Railroad) banks of the Lehigh River. Below are links to excerpts that deal with these roads.
From: Yurko, J., Catasauqua – The Crossroads of the Anthracite Railroads, Flags, Diamonds, Statues, Vol. 6, Nos. 3 & 4, 1986
Catasauqua
& Fogelsville R. R.
From: Kulp, Randolph L., ed. Railroads in the Lehigh River Valley, Lehigh Valley Chapter National Railway Historical Society, 1962
Catasauqua
And Fogelsville Railroad
Lehigh And
New England Railroad Company
From Wikipedia
Catasauqua And Fogelsville Railroad
The Central Railroad Company of New Jersey (aka the Jersey Central or CNJ) rail operations in Catasauqua are not covered explicitly in the excerpts included herein. Specifically, the date at which operations were begun is not recorded and whether the road serviced early industry in Catasauqua is not spelled out. KulpÕs publication does devote several pages to this extensive rail system. Their were extensive operations that used the main CNJ lines that ran through CatasauquaÕs industrial district. Yurko cites the CNJ numerous times in his publication.
The following map of the Ironton R. R. was attached to the railroadÕs annual report in 1861. This is of special interest as it portrays much detail regarding the towns and properties of the Lehigh Valley region in that time period.
A map of the railroads in the immediate Catasauqua area, ca 1876, is given below.
From Kulp – A passenger train on the Ironton
Railroad, Hokendauqua station, ca. 1898.
Postcard view north from the Pine St. Bridge, ca.
1900. The CNJ tracks are to the
left of the canal. The fright cars are on the LNE tracks in CatasauquaÕs
industrial district.
Postcard view of Pine St. Bridge ca. 1900. Looking
east from West Catasauqua.
Return to the Catasauqua Industries Page
About The Hopkin Thomas Project
Rev. November 2010