Jeffrey’s Trackside Diner, December 2018, from the Christmas City of Bethlehem Pennsylvania!
Welcome to Pennsylvania!
It’s the place for you to go to relax and talk off topic about most anything - as long as you stay within the forum rules, which means certain hot button topics are excluded. Please refer to Steven Otte´s post on Forum Policies.
The staff - that´s Zoe, Chloe, Flo, Janie, and Brunhilda - is very friendly and will serve up plenty of virtual food with a smile. Just don´t forget to leave a generous tip!
Each month, the Diner will be parked in a different location at places all over the world. This month we’re in the heart of hard coal country in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, AKA the Christmas City.
Not really much left for me to do, we can all contribute any tidbits of information about our visit to the Anthracite region of Pennsylvania, and home to the huge works of the Bethlehem Steel Company.
This is the station I rember being at in 1971 for the NRHS Convention that year. There was a Lehigh Valley excursion train boarding here. This station was shared with the Reading Company.
It was built in 1924 and remained in use until July, 1981 when commuter service was cut back. It was later used as a medical office. The Cantral Railroad of New Jersey also had two depots in Bethlehem.
To help some of you out-of-towners find your way to the new Diner location, you can see that there is no shortage of railway lines leading here:
One of the reasons for the rapid economic decline of the Anthracite roads beginning after the War is partly evident on these maps. Multiple railroads competing for dwindling coal reserves and a tendency to shift to lower sulfer coal from other areas. Add to this the closing of the area steel mills, especially “The Steel” as the g
Outstanding job, Steven - thank you for moving the Diner to Bethlehem, PA!
Now, whether Bethlehem is the Christmas City I don´t know, but I do know two places which are certainly rivaling.
The first one is a place nearby called “Himmelpforten” (Pearly Gates). The local post office gets all the mail addressed to Santa. I am not sure to what extend they answer, but the place is packed with volunteers.
The second place is St. Niklaus, a small mountain hamlet in Switzerland, right on the route of the famous Glacier Express, not far from Zermatt.
Another contestant would be Nuremberg, home of the toy industry and the famous Christkindl Market.
Yes! Dave I’m gonna piggyback onto your reply, as I’m glad Steve posted those beautiful posters and stuff. Steve, that’s the kind of stuff that makes people of a certain age hark back to the Good Old Days, with that artwork getting our blood going!
I can´t say I personally met George Bush, but I saw him from a close distance in 1983, when attended the 300th anniversary of people of Krefeld, my hometown then, in the US. He was the Vice President of the US at that time and people really felt honored by his presence. On a side note, the group of 13 families who emigrated to North America back in 1683 later became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Good morning diners. God Bless to George Bush, the last of the greatest generation presidents.
A brief period of sunshine this morning before we have yet another inch of rain on the East Coast.
2 1/2 hours west south west of Bethlehem is East Broad Top. A narrow gauge railroad that started running in 1874 until 1956. It was sold for scrap in 1960 but the new owner didn’t scrap it. He ran a special tourist train and that was a big hit so he ran it for several years.
Unfortunately for me, it stopped running right before I visited it. I was the only one wandering around the rail yard peering into windows. It is for sale, but having not won the billion dollar lottery, I did not buy it.
Count Zinzendorf himself named the new settlement “Bethlehem” after the Biblical town, on Christmas Eve, 1741. Much history remains from this original Moravian settlement.
Lehigh Valley, Reading, and CNJ were the big boys in town, along with the Bethlehem Steel line, PBNE. Reading and the LV shared the station previous pictured, CNJ tracks were on the opposite (North) side of the Lehigh River. L&HR also had facilities on the North side.
Since 1937 (though dark during WWII), a giant star has been lit on top of the mountain. It was in 1937 that the nickname of “the Christmas City” was adopted.
Also at home in Bethlehem is Lehigh University, founded by the Lehigh Valley’s Asa Packer. Source of many railroad engineers, many of whome rose to be president of a railroad (particualrly Reading and LV). And then they also produced me…
Randy … It is good to see you in the Diner. Thanks very much for information about Bethlehem, PA and the railroads that served it. … Please feel free to particpate with more contributions during December.
Other model railroaders in PA… Please feel free to particpate in December with comments and photos about Bethlehem, Eastern PA, and (of course) railroads serving the area.
Ed … Your UP 4141 is a nice looking locomotive. …
Lion … Thanks for the greeting.
Henry … Your post about EBT is intereesting, Thanks for sharing.
Ulrich … That is an interesting video about and impressive layout.
Good saturday afternoon everyone! “Flo, I’ll have a cup of coffee to start please!”
Not much going on today for me model railroad wise. I’m working on a presentation I have to make monday morning. I’m hoping to get some train time in tomorrow!
Flo, the gang and I a [B] and all the Vets what they like.
Mixed Day, part [banghead] and part [:D]
Head Bang part. Wife told me she had a Med to be picked so I went to get it. Waited 10 minutes to find out I picked it up on Nov 16th for her?
Another Head Banging moment Do they make diffrent sizes rail joiners for driffrent code track? Bought a new Atlas #8 turnout for the short line. While replacing I could not get the rail joiners I had bought on with out prying them open with a small screw driver. I finally used used rail joiners.
Yet Another Head Banging moment While I was trying to install the turnout my wife came out and told me “I cannot get the front door open again!” Now I was is a [:(!] mood fighting with the turnout so I was not happy. I got up, tripped on my drill and fell into the desk / work station, pushed the printer forward 1 foot and dumped my PRR M1a Tender, Bachman F7a, B&O box car and Old Dutch Hopper to the floor! [banghead] Looks like the stuff is Ok but have not tested any of it yet. Went to the front door, turn the knob and it opned? [:-^]
The [:D] on the day? Hum, I got a box today and it was a good box! When I got to the bottom of the box [:P][:O][:D][:D] With the way I have been tripping and not ran any of the iteams yet.
Ed do you like seim whimisal train items? If so I have found something I like to send you for Christams. Does not go on the layout but around that area and bet the grand kids would like it.
New turnout fixed the problem and trains ran fine.
Yes, Ken different rail joiners fit different rails, well, differently. Atlas joiners are now made to fit both Code 83 and Code 100, which tells me they’re a compromise. Peco joiners don’t fit any on my layout. I found during the Great Atlas Track Shortage, when Atlas joiners were also unavailable, that Walthers joiners worked pretty well.
I didn’t realize that the East Broad Top RR had ceased operations, but I am glad to hear that the volunteers are still working on the buildings. I have scratchbuilt several structures based on the EBT’s buildings, some of which will be going onto our club’s new layout.
I have been fortunate to have visited the EBT quite a few times. Especially fun were the Winter Rambles they would host in late January or early February. I’ve spent some cold days there.
Here I am on one of my first visits just after EBT reopened in Auguas of 1960:
Of course, I’m on a private car! One of the photographers I follow at Flickr has posted several recent photos of EBT right-of-way. I am still amazed at how much rail is still in place. I wonder how much has been covered over but still lies buried in the ground. Plus all the hoppers rusting away at Mount Union. Amazing.
Look at these photos of the water tank and track still in place at Coles Valley, PA.
Glad the package got to you OK, Ken! Glad it was a highlight to your head-banginging day! Sure, I like whimsical RR things and any of the eight grand-kids do, too.
I seem to recall rail joiners included in the blister-pack of the Code 83 Atlas turnouts I bought. Maybe they don’t include them anymore?
