Trail Committee Seeking Train Station Information

Can you recall the days when passenger trains chugged south from Hellertown, through Bingen and Center Valley, to Coopersburg and points beyond? Does someone in your family remember the "Golden Age of Rail" in the Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh? If so, Roger Jurczak and several other members of the Saucon Rail Trail Advisory Committee's trail history subcommittee want to hear from you.

Jurczak, a Lower Saucon representative to the committee, and longtime township resident Jerry Holum are two of the members currently in the process of gathering information for a project that aims to commemorate the former SEPTA rail line's unique place in the transportation history of the area.

"We are looking for help and believe that there are many citizens in the area who have personal and/or family information that could add to the trail's history," Jurczak said.

In particular, the committee is looking for photographs and written histories of the four train stations that served the communities along the rail line, which was .

Jurczak said  that was torn down by Conrail almost 20 years ago was lost to a wrecking ball without much advance notice. An apartment building at 950 Front Street now stands on the site of the one-story brick building that had been built in 1868.

The Coopersburg train station was used until 1942 and demolished in 1959.

Less is known about the stations that once stood in Bingen, Lower Saucon Township, and Center Valley, Upper Saucon Township, he said.

Jurczak added that Lower Saucon Township is currently working to acquire the land on which the Bingen station once stood, for use as an access point to the trail.

To add to the historic record being compiled, Jurczak said he hopes the committee will discover drawings, maps and notes related to the operation of the rail line many years ago.

"It would be tremendous if Conrail or SEPTA files could be accessed," he said.

Anyone with memories of the rail era or other information that they would like to contribute is encouraged to contact the group.

Jurczak said materials can be mailed to him courtesy of , 3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bethlehem, PA 18015. He can also be contacted via email at srt2011rj@gmail.com.

Potential contributors are also encouraged to utilize the Saucon Rail Trail's popular Facebook pageas a tool for sharing rail history-related information about the trail.