ABOVE: The work for the day done, the 1831 and 1713 and the spacer cars pass mill buildings on their return to the Corman facility on April 23, 2010. This view from Hamilton Street shows the flood wall next to the West End branch.
motives, and outbound cars ready for interchange are gathered. When car- bon dioxide loads are to be handled, two R.J. Corman coil steel cars are added to the train, serving as spacer cars sepa- rating the hazardous material from the locomotives. With a locomotive at each end, the
train proceeds under the stone Linden Street bridge. In short order, the train passes a variety of old mill buildings, the site of the Lehigh Valley’s former Allentown passenger station and the site of SEPTA’s Allentown “station.” The Hamilton Street bridge serves as an excellent vantage point to observe this movement. After crossing busy Union Street and Basin Street, the train reaches the switch that Corman has designated as Terminal Junction. Now proceeding on the Lehighton In- dustrial Track, the train crosses the bridge spanning the Jordan Creek and advances three-tenths of a mile to East Penn Junction where Norfolk Southern has left inbound cars for Corman. After interchanging cars, R.J. Cor-
man can proceed north on the Lehigh- ton Industrial Track. In 1.9 miles, the train will reach the northern end of the railroad currently in normal use. Cars
are shuffled, delivered and pulled at and near the former Lehigh Structural Steel plant. On its way to the north end of the line, R.J. Corman passes the America on Wheels transportation mu- seum which has been recently estab- lished on the former site of the Arbo- gast & Bastian meat packing plant. In addition to the usual road crossings which offer photographic opportunities, the Tilghman Street Bridge provides open views of the switching operations in both directions. The work being fin- ished, the train reverses its route. Occasionally events out of the ordi-
nary break the routine of R.J. Corman operations in Allentown. One was like- ly the result of a hit movie. In 2010, Denzel Washington starred in the movie Unstoppable, an action thriller involving runaway trains. Shortly after the release of the movie, R.J. Corman was conducting its usual operation with its one man crew. The train came upon a grade crossing with malfunc- tioning protection, so the crewman stopped the train before reaching the crossing. He dismounted from the loco- motive to flag the crossing so the train could proceed safely across. Using the remote control device, the crewman
guided the train across the road cross- ing without incident. Once the train was on the other side, he stopped the train, boarded it and returned to the R.J. Corman facility. Upon returning to the office, the crewman found a phone call waiting for him. It was the Allen- town police department. A motorist, possibly someone who had recently seen the film, had reported that an un- occupied locomotive had crossed the street and as a concerned citizen was reporting this potential runaway train to the police. The crewman explained the situation, assuring the police that no dangerous situation had occurred putting an end to the event. R.J. Corman provides an interesting opportunity to still see red diesels oper- ating in Allentown. In its short dis- tance, three miles of practical opera- tions (the two northern miles of the Lehighton Industrial Track currently need no service) provide many photo opportunities of railroading in an ur- ban setting. Mill buildings, a bridge, older industrial areas and the ghosts of Lehigh Valley Railroad operations all provide photo props with a real sense of place. The return of red diesels to Allentown is just icing on the cake.
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