Lehigh Valley Transit, the Liberty Bell Limited

[daveklepper]

My first exposure to a real interurban line was when John Stern, Bill ("Giggles") Watson, and I visited the LVT in 1947 or 1948.  We met about 6:45 at Penn Station, New York, rode the Lehigh Valley Railroad (possibly the Asa Packer?) to Easton, and walked from the station to the town square.  We were hoping to catch on the Cincinnati Lightweight Curvesides (ex Dayton and Western?) for the through ride to Allentown, but were dissapointed when a old arch-roof slower car showed up late.  We paid our fare, did not complain, and met an eastbound Cincinnati about half way to Bethlahem on the single track line at a siding. I rode this type of car later and also had more experience with the older arch roof type which had green tinted upper sash windows.  We transfered to a Brill Master Unit type car, or something similar, at downtown Bethlahem, the site of a "grand union", a double-track crossover with all eight connecting curves and their 16 switches and 4 diamonds in place and operable.  The Brill car was on the "Mincie Trail" line which was the main local line between Bethlahem and Allentown.   The Easton Limited cars used the same tracks but made no stops between those two cities.  I also learned about the South Bethlahem line which took a longer route and passed by Lehigh University.  In Allentown, a behive of streetcar activity, we took a double truck Birney to Northampton, and back and I was impressed by the high single-track truss bridge entering Northampton.  Back to downtown Allentown and then a visit to the shops and carbarn.  At that time the single-end ex-Cincinnati and Lake Erie lightweights used on the Liberty Bell Limited Philadelphia run would reverse at 8th and Hamilton downtown, go through the crossover, and then use the backup contoller to go the Farivew Carbarn, receive servicing and return backwards to 8th and Hamilton.  We may have hitched a ride on one of those cars downtown, or returned on a regular car.   I do remember being most impressed by the interior of the ex-C&LE car with the very comfortable leather bucket coach seats and the parlor section at the rear.  Bill, John, and I tool armcharis near the rear end windows and had our observation-car ride to Norristown.  I remember the street running in Quakertown, Sellersville, and Landsdale, with the Reading MU-cars seen in Landsdale, and the very highspeed cross country operation between, with buautifully timed meets.   Instead of stayiing on the car at Norristown for a nonstop express ride to Upper Daarby 69th Street, we left the interurban car and boarded a Philadlephia and Western Bullet, with its fast acceleration and top speed at the numerous stops before Ardmore Junction.  There, with our transfer still in our hands, we went downstairs and along came a two-car train of heavyweight center-entrance Brill cars on the Ardmore - 69th Street run.  You can ride one of these cars in Scranton.  69th Street meant connecting to the Market Street Elevated to 32nd Street, a walk to the PRR 30th Street Station, and a late chicken dinner in the PRR dining car to New York.

I visited the LVT several more times while interurbans still ran.   At MIT, friends Richard Seelye and Richard Hayman made trips with me.  I also rode NRHS fan trips.  I got to know Charlie Houser, of the Alentown NRHS, and Richard Hayman and I rode an LVT trolley freight with him from Allentown to Upper Darby freight house, after the LVT passenger service had been cut back to Norristown with required transfer to a "Bullet."   Also visited the Pittman motors-for-model-trains factory in Sellersville, right beside the interuruban tracks.   But the most memoriable trip was in interviewing for acceptance at Lehigh Universitry.   Columbia Grammar Preparatory advised graduating class members to apply to three universities, and I applied to MIT (attended), RPI, and Lehigh.  I was invited to come to Lehigh for an interview at a time and date of their choice.  Got permission to skip school for a day, left home early, caught the PRR to Philadelphia, Market Street elevated to Upper Darby, and grabbed a right front-row seat for the interuruban ride through to South Allentown Junction, where I transferred to a South Bethlahem car, and it was also one of the older archroof streetcars with green upper sash windows.  That streetcar dropped me off riight at Lehigh's main gate.  Interviews were running a bit late, and there were two boys ahead of me, both with one or more parents with them.  I brought along homework and reading material, and the wait didn't disturb me.  When ussured into the admissions dean's office, he said: "Where is your father or mother?"  I replied "I came by myself."  "Are you old enough to drive?"  When I told him the route I took to arrive, he guffawed, could not stop lauighing for a few minutres, and looked at my grades transcript and said "Of course you are accepted."  And he gave me a few weeks to accept the acceptance, but the MIT acceptance came withiin that period.  I wrote him a very nice thank you letter and apology.   We did spend about fifteen minutes comparing Lehigh Valley Transit interubans with New York subway trains, so possibly he was also a railfan.   I returned to New York the same way, was in time to see a basketball game at the High School that even, and felt and acted like I was at the top of the World.  

If you like reading this posting be sure to jump to TRAINS - RAILROADS and read KCSfan's desription of his Illinois Central memories, particularly his camp trips.   On the IC-CN thread.