Saucon Tower, Bethelehem, PA

Hi All:

I'm wondering if anybody has a photo of Saucon Tower (I believe the old call letters were BY)? I rode the Bethlehem Branch not long before SEPTA pulled it's trains off, I shot some photos in the engine terminal, but I'll be darned if I ever took a photo of the Tower (more like a yard office from what I hear). I'd love to see one - I really neglected to shoot a lot of the local scene back in my day. Now I'm kicking myself!

Also, if anybody has photos of the yard itself in service, I'd be very grateful to see them as well. In return, I promise to by a slide scanner as soon as I can, and start sharing some of my older Reading photos as well.

Thanks!

FRank

Ask and ye shall receive:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=311219

It could be seen from the Lynn Ave overpass in the background of the pic. As a kid, I remember thinking it looked a lot like Steel Tower.

No, the photo referenced above shows the PB&NE yard tower.

The Reading Co. tower was "BY", known in its later years as Lehigh. The 1913 tower was located on the west side of the tracks, just south of the bridge over the Saucon Creek. In 1953 the mechanical interlocking and tower were removed and the modern equipment was housed in the south end of the low-slung sheet metal yard office across the tracks. It was not very picturesque! The interlocking was removed in 1984.

westernfalls wrote:No, the photo referenced above shows the PB&NE yard tower.

The Reading Co. tower was "BY", known in its later years as Lehigh. The 1913 tower was located on the west side of the tracks, just south of the bridge over the Saucon Creek. In 1953 the mechanical interlocking and tower were removed and the modern equipment was housed in the south end of the low-slung sheet metal yard office across the tracks. It was not very picturesque! The interlocking was removed in 1984.

Thanks for the clarification. I remember seeing the tower in the pic when I was a kid, and I thought that was "Saucon Tower."

Hi All:

Thanks for the info - I'll have to look through my photos & see if I was ever smart enough to take one of the yard office.

If anyone has one, feel free to post it here in the meantime!

Thanks,

Frank

I'll try this again. It looks like there's a photo of GP30 at Lehigh Tower in a back issue of The Railroad Press. I don't know how much of the tower is in the shot, as this site merely lists the caption of the photo:
http://www.trpmagazine.com/wizzi.html

Just search for "Lehigh Tower."

Just found this one in my collection - it's of the original BY tower.

Frank