Lehigh Valley Transit

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The Lehigh Valley Transit (LVT) was an interurban trolley that ran a fifty mile route from Allentown to Philadelphia (Upper Darby), Pennsylvania. It abandoned operations in 1953. It is considered the last of the side of road, hill and dale, rural trolley interurbans in the United States, although the western end of the present day Media to Upper Darby former Red Arrow trolley line (now SEPTA route 101) has these same characteristics. The LVT, typical of all interurbans, ran fast in open country, but once in a town it slowly progressed down city streets making frequent stops to pick up passengers. The LVT went through the Pennsylvania villages of Coopersburg,Quakertown, Perkasie, Souderton, Lansdale, Center Square, and Norristown where its cars continued on the Philadelphia and Western line to Upper Darby. Much of the LVT's route was paralleled by the Reading Railroad. The Reading operated passenger service directly to its downtown Reading Terminal in Philadelphia, but the LVT was less expensive for cash strapped riders during lean years. In 1939, the LVT purchased used light weight high speed cars from the abandoned Cincinnati and Lake Erie interurban. The cars were reconditioned and operated from Allentown to Philadelphia as Liberty Bell Limiteds. The LVT operated some freight service, but it was a small part of the business.

The Lehigh Valley Transit began operation in the early part of the 20th century as a side of dirt road meandering street car line from Quakertown to Philadelphia. Track was upgraded and in places realigned to run cross country between towns, blade style block signals were installed, and heavy all wood arch windowed interurban cars were purchased. With these changes, local service using the older street cars and limited service using the new interurban cars began between Allentown and Philadelphia. The extensive state construction of paved highways in the 1920s, combined with better automobiles, started the financial decline of most interurbans. Many were abandoned during the the Great Depression, but Lehigh Valley Transit was an exception. It struggled but survived the Depression, and then ridership jumped due to industrial activity related to World War II. After the war, the number of riders dropped again, and the company eventually converted from trolleys to buses.

The LVT also operated city streetcars in the Allentown and Bethlehem areas. Counting its interurban cars, streetcars, line maintenance cars, and a few freight trolleys, LVT owned and maintained considerable rolling stock. Its main storage and repair facility was the Fairview Carbarn and yard in Allentown. A second maintenance barn and yard was in north Souderton. In Allentown, LVT had the awkward situation of running interurban cars (sometimes backward) through residential areas from Fairview to reach downtown Allentown to begin its hourly service to Philadelphia. LVT had to maintain miles of right-of-way with overhead catenary and AC to DC power conversion substations to generate its needed 600 VDC trolley voltage. Considering that it had an aging car fleet, had a large shop headcount and payroll, paid all costs to maintain catenary, substations, bridges, cuts, fills, and drainage of its right-of-way including snow removal, and paid property taxes on its facilities, it is surprising that the LVT survived as long as it did. The conversion to busses to operate on taxpayer maintained roads was probably long overdue.

For the trolley fan, some signs of the LVT's single track (with sidings) Allentown to Philadelphia line still exist. The small columned Perkasie station on Walnut Street is the most obvious. It now houses the Perkasie Historical Society. Just north of there, a tunnel where the LVT ran under the Reading Railroad can be walked through into a park and then to concrete bridge abutments where the line crossed 9th Street. At Sellersville, the track from the south crossed a field and then a road to reach the small white station which is now a dental office. It served as a police station in the late 1950s. The former house-like two story station at Hatfield west of the Reading Railroad tracks is now a cafe. The former Quakertown station at the northeast corner of Main and Broad has a mural on a back wall (as of 2005) depicting one of the LVT's 1000 Series Liberty Bell Limited former Cincinnati and Lake Erie high speed interurbans.

Large interurban coaches included the 800 series truss-rod all wood cars (Jewett Car Co.), the 700 series all steel cars (Southern Car Co.), and the 1939 purchased light weight 1000 series former Cincinnati and Lake Erie cars. (The round end 1030 car was from the former Indiana Railroad interurban.) All except the 1000 series cars could be run in coupled in multiples (MU) and often were together including a mix of 800s and 700s. Across the years, equipment modifications were made by the Fairview shops. The 700 series steel cars were converted from center entrance two man to one man crew cars, and the all wood 812 was rebuilt to change its arch windowed older look. It was used to the last day of rail operation. The LVT color scheme was all red until the lightweight 1000 series cars arrived. Then the fleet was repainted white with red trim.


[edit] References

"Philadelphia Trolleys", A. Meyers J. Spivak, Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
  • The LVT 800 Series Interurbans, Randolph Kulp, Allentown, PA.
  • The LVT 700 Series Cars, Randolph Kulp, Allentown.
  • Lehigh Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society: History of the Lehigh Valley Transit Company, Railway Operations, 1966; and, Lehigh Valley Transit's Heavy Interurban Cars, History and Roster, 1969.
  • Lehigh Valley Transit Company 1934-1953. Benson W. Rohrbeck. 2001.
  • History of the Lehigh Valley Transit Company, Randolph C. Kulp.
  • Liberty Bell Route's 1000 Series Interurbans, Randolph C. Kulp, 1958.
  • Lehigh Valley Transit Company Liberty Bell Route- A Photographic History. William McKelvey, Jr. 1988.
  • Ride With Me On The LVT, Mervin Borgnis, 1996.