Welcome to the Hellertown Station

Welcome to the Hellertown Station. . Hellertown is a thriving village located in Lower Saucon Township, situated in the Saucon Valley in Pennsylvania. The history of the railroad in Hellertown dates back to 1857 when the North Pennsylvania Railroad was completed, connecting Hellertown to Bethlehem and Philadelphia., The railroad station construction in Hellertown was the subject of a dispute between Rudolphus Kent and Rev. Samuel Hess. Kent, an outsider from Gwynedd, purchased land from John A. Geisinger with the intention of creating a new town called “Hampton” with the railroad station and several homes. However, Hess wanted the station to be built on his property. Eventually, Kent won the dispute but faced opposition from the older residents of Hellertown, and his real estate enterprise failed. , The completion of the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857 brought new business opportunities to Hellertown. In the late 18th century, a tannery opened in town and operated until 1872 when it passed into new ownership. The Saucon Iron Company, with two blast furnaces and ore mines, also contributed to the local economy. The first furnace was completed in 1868, followed by the second furnace in 1870. The company employed approximately 350 workers when operating at full capacity. , A small frame shanty was initially used as the depot in Hellertown until 1868 when a brick building was erected. Hellertown Station served as a vital transportation hub for passengers and freight between Philadelphia and Bethlehem. The station had multiple tracks, with lamps lighting the platform fueled by kerosene. It had separate waiting rooms for men and women, heated by cool-burning potbelly stoves. The station handled baggage, express shipments, and local freight. The location of the old Hellertown train station is now occupied by the Front Street Apartments, built in 1997. The route between Philadelphia and Bethlehem was established in the 19th century by the North Pennsylvania Railroad, which later became part of the Reading Company. The Reading Company operated passenger services between the two cities well into the 20th century, with Bethlehem serving as a key interchange point with the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey. , The Reading Company went bankrupt in 1971 and later in 1976 the Bethlehem branch was taken over by the newly formed Consolidated Rail Corporation, otherwise known as ConRail. Under contract to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, commuter service was continued with service to Bethlehem. In April 1981, SEPTA announced its plan to discontinue service on the line effective July 1. PennDOT attempted to continue operations of service on the line, but an agreement fell through with the regional transportation authority and subsequently service was cut back to Quakertown on July 1 and further back to Lansdale in August of that year. , captions, left to right: , . Station photo circa early 1900's. Note the Station Master on the stairs, cornfields to the right and advertising posters on the station walls. , . Reading rarely named their diesels; 5212 was one of them. “Old Ironsides Il” pulling into Hellertown in 1975. , . In 1976 the US Government created ConRail in response to multiple railroads filing for bankruptcy. Reading Railroad became part of ConRail and in the same year, ConRail was transferred to SEPTA. , . July 1980, about 1 year before the end of passenger service.