Oley Valley Railway Car #302

rminninger · **Joined:** Wed Feb 05, 2020 3:51 am **Posts:** 4

Chenevert wrote:

I am looking for information on where the Oley Line Sub-Station #1 would have been located on the Oley Valley Trolley line.

I believe I've identified the right of way that may have been used for the 60kV transmission line that would have fed the sub-stations at Oley Line and Shanesville.

This line runs from Reading through Oley Line, and up through Shanesville.

When you zoom in, the line cross Oley Turnpike just west of Moyer Rd.

Logically, that tells me the sub-station would be somewhere in this vicinity as I believe the Trolley generally followed Oley Turnpike until it reached Oley Line and then took a northerly turn.

Does anyone have information that would collaborate this theory?

Those lines are not it. The line that crosses near Moyer Rd. is a line that ran from the Titus Generating Station to a large substation in Hosensack. Part of the line was torn down near Limekiln going all the way to Bechtelsville to make way for the 550,000 volt line (which is the one in your first pic). The 550,000 volt line goes from 3 mile island to the large substation in Hosensack. My dad worked on that 550,000 volt line, he dug and poured the footers for each tower.

rminninger · **Joined:** Wed Feb 05, 2020 3:51 am **Posts:** 4

ColebrookdaleRailfan wrote:

6-18003 wrote:

Has anyone confirmed that the car next to #95 is #302?

Given that 302 was reported to be sold with 95 to the same owner, it is a fair assumption that this is 302.

Chenevert wrote:

I am looking for information on where the Oley Line Sub-Station #1 would have been located on the Oley Valley Trolley line.

I believe I've identified the right of way that may have been used for the 60kV transmission line that would have fed the sub-stations at Oley Line and Shanesville.

This line runs from Reading through Oley Line, and up through Shanesville.

When you zoom in, the line cross Oley Turnpike just west of Moyer Rd.

Logically, that tells me the sub-station would be somewhere in this vicinity as I believe the Trolley generally followed Oley Turnpike until it reached Oley Line and then took a northerly turn.

Does anyone have information that would collaborate this theory?

Short answer: good theory but no. The Oley Valley Railway's alignment closely parallels PA Route 73 for most of the way to Oley proper, marked by concrete bridges, abuttments, and a relatively identifiable right of way for being abandoned in 1932. I have identified a building near Shanesville, in the approximate area of where the substation was supposed to be, that resembles the ruins of the one nearer to Carsonia, but this requires further investigation. The following map is an ongoing project of mine, based on maps by Harry Foesig and my own personal observation. It is a work in progress, and isn't complete, but gets across the way it ran from Boyertown to Oley.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1T7nZti_a_VrybsY_cqnWo5MptVM&ll=40.364375458014024%2C-75.70564431264256&z=14

I have a bunch of locations to add to your map where I found abuttments, concrete bridges, railroad bed, etc.

rminninger · **Joined:** Wed Feb 05, 2020 3:51 am **Posts:** 4

Here's a link to a map that I found of the railroad.

http://www.goreadingberks.com/maps/trolleymap.php

ColebrookdaleRailfan · **Joined:** Wed Jan 11, 2017 5:54 pm **Posts:** 84

I haven't put loads of time into it lately, but did extend my map through to Oley. The following is the building I've been told is the substation in Shanesville. I'll have to grab pictures of it sometime. https://www.google.com/maps/place/40%C2%B021'47.3%22N+75%C2%B040'51.4%22W/@40.363143,-75.6814972,129m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d40.3631431!4d-75.6809499

jrevans · **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:24 am

Thanks for sharing guys! I live around this area now (a transplant from Western PA) and didn't know about some of these transit lines.

Very cool to see the maps and pictures.

NVPete · **Posted:** Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:20 pm

Like many others just like it, the Oley Valley right-of-way is fairly easy to make out on the Statewide Lidar Hillshade map, Chenevert. Select from the drop-down menu in the upper left and zoom in...

http://maps.psiee.psu.edu/ImageryNavigator/

My mom's family is from that area. LOL

rminninger · **Joined:** Wed Feb 05, 2020 3:51 am **Posts:** 4

This is the Shanesville substation as of today March 2, 2020. The rails would have been in the back of the building where the white addition is. The front brick part is the original building. The horseshoe curve would have been up the road a short distance and off to the right before Koch road.