Hello all. I'm looking for some clarification. I understand the passenger station on Jubilee Street burned in the early 1990s. Is the structure that is there now as home to a pizza restaurant the re-constucted and reformatted passenger station or is that the old freight house? Also, can anyone tell me more about the other passenger station that once stood at 5th Street. Thanks in advance!

A little clarification or update on the Jubilee Street station. There may have been a pizza shop there, but not long after, the building was turned into a dog grooming shop and has been so for quite a number of years now. That building is barely recognizable as a railroad station.

The second Emmaus passenger station was a rather small building that looked more like a fflag stop along the Perkiomen Branch a few blocks from the other one. The station was sold to a local who dismantled it to use the wood in the early 1950s, according to a small newspaper article I saw on the subject some years ago. There seems to be some fascination for the wood in old passenger stations.

http://www.west2k.com/pastations/lehigh.shtml

Lehigh County stations past and present...........

Recently, I was directed to contact the Emmaus Historical Society. I received a warm welcome as they were very receptive to helping find quality pictures of the stations. Andrew Kerstetter was able to dig up these pictures and I wish to extend to him a big thank you!

https://www.emmaushistoricalsociety.org/

The larger of the two stations was on the East Penn Branch between Allentown and Reading. With the Lebanon Valley and PH&P Branches it was part of the Alphabet Route from Chicago to Jersey City. On any other road the East Penn would be a Main Line but RDG had ONE Main Line (Phila to Pottsville) and everything else was a branch.

The smaller station was on the Perkiomen Branch which had the best grade between Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley Area. The Perk was manual block, then timetable and train order, so the station was the originating station.

the East Penn Branch is now part of NS' through line between North Jersey and Harrisburg/Chicago.

Emaus is the old spelling of Emmaus.

Phil Mulligan

Is the current retail building reconstructed from the passenger station shown in the historic photo?

Sadly and unfortunately, NO, It bears little resemblance other than is footprint

So.....

....when did Emaus become Emmaus?

[quote="junior"]So.....

....when did Emaus become Emmaus?[/quote]


From Wikipedia - Remember - this is Pennsylvania Dutch country! I grew up about 45 miles from this city.

From its founding in 1759 until 1830, the settlement's name was spelled "Emmaus." From 1830 until 1938 the community used the Pennsylvania Dutch spelling of the name: "Emaus" with a line above the "m" to indicate a double letter. As English became the prevalent language in Pennsylvania the line often was omitted, leading to confusion about the correct spelling. In 1938, the local Rotary Club circulated petitions and the borough formally changed the spelling to "Emmaus," matching the English King James Version. A major thoroughfare in the borough, Emaus Avenue, has retained the pre-1938 spelling, however.

This thread isn't that old yet... LOL

I was going to post this over in my paint color thread as an alternative example of what the Annville station was painted like at around the same time but I believe it's better suited here. The actual postcard itself is available on eBay right now. Looks like they have a clump of elephant's ears growing there in the lawn...

Here's the actual station site at S. 5th & W. Jubilee St. The house in the background is still there...

https://goo.gl/maps/vTnoRLcpG1vMLsM96

Apparently, one of this gentleman's favorite shootin' spots was a couple hundred feet east of the station. At 5:13, he moves across the tracks and you can get a good look at it nestled there among the white pines...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNefRFe_6dc