Since I have access to engineering proposals and municipal gossip in my profession, I was informed of the following pertaining to the LNE Pen Argyl, PA, shop property:

It seems that Northampton County, where Pen Argyl sits, has an over-abundance of money. Where this comes from is a mystery but nonetheless, the County has decided to hand out grants to worthy projects that will generate jobs and, hopefully, tax revenue. One of these projects is an access road and eventual development of the "brownfields" at the LNE Shop site.

The plan is to build a roadway along the former trackbed from near Wind Gap, to the west of the site, through the yard and shop area, and lead to a roadway in Pen Argyl. NAPA Development Co., or a sister company, owns the property and they would be responsible for subdividing the site, dealing with the environmental issues, and installing any "private" improvements (i.e. electric, phone, gas, water,...). The "public" improvements, the actual roadways, would be constructed with taxpayer dollars as the roads will be dedicated to the governing municipalities.

This appears to be a rather decent adaptive re-use of the site. NAPA has done quite a bit of rehabilitation work to the former locomotive shop. The turntable was still in place the last time I was there and the owner of NAPA told me that he was looking for a locomotive, preferably steam, to display on the table. Many of the remaining buildings are likely to remain unless the environmental issues preclude their redevelopment.

In another somewhat related story, part of the former LNE Allentown branch will be converted into a roadway linking Union Boulevard and Hanover Avenue in the City of Allentown. It is to be named New England Avenue in honor of the LNE. The former Allentown freight station "may" remain but the LC&N coal silos along Union Blvd. are said to be demolished as that site is redeveloped.

rpsurv@nni.com

Here's a good candidate for that turntable:



http://www.irm.org/cgi-bin/rsearch.cgi?steam=Lehigh+&+New+England=207
ryarger@rypn.org