Conrail Local WJAL-1, with coal for Portland Generating Station, threads its way through the site of the former Lehigh Valley Easton passenger station. All of the station's above-track-level structures have been razed, but the baggage/freight loading area, below the tracks, is still visible. To the left of the signal bridge is Easton tower, which until the late 1970's housed an operator who controlled the LV main line from South Plainfield, NJ to Lehighton, PA. The bridge crossing the Lehigh River in the distance is the LV's Easton and Northern branch, which served industries such as Pfizer pigments, the Dixie Cup factory, and Binney & Smith (the Crayola Crayon people), as well as interchanging with the L&NE at Stockertown and the DL&W at Belfast Junction.
This train has crossed over to the westbound tracks, and will momentarily cross the former CNJ to gain access to the L&HR bridge and the route to Portland. At this time, Coal for Portland was dropped in Bethlehem and then operated as a local to Portland. Soon after this photo was taken, Conrail began operating symbol UPS, which was operated as a unit coal train straight through to Portland.
