Lehigh Valley & Reading Company's
Union Station in Bethlehem, PAThis is Bethlehem's 1924 built "Union Station", located in the South Side neighborhood of Bethlehem, PA. It was built in 1924, by both the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Reading Company, replacing an early station built in 1867. The Lehigh Valley Railroad reached Bethlehem by 1855, while the North Pennsylvania Railroad, a predecessor of the Reading, reached Bethlehem in 1857. The lines crossed at a diamond with Lehigh's surviving line (Now Norfolk Southern) to the right and the Reading's line to the left - nicely represented in this photo by RP patron Louis Capwell taken in 2003. Louis's shot is no longer possible as they've made a parking lot of the grassy field and removed the plaque and old Reading signal.
Lehigh Valley passenger service ended on February 4, 1961, the last trains being the Maple Leaf and John Wilkes. The Lackawanna and Reading railroads' Interstate Express and the Reading's Scranton Flyer made stops at the station up to 1957 and 1949 respectively.
In 1962, the two railroads attempted to auction off the station building, however, it was not sold, and the property passed to Conrail when the Reading folded in 1976. Conrail continued to provide commuter service to Allentown under contract to SEPTA, which had been subsidizing service since 1966. As SEPTA discontinued its diesel service in favor of shorter electric lines, the line was cut back to Bethlehem in 1979. In April 1981, SEPTA announced its intentions to discontinue service on the line on July 1. PennDOT attempted to operate service but a last-minute deal with the Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority to operate the trains fell through during contract negotiations. Service was cut back to Quakertown on July 1, then to Lansdale in August.
St. Luke's Hospital moved clinics into Union Station in 2003, and bought the building outright in 2008. However, St. Luke's moved most of its services to a nearby building in 2011 and 2013.
