A 100-year-old rail signal along the Saucon Rail Trail in Hellertown is being restored by trail supporters. An additional $1,100 must be raised to fund completion of the restoration project.
A rail signal restoration project along the Saucon Rail Trail in Hellertown is under way, but more funds must be raised to help complete the work.
Volunteers from the rail trail oversight commission with help from members of the Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township public works departments power washed and sanded the signal pole–which is located near the Walnut Street crossing–on Thursday.
Township manager Jack Cahalan said in a recent email that the signal’s components were removed and stored at the nearby Hellertown Historical Society complex over the winter months.
They are currently being sandblasted and finished by a Quakertown company, he added.
Cahalan said the project–which is entirely funded by donations–is expected to cost about $5,000. So far $3,900 has been raised.
Initial funding for the project came in the form of a donation by the Enot family of Hellertown.
Checks should be made payable to Saucon Rail Trail Oversight Commission, c/o Lower Saucon Township, 3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bethlehem, PA 18015, and should be designated for the “Saucon Rail Trail Signal Project.”
Donors will be recognized on the Saucon Rail Trail website.
The signal was manufactured by the General Railway Signal Company and installed by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad before 1920. It served as a northbound signal to alert engineers about the main track conditions and the upcoming siding, which may have diverted trains to the former Thomas Iron Works site or to the Hellertown Rail Station that was located near Depot Street.
