Demolition of Packerton Shops

January 18, 2007

According to news stories on WNEP the old Lehigh Valley Packerton Shop is being demolished. Equipment has already started removing parts of the building. One faction wanted to restore the building into artits lofts and shops, another faction, wants to demolish it and put a industrial park there. (majority commisioners) But even the people who want to restore the building admit the building might have been too far gone to save without sinking massive money into it.

Shots of Conrail at Packerton and Shops in early 1990's http://nepa.railfan.net/retroscans/lhtc.htm

Lehighton Interlocking, early 1990's

http://nepa.railfan.net/rail/leint.htm

WNEP story on plans for it (last year)

http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?s=4663204

(The news story on the demolition did not make the web site) Somewhere I have more pictures of it. I guess Packeton started as a coal marshalling yard for the Lehigh Valley, then it was a major shop. The work was moved to Sayre and the CONRAIL did not use what was left of the yard much. In the early 90's it was just a few tracks and the shop building. I guess we can preserve it in photographs and digital images ...