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Lehigh Traction Company
- Rail timetables
- Lehigh Traction trolley route
- Lehigh Traction trolley cars
- Removal of trolley tracks from Carbon Street
Lehigh Traction was a trolley line that served Freeland. Trolley tracks ran down Centre Street to Carbon Street and followed a route that is close to PA 940 of today through Youngstown, Drifton, Jeddo, Ebervale, Harleigh and into Hazleton. Trolley service was from 1894 to 1932.
As noted previously, the trolley trip from Freeland to Hazleton would take about 30 minutes as the trolley stopped in Drifton, Jeddo, Ebervale, Harleigh and then made its way to Wyoming Street in Hazleton.
Rail Timetables from the Freeland Tribune, March 18, 1903.
LEHIGH TRACTION COMPANY from Freeland.
Freeland Schedule.
First car leaves Hazleton for Freeland at 5:15 AM, then on the even and half hour thereafter. First car Sundays at 6:45 AM.
First car leaves Freeland for Hazleton at 5:45 AM, then on the 15 and 45 minutes after the hour thereafter. First Dar Sundays at 6:45.
Last car leaves Hazleton for Freeland at 11:00 PM. Last car SAturdays at 11:30 PM.
Last car leaves Freeland for Hazleton at 11:15 PM. Last car Saturdays at 11:45 PM.
Cars leaving Hazleton at 6:00 AM connect with D.S.&S. Railroad trains at Hazleton Junction for Harwood, Cranberry, Tomhicken and Derringer daily except Sunday, and 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM Sunday.
Cars leave Hazleton for Humboldt road, Oneida and Sheppton at 6:00 and 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM daily, and 7:00 and 3:00 PM Sundays.
Cars leave Hazleton for Beaver Meadow road, Stockton, Hazle Brook, Eckley, Jeddo and Drifton at 5:30 PM daily, and 9:30 AM and 5:30 PM Sunday.
A. MARKLE, General Manager
Routes of the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway and the Lehigh Traction lines also shown
This map purports to show the routes of the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway and the Lehigh Traction trolley line. The map was linked from a Wikipedia article on the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway. We don't know who created the map and we don't have access to a clearer copy, but it gives a general idea of the routes. It comes from the Northeast Railfan site.
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/wbhr.gif
Charlie Gallagher has commented that they have the trolley line running just north of 940 coming out of Harleigh and to Ebervale.
Then you can see that it is just north of 940 in Jeddo.
Between Harleigh and Ebervale the trolley route is shown as being much farther north than Jeddo. That fits with the location of the utility lines that were much farther back near Harleigh and Ebervale, whereas in Jeddo it is the alley behind the houses.
The trolley route near Ebervale eventually moved south of PA 940 to serve Ebervale #2. We have photographic evidence of the trolley cross-over of the highway and Russ Heintzelman’s map indicating this.
On the map, Route 940 shows as the light grey line, and the trolley line is bold green. Where the trolley line and 940 are the same, you only see the bold green of the trolley line.
Also, the trolley line had a spur to Jeddo Borough, just stopping before you enter the town. That would have been the location of the Jeddo Highland Offices and Store.
In Freeland the trolley tracks come up Centre Street and stopped at Front Street. The photo at top left of this page shows the tracks in front of the Central Hotel.
Ebervale trolley crossing, postcard postmarked 1913.
Lehigh Traction trolley cars
Trolley cars were mostly bi-directional - they didn't turn around at the end of the route, but just went in the other direction, the back of the car now becoming the front of the car, having an operator stand at each end, and both ends of the car were identical. You entered in the middle of the car.
They also had seats with backs that "flipped" so you could face forward or sit face to face depending on the direction of travel.
Usually when the operator was going from one of the cars to the other for travel in the opposite direction, he would flip all the seatbacks.
This brief video clip shows how the seatbacks changed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJyDKh4tZHk
This might have come from the Freeland Penny Saver. At present I don't have a date, but I think it may have been in the 1960s.